Thunder vs. Spurs: Game 5 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NBA Playoffs

The San Antonio Spurs lost just a single game at home during the regular season. Now, in the span of three postseason showdowns with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Western Conference's No. 2 seed has dropped two games at AT&T Center and is one loss away from elimination.     

Following a fourth-quarter collapse in Game 4 on Sunday, the Spurs stumbled down the stretch once again as the Thunder seized a 3-2 series lead with a 95-91 Game 5 win on Tuesday behind a miraculous display from Russell Westbrook.  

In a tense contest defined by energized spurts from both sides, the Thunder got the last laugh when Westbrook converted an and-1 layup with 6.3 seconds remaining to give his side a four-point lead. However, the play wasn't without controversy, as officials failed to give Kawhi Leonard the intentional foul he appeared to be playing for, as the NBA on TNT documented:  

All told, Westbrook finished with a game-high 35 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists as he bounced back from a 14-point showing in Game 4 with an authoritative performance. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Westbrook has now topped those thresholds twice this postseason. 

Kevin Durant added 23 points (8-of-21 shooting, 2-of-5 from three), six rebounds, five dimes, two steals and a block. He and Westbrook scored or assisted on 80 of the team's 95 points, per ESPN Stats & Info. 

Leonard paced the Spurs with 26 points, six boards, five steals and four assists, while Danny Green poured in 20 points and drilled six threes. But the Spurs didn't receive enough scoring across the board to seize a 3-2 series lead. 

Even though LaMarcus Aldridge became the first San Antonio player to post five 20-plus-point games in a playoff series since Tim Duncan in 2007, per Spurs PR's Jordan Howenstine, this marked his least efficient outing in the series. Aldridge finished 6-of-21 from the field for 20 points, but almost half of his scoring production (eight points) came at the free-throw line.

The Spurs scored just 19 points in the fourth quarter—marking the second time in as many games that they failed to crack 20 points in the final frame. But based on the way San Antonio started Game 5, the fourth quarter served as a fitting finish. 

The Thunder seized a 22-16 lead after the first quarter, and the flow of the game appeared to be trending in their favor. Although head coach Billy Donovan's team was careless with the ball and committed seven turnovers during the game's first 12 minutes, both Westbrook and Durant were humming. 

The Spurs offense also looked lifeless during that span. San Antonio closed out the opening frame by shooting a putrid 31.8 percent from the field, as open threes and mid-range looks out of isolation clanged off the iron. 

However, the Thunder couldn't capitalize on the Spurs' woes. 

While Oklahoma City had repeated chances to push its lead to double digits throughout the first quarter and the early stages of the second quarter, 13 first-half turnovers capped their scoring ceiling and allowed the Spurs to capture a bit of momentum. 

As always, Leonard was the one who provided the spark. 

Not only did the MVP runner-up finish the first half with 17 points—15 of which came in the second quarter—but he also provided a tone-setting example for how head coach Gregg Popovich wanted his team to play when he ripped a rebound from the grasp of Serge Ibaka: 

Back in the huddle, Popovich channeled his famous "I want some nasty" speech as he implored his team to take note of Leonard's hustle and play with more energy, as the NBA on TNT documented:

The Spurs turned the tables and took a five-point lead into halftime, but the Thunder didn't back down.

Despite trailing by 13 points midway through the third quarter, Oklahoma City found life thanks to Westbrook's aggressive approach. 

While it wasn't always pretty, Westbrook refused to let the Thunder dig themselves into a deeper hole, and a tremendous coast-to-coast sequence late in the third frame appeared to jolt OKC back to life: 

Westbrook and Durant went on to nail back-to-back threes early in the fourth to tie things at 78, and as ESPN.com's Royce Young observed, the Thunder's electric floor general was focused on exiting AT&T Center with a win:

Westbrook and the Thunder will now travel back to Chesapeake Energy Arena for Game 6 on Thursday with a 3-2 series lead, meaning they will be overwhelming favorites to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

According to WhoWins.com, teams that seize 3-2 leads in the best-of-seven format have gone on to win the series 85 percent of the time. Furthermore, teams with 3-2 leads have won 53.4 percent of Game 6s at home. 

But even though the odds are firmly in OKC's favor after San Antonio continued to display uncharacteristic lethargy in late-game situations, the Spurs aren't the type of team that will roll over. 

The Thunder will need their best game yet to send the Spurs packing, and it wouldn't be a surprise at all to see the most entertaining series of the postseason to date go the distance. 

Postgame Reaction

Once the win was in hand, Westbrook took time to discuss his outing with TNT's Craig Sager: 

"Russ was a maniac tonight," Durant said of his teammate's performance, per CBSSports.com's Matt Moore. 

Leonard also praised Westbrook for playing a complete game, as NBA TV on Twitter documented: 

Speaking of Leonard, Popovich made it clear his star player committed an intentional foul in the game's waning seconds before Westbrook iced things. 

"He fouled him," the Spurs coach said, according to ESPN's Rachel Nichols. "It was pretty obvious he fouled him. But every foul doesn't get called."

"I think they're doing a great job of scouting us," Green said, per Young. "They're taking away what we're looking for."

"The one thing that hasn’t been talked about is our defense," Donovan said, according to Moore. 

However, Dion Waiters appeared to take notice. 

"Coach is doing a helluva job," the sixth man said, per the Oklahoman's Anthony Slater. "A helluva job."