Victor Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs, who were too discreet, were beaten 127-114 on Tuesday on the court of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who lead 3-2 in the NBA Western Conference Finals.

The Thunder, the defending champions, will have the opportunity on Thursday in Texas to join the New York Knicks in the final.

"We're not getting into a good enough position on every possession," lamented Spurs coach Mitch Johnson. "We need to be much better to give ourselves a chance to beat a team of this caliber in their own stadium with so much at stake."

After a tight first quarter (29-27 for OKC), the Thunder controlled the rest of the game, leading by as many as 20 points and responding every time the Spurs regained a little hope.

The Texans were too clumsy (37 for 92, 12 for 41 from three at 29.3%), like their star Victor Wembanyama, who seemed to lack energy and was constantly out of sync on both ends of the court.

The 22-year-old Frenchman finished with 20 points thanks to his reliability at the free-throw line (12 for 12). Otherwise, "Wemby" shot 4 for 15 (0 for 5 from three-point range) and grabbed only 6 rebounds, in addition to 3 blocks and one assist in 37 minutes.

Wembanyama had only one rebound for 11 points at halftime, while the Thunder led 69-58.

- SGA with 32 points -

The Frenchman, who is experiencing the playoffs for the first time, was brilliantly kept away from the basket on both ends by the defending champion.

"He's going to have to take way more than 15 shots, not counting free throws, and score more than 20 points, that's for sure (...) even when we had advantages on certain possessions we didn't make simple choices and seize those opportunities," Johnson lamented.

Similar to Game 3, won by Oklahoma City in San Antonio, the game was choppy with 70 free throws (32 for San Antonio, 38 for OKC) and erratic whistles from the referees, who were as uninspired as some of the players.

Two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 32 points, compensated for some poor shooting (7 for 19 at 36.8%) with his aggressiveness, earning him 17 free throws, 16 of which were made. The 27-year-old Canadian was also effective in playmaking with 9 assists.

His teammates rose to the occasion, with the team shooting a total of 14 of 32 from long range (43.8%).

Excellent since the start of the series, Alex Caruso scored 22 points off the bench, taking over from Jared McCain (20 points), Chet Holmgren (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Isaiah Hartenstein (12 points, 15 rebounds), who was once again valuable against Wembanyama.

The Thunder achieved this performance without two key players, Jalen Williams (hamstring) and Ajay Mitchell (calf), who were injured.

At full strength, the San Antonio Spurs, with Stephon Castle (24 points) and Julian Champagnie (22 points), were able to shine with their defense at the very beginning of the game, but mostly seemed overwhelmed and sometimes naive, showing that most of their key players are discovering the playoffs.

They absolutely must win at home on Thursday to extend their season and set up a potential Game 7 on Saturday in Oklahoma.