The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the San Antonio Spurs 127-114 in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday night.
The win gives the Thunder a 3-2 series lead, putting them one victory away from returning to the NBA Finals.
Rookie Jared McCain made his first career postseason start due to injuries to Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell.
McCain scored 20 points, with 18 coming in the second half, and tied for the team lead with 19 shot attempts.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault praised McCain's performance.
"We just thought he could give us some good stuff, just based on where we are right now with a couple guys out," Daigneault said.
"He was really good. … Great mental toughness."
Daigneault also highlighted the team's resilience after a 21-point loss in the previous game.
"We obviously played a lot better, in terms of our process and then also the outcome," he said.
"This team does a great job of just coming back in the next day in a very neutral way."
McCain said his coach had hinted at the lineup change before finalizing it.
"Coming into this game, I just literally wanted to play as hard as I can on the offensive end and rebound and everything else will flow," McCain said.
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander praised veteran Alex Caruso. "He has the most championships on this team.
He's played in the most big games on this team.
He's one of if not the best competitor in the NBA night in and night out," Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Gilgeous-Alexander also credited the team's identity. "We just played to who we were tonight," he said.
"We definitely got better from the last game."
Oklahoma City took control with 40 points in the second quarter.
San Antonio cut a 20-point deficit to eight in the third quarter, but frustrations grew over uncalled goaltending and out-of-bounds plays.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said of an ignored challenge that led to his technical foul: "They just said they didn't see me."
Stephon Castle led San Antonio with 24 points. Julian Champagnie added 22, and Victor Wembanyama scored 20.
The Spurs missed 29 of 41 three-point attempts.
"To beat a team of this calibre, in their building, with the stakes, we'll need to be a lot better to give yourself a chance," Johnson said.
Game 6 is scheduled for Thursday in San Antonio.
The series winner will face the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on June 3.
