The Thunder hopes to shore up its home court and move on to the Western Conference Finals, while the Spurs look to win a critical road game and force a do-or-die contest when these teams collide for Game 6 on Thursday in Oklahoma City.
After the clubs alternated wins and losses in Games 1-4, Oklahoma City became the first to win two straight games in this series by downing San Antonio, 95-91, on the road in Game 5 on Tuesday. Now the Thunder returns home with a chance to move on, while the Spurs hope to force a Game 7.
Oklahoma City is looking to get to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2014, when it lost to San Antonio in four games. The Spurs went on to win the NBA championship that year, but fell in the first round last postseason and is in danger of another early exit.
Russell Westbrook put up a game-best 35 points in the Game 5 win for the Thunder, while Kevin Durant notched 23.
Kawhi Leonard once again paced the Spurs in the loss, scoring a team-best 26 points and adding five steals. LaMarcus Aldridge had nine rebounds and finished with 20 points, despite a rough night from the basketball Gods.
"He had a lot of open looks," Leonard said of Aldridge, according to ESPN. "They just didn't fall. It's basketball. Once we play the right way and get the shots we take and play hard, that's all we could do."
The two-headed monster of Durant and Westbrook continue to shine in this series.
Durant put up 41 points to lead the Thunder in their Game 4 win, while it was Westbrook's turn to control the contest in Game 5. If one or both of Oklahoma City's big guns has another big night left in him, summer will come earlier than desired for San Antonio.
They know it won't come easy.
"Closeout games are the hardest," Durant said via ESPN. "We know they're going to try to force this Game 7. We can't rely too much on our crowd. We can't be relaxed knowing that we're going to be at home. And they beat us at home in Game 3."
Game Live Stream & Details
Matchup: Spurs at Thunder Game 6
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. CDT)
Venue: Chesapeake Energy Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Radio: San Antonio (1360 KTTX); Oklahoma City (WWLS 98.1);
Series: Thunder leads 3-2.
Betting Odds: The latest betting odds for this game can be found here.
Watch Online: This game can be live streamed for free here.
