NBA Daily Digest: Thunder Take WCF Control, Knicks Await Their Finals Opponent

The Oklahoma City Thunder responded to a double-overtime heartbreaker with a dominant 127-114 win in Game 5, putting the defending champions one victory from another Finals appearance. Back in San Antonio tonight, the Spurs must win or their season ends. Here's everything you need to know heading into Thursday.

Oklahoma City came out with urgency in what had been a sloppy, turnover-prone Game 4 loss, and it showed immediately — the Thunder matched their Game 4 first-half total of 69 points by halftime alone. 1

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SG, Thunder) had a rough start — 1-for-6, four first-quarter turnovers — and recovered to finish with 32 points, going a pristine 16-for-17 from the foul line. He added nine assists, though six turnovers kept it from being a clean line. 2

The Thunder's two 7-footers did the heavy lifting inside. Chet Holmgren put up 16 points and 11 rebounds, his best game of the series. Isaiah Hartenstein added 12 points and 15 rebounds (six offensive) — 28 points and 26 boards combined from OKC's big men. Their defensive scheme on Wembanyama held him to 4-for-15 from the field; under Hartenstein's coverage, Wemby shot just 3-for-11.

Alex Caruso (SF/SG, Thunder) has been the series' defining role player. He scored 22 points (4-for-8 from three) with six assists and three steals after being held scoreless in Game 4. His net rating in the series leads all players. Jared McCain made his first career playoff start and delivered 20 points, including 18 after halftime. Cason Wallace shifted to the bench and logged 31 minutes at +29.

For San Antonio, Stephon Castle had 24 points and Julian Champagnie scored 22 — the Spurs kept it close through three quarters, trimming a 20-point deficit to 98-88, but an 11-4 OKC run in the fourth sealed it.

Victor Wembanyama (C, Spurs) finished with 20 points but only 12 came from the field — he went 4-for-15, with eight of his points coming from free throws in the paint. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson was direct: "He's got to take more than 15 shots even with the free throws, and yeah, he's going to have to score more than 20 points for sure." 1

Oklahoma City Thunder — Out: Jalen Williams (strained left hamstring), Ajay Mitchell (strained right calf). Both were ruled out again for Game 5 and remain unavailable heading into Game 6. OKC has now won two of three games without Williams, their second-leading scorer.

San Antonio Spurs — De'Aaron Fox (ankle) played through discomfort in Game 5 and is expected to play Thursday. No other new designations reported.

Teams that win Game 5 of a tied 2-2 best-of-7 go on to win the series 81.8% of the time. The Thunder are one win from their second consecutive Finals trip. 1

After Game 5, a Spurs spokesperson announced Wembanyama would be unavailable to reporters — roughly an hour after head coach Mitch Johnson had already finished his press conference. The NBA issued a warning to Wembanyama for violating media access rules, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Wednesday. Players who refused media access during the 2023 playoffs (Jimmy Butler and Dillon Brooks) each received $25,000 fines. 3

The incident adds an odd backdrop to tonight's must-win Game 6 for San Antonio.

Trump plans to attend Finals at MSG. President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday that he plans to attend an NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden, saying he was invited by Knicks owner James Dolan. Trump would be the first sitting U.S. president to attend an NBA Finals game. The Knicks have won 11 straight games entering the Finals, outscoring opponents by 262 points over that stretch — the most lopsided 11-game run in NBA history, regular season or playoffs. 4

Atkinson staying in Cleveland. Kenny Atkinson will return as Cavaliers head coach next season, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania. Atkinson has gone 116-48 (.707) in two regular seasons with Cleveland. The Cavs still reached the ECF for the first time since 2018, and both Donovan Mitchell and James Harden publicly backed Atkinson after Monday's elimination. Owner Dan Gilbert tweeted that the team is "nowhere near where we need to be," signaling roster changes are likely this summer. 6

Mazzulla wins Coach of the Year. Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics was named the 2025-26 NBA Coach of the Year, receiving 62 of 100 first-place votes and appearing on 96 of 100 ballots. The Celtics won 56 games despite Jayson Tatum missing most of the season with a torn Achilles. At 37, Mazzulla is the youngest Coach of the Year winner since Phil Johnson in 1975 and the fourth in Celtics franchise history. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson finished third in voting — putting him in an unusual position of being both a near-award-winner and a coach on the brink of elimination. 7

If the Spurs win tonight: Game 7 is Saturday, May 30 at Oklahoma City (8 PM ET, NBC/Peacock).

NBA Finals schedule (Knicks waiting):