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

The San Antonio Spurs came into Tuesday's Game 5 fresh off an emphatic win to equalize the series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. In the decisive matchup, San Antonio could not overcome the surge from OKC in a 127-114 loss.

OKC led by as many as 20 points in the pivotal clash and despite a few late rallies from San Antonio were able to cruise toward a 3-2 series advantage and put all the pressure onto the shoulders of San Antonio.

After caging Shai Gilgeous-Alexander throughout the series, the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player had his breakthrough moment. He ignited for 32 points, with 19 in the first half alone, nine assists and two steals. The Spurs also fell into the trap of fouling SGA, as he took 17 attempts from the charity stripe and drained 16 of them.

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Outside of the heroics of its expected superstar, Oklahoma City continued to get huge efforts from its bench. Alex Caruso was once again the thorn in the side of the Spurs, with 22 points on the night. He finished as the Thunder's second leading scorer in 28 minutes of action.

As a whole, the Thunder were electric (no pun intended) from the floor. They tallied a crushing 48 percent field goal percentage, including a 44 percent clip from beyond the arc. Combine that with 14 offensive rebounds and 15 forced Spurs turnovers and it was a recipe for disaster for San Antonio.

Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama was solid yet human in the losing effort. He racked up 20 points, six rebounds and three blocks on the night, which consisted of an unusual 4-of-15 shooting performance with a pitiful 0-of-5 mark on three's. Compare that to the alien-like 33-point gem Wemby just had in Game 4 and it's easy to see where things went wrong. Needless to say, San Antonio needs more from its leader to mount a comeback in the final games.

Outside of Wembanyama, Julian Champagnie tried his best to steer the Spurs toward a come-from-behind victory. He went for a playoff career-high 22 points off an 8-of-15 mark with four made three-pointers. Alongside scoring, Champagnie's eight rebounds led the Spurs.

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Meanwhile, Stephon Castle was the leader for San Antonio with a final stat line of 24 points, six assists and five rebounds.

San Antonio combined for a less-than-ideal 40 percent field goal percentage and went for an even worse 29 percent from three-point range. The aforementioned 15 turnovers off the Spurs gave OKC an extra 22 points. After looking like they had rediscovered their edge, the Spurs struggled yet again.

With their backs against the wall, San Antonio returns to the Frost Bank Center looking to keep its historic season alive. The Spurs and the Thunder will tip off in the first elimination game of the postseason for San Antonio on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.