After a disappointing Game 5 loss in the Western Conference finals, San Antonio Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said his team needed more from superstar Victor Wembanyama.
Two days later, Wembanyama appeared in his first playoff elimination game, and he came through in a big way.
Wembanyama set the tone from the beginning, helping the Spurs build a lead they never relinquished while beating the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder 118-91 on Thursday to even the best-of-seven series at three wins apiece.
The teams will meet in Game 7 on Saturday in Oklahoma City, with the winner advancing to face the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals.
"His passion and desire for being right where he is and at the forefront of it all, and to take the responsibility and the role and the burden of what he does -- I don't know what else to say," Johnson said of Wembanyama. "He's comfortable with that regardless of the outcome and what it may look like."
Wembanyama finished with 28 points on 10-of-21 shooting, and he added 10 rebounds and three blocks.
However, it was in a period when Wembanyama was on the bench that the Spurs put the game away.
The Thunder were still within striking distance, trailing by 10, when Wembanyama came out with 7:39 remaining in the third quarter.
For much of the series, Oklahoma City had controlled the game when Wembanyama was on the bench.
This time, though, the Spurs were dominant, scoring 11 consecutive points with the big man on the bench. The surge was part of a 20-0 run that sealed the outcome by the time the third quarter was over.
"I just think all of our focus and attention was on the defensive end," San Antonio guard Stephon Castle said of the pivotal run. "... I think when we're focused on defense and getting stops and being able to get out and run and get easy looks, it makes the game pretty simple for us."
Luke Kornet, who entered for Wembanyama, played a big role in San Antonio's defensive success during that stretch as Oklahoma City missed 14 consecutive shots.
"I think Luke's communication and just really overall physicality and being in the right spots was probably the best it's been this series," Castle said of Kornet, who finished with three points and five rebounds in 13 minutes.
The Thunder had cut what was a 15-point second-quarter deficit to five just before halftime, and San Antonio took a seven-point lead into the break.
Four minutes into the third quarter, the Spurs started the game-defining run.
"We had a chance to turn the game, but you've got to turn the game," Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. "You can't wait for the game to turn, and they came out and obviously threw a great punch to start the third and got the game out of reach."
While Wembanyama came up big, Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled yet again. He finished with just 15 points, on 6-of-18 shooting, and four assists.
It was Gilgeous-Alexander's lowest scoring output since he had 14 in Game 3 of the 2025 Western Conference finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Gilgeous-Alexander is shooting just 37.9% from the floor in the series after making 51.4% of his field-goal attempts over the first two rounds of this year's postseason.
"I'm not sure, to be honest," Gilgeous-Alexander said of the reasons for his struggles in the series. "A lot of the shots that I'm shooting, I shot plenty of times before. They feel good, and it's not good."
In the game's first 90 seconds, Wembanyama hit a pair of 3-pointers and blocked a shot by Jared McCain at the rim.
It was an early sign that Wembanyama would be more forceful in Game 6 than he was in San Antonio's 127-114 loss in Game 5.
"They were the aggressors tonight from start to finish," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "They played harder than us, hit more shots, were more aggressive, were in attack mode. We were on our heels."
Castle finished with 17 points, nine assists and just one turnover. After committing 20 turnovers in the first two games, Castle has given the ball away just six times over the past four games.
Dylan Harper added 18 points off the bench, helping San Antonio's reserves outscore Oklahoma City's for the first time in the series, 46-38.
McCain added 13 for the Thunder while Chet Holmgren had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams returned after missing the previous three games with a hamstring strain, but he played just 10 minutes, scoring one point. He came off the bench for the first time since Dec. 10, 2022, during his rookie season.
"It was a unique situation," Daigneault said. "Ever since he got hurt, he's been hell-bent on trying to get himself to this point."
--Field Level Media
