After effectively shutting down the OKC offense in Game 4 at home, the San Antonio Spurs were unable to contain the Thunder like that for two contests in a row, and it led to them suffering a 127-114 loss in Game 5.

The reigning NBA champions now lead the Western Conference Finals three games to two, but the Spurs will be looking to learn from their loss in Oklahoma City and even the series up again in San Antonio.

READ MORE: Thunderstruck: Spurs Zapped By Thunder, SGA 127-114 in Game 5

The back-to-back Most Valuable Player scored just 19 points in OKC's Game 4 loss on the road, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was able to bounce back in a big way to take back the lead in the series.

He matched his Game 4 total of 19 in just the first half of Game 5, and he eventually finished with 32 points, as well as nine assists, and 16 made shots from the charity stripe.

If the Spurs want to even the series up once again, they will need to stop Shai, or at least contain him.

And that is definitely easier said than done.

Not only were the Spurs able to hold the MVP effectively in their Game 4 win, but they were able to do the same thing to the rest of the Thunder.

Oklahoma City shot just 33 percent from the field and 18 percent from three in their loss in San Antonio. Needless to say, that played a huge role in their loss, as they scored a season-low 82 points.

But in Game 5, they came back with a vengeance, shooting 48 percent from the field and 44 percent from beyond the arc. While the Spurs can't expect to shut down OKC like they did in Game 4 every time, they can't let them shoot over 40 percent from three consistently if they want to win the series.

Victor Wembanyama's first playoff run has been nothing short of spectacular, as he has been putting on incredible performances night in and night out. But he had to come back down to Earth at some point.

While he did score 20 points in Game 5, he did so not just 4-for-15 shooting from the field, and an even worse 0-for-5 from three-point range. He had a night we have come to expect on the defensive end with three blocks and two steals, but his poor offense overshadowed it.

Everything the Spurs want to do runs through Wembanyama, so if he doesn't play to the level that the whole NBA world knows he can, San Antonio is going to have a very tough time evening up the series.

READ MORE: Spurs Fans Learn Everything They Need to Know About Chet Holmgren in 14 Seconds

The Spurs will get to travel back home for Game 6 of the WCF, and they will be hoping to take advantage of playing in the Frost Bank Center to even up the series and force a Game 7.