Victor Wembanyama Skips Postgame Media After Spurs' Game 5 Loss vs. Thunder

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama declined to speak with reporters after Tuesday night's 127-114 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, ESPN's Michael C. Wright reported.

Wright reported that a Spurs spokesman said Wembanyama had already left the locker room when the postgame media availability window opened.

Wembanyama finished with 20 points and 6 rebounds in the loss, but he shot just 4-of-15 from the field, missing all 5 of his 3-point attempts. He went 12-of-12 at the free throw line and added 3 blocks.

The defeat moved the defending NBA champion Thunder within one win of a return trip to the NBA Finals. Oklahoma City leads the series 3-2. Game 6 is Thursday in San Antonio, with a potential Game 7 set for Saturday in Oklahoma City. The New York Knicks are waiting in the NBA Finals, set to open the series June 3 against the Western Conference winner.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points and Alex Caruso led another strong Oklahoma City bench effort with 22 in the win. Jared McCain, getting the start with Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell both sidelined, scored 20 in his first playoff start with the Thunder. Chet Holmgren added 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Isaiah Hartenstein had 12 points and 15 rebounds.

After being held to 82 points in a Game 4 loss two days earlier, the Thunder had 82 points 3 1/2 minutes into the third quarter.

"We obviously played a lot better, in terms of our process and then also the outcome," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "It's a playoff series. If you look at any playoff series that goes to six games, at least, there's going to be some tough games. We had a tough game the other night. This team does a great job of just coming back in the next day in a very neutral way, taking whatever the lessons are, applying them forward and getting into the next opportunity."

Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 24 points, Julian Champagnie added 22 and Keldon Johnson scored 15 off the bench. San Antonio missed 29 of its 41 3-point attempts.

"It just felt like it was a little bit of everything in terms of we did not put ourselves in position enough to be successful on each possession," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "And so, to beat a team of this caliber, in their building, with the stakes, we'll need to be a lot better to give yourself a chance."

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Oklahoma City scored 40 points in the second quarter to take control and never trailed again. The teams combined for 29 free throws in that period, the most in any second quarter of an NBA game since the 2020 bubble playoffs. The Spurs were 15-of-17 from the line in the quarter, the Thunder 14-of-14.

The Thunder went up 20 in the third quarter before the Spurs cut the deficit to 8. Oklahoma City held a double-digit lead for all but 25 seconds of the fourth quarter.

"We definitely got better from the last game," Gilgeous-Alexander said.