Spurs’ comeback dies in a whistle-blizzard, and the West Finals are now teetering

Spurs’ comeback dies in a whistle-blizzard, and the West Finals are now teetering

The Thunder turned a 20-point third-quarter lead into a 127-114 win in Game 5, and the Spurs are left staring at a 3-2 series hole that has historically been brutal: they’re 1-13 all time when trailing 3-2 in a best-of-seven series. The second half also had enough officiating chaos to make everybody in the building mutter at once. Luke Kornet’s put-back at the rim turned into a missed goaltending call after Cason Wallace swatted the ball off the rim, then Victor Wembanyama’s drive ended with the ball going out off Chet Holmgren before the officials gave it to Oklahoma City instead. Mitch Johnson tried to trigger a review, got ignored, and picked up a technical for his trouble. The Spurs even had a separate moment in the fourth where the officials couldn’t sort out the last touch and went to a jump ball. Meanwhile, Wembanyama was 4-of-15 and missed all five of his 3s, while De’Aaron Fox and Devin Vassell were held to single figures.

Gobble's Take: This was the kind of game where the scoreboard, the whistles, and everybody’s blood pressure all lost track of the same possession.
Source: Yahoo Sports NBA

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