The Oklahoma City Thunder are one win away from their second straight NBA Finals after beating the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night – but fans are convinced that the playoffs have been ‘rigged’ for them.
In a crucial Game 5 at their Paycom Center home, Oklahoma City moved 3-2 ahead in the Western Conference Finals following a tremendous display from MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who put up 32 points in a 127-114 victory for the hosts.
Though despite the win, a number of NBA fans believe the Thunder benefited from a highly controversial decision on the night, while the reigning champions were also accused of ‘flopping’ on two separate occasions.
During the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s game, Luke Kornet jumped to make a layup before Cason Wallace knocked the ball away as it touched the rim on its way down.
Wallace’s intervention appeared to be a breach of the ‘goaltend’ rule, which prevents defenders from illegally interfering with a shot. Yet much to the dismay of social media, the officials failed to penalize Oklahoma City by awarding San Antonio points.
One fan shared a clip of the moment on X and concluded: ‘The refs cheating for the Thunder’.
The Thunder got past the Spurs in Game 5 thanks to the brilliance of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
But Oklahoma City stars, including Jared McCain (right), were accused of flopping in the game
‘Game is completely rigged,’ another user fumed.
A third asked sarcastically: ‘so Cason Wallace can just take the ball out of the basket okay’.
A fourth put: ‘This game was scripted like Monday Night Raw’.
While another went as far as to say: ‘Turned off the game. Literally unwatchable’.
As they have done throughout the campaign, Thunder stars were also accused of exaggerating contact in order to win personal fouls during Game 5.
Before halftime Jared McCain drew the ire of supporters online when he appeared to elbow Dylan Harper in the throat, before flopping to the floor when the Spurs player chased him down and made slight contact.
Gilgeous-Alexander was also accused of going to ground too easily after being touched on the back by Julian Champagnie.
The newly-crowned back-to-back MVP scored 32 points while Alex Caruso led another strong bench effort with 22 as the Thunder moved one win away from a return trip to the NBA Finals by beating the Spurs 127-114.
McCain – getting the call with Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell both sidelined – scored 20 in his first playoff start for the defending NBA champion Thunder, while Chet Holmgren had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Isaiah Hartenstein had a 12-point, 15-rebound night.
Oklahoma City, who were held to 82 points in a Game 4 loss two days earlier, had 82 points on Tuesday before the third quarter was three-and-a-half minutes old.
‘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.’
