Can Spurs survive OKC?

The New York Knicks are chilling with a ticket to the NBA Finals wrapped up while defending champion Oklahoma City and San Antonio are headed to a Game 6 on the Spurs’ homecourt tomorrow morning (Manila time), battling for the other slot in the Last Dance. The Knicks are back in the Finals after 27 years and they were last in the title series against the Spurs who beat New York, 4-1, in 1999.

It’s been a Cinderella season for San Antonio and hardly anyone expected the Spurs to finish No. 2 in the West with a 62-20 record, coached by Mitch Johnson who took over from Gregg Popovich on an interim basis after five games into the previous campaign. San Antonio had missed six playoffs in a row until Johnson snapped the streak to pilot the Spurs to their best finish since 2015-16. Making it as far as the West Finals was as unimagined as registering the NBA’s second best mark behind OKC’s 64-18.

Victor Wembanyama’s emergence as a star had a lot to do with San Antonio’s improvement from 34 wins to 62 after just one season. He was named Defensive Player of the Year and averaged career-highs of 25 points, 51.2 percent from the field and 11.5 rebounds. Johnson retained Wemby’s support nucleus of Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, De’Aaron Fox, Julian Champagnie, Sixth Man of the Year Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes then brought in rookies Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant along with backup centers Kelly Olynyk and Luke Kornet to assemble a roster that›s deep in multiple positions.

OKC is a win away from returning to the Finals and enters Game 6 against San Antonio with a twice-to-beat advantage. If the Spurs defend their homecourt, Game 7 will be back in OKC. So far in the playoffs, San Antonio is 10-6 with a 5-3 slate at home. OKC is 11-2 with a 5-1 record on the road.

The Thunder took Game 5, 127-114 while missing starter Jalen Williams. Coach Mark Daigneault elevated 6-3 Jared McCain to the starting lineup despite a 1-of-10 performance from the field in Game 4. McCain responded with 20 points, including 3-of-9 triples. He had started in only two of 30 games with the Spurs in the regular season since his trade from Philadelphia last February. Daigneault looked to McCain to boost OKC’s floor energy which was at a low level in Game 4 when San Antonio won, 103-82. OKC also raised its physicality to grab more rebounds, 48-41 and limit Wemby to 20 points and six boards. OKC’s twin towers 7-1 Chet Holmgren and 7-0 Isaiah Hartenstein combined for 28 points and 26 rebounds to negate Wemby’s productivity.

The Spurs have already overachieved this season and losing to OKC won’t be such a bitter pill to swallow. For OKC, the challenge is to become the first back-to-back NBA champion since Golden State in 2018.