Jared McCain developed a reputation among the Oklahoma City Thunder with the way he quickly integrated with the team following the trade deadline deal that brought him from the Philadelphia 76ers, and his willingness to keep shooting even through times of struggle. Heading into Thursday’s Game 6 of the Western Conference finals against the host San Antonio Spurs, McCain’s role has grown into a crucial one thanks in part to injuries to Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell that have led to an increase in playing time. “I think he’s a special human being,” Thunder big man Isaiah Hartenstein said of McCain. “I think just in general, no one will change the way he is. I’ve never seen someone so happy every single day.” McCain, 22, was certainly plenty happy Tuesday, when he made his first career playoff start — and just his 12th NBA start overall — and scored 20 points on 7-of-19 shooting in Oklahoma City’s 127-114 win to take a 3-2 lead in the series. McCain has averaged 18.7 points per game in the Thunder’s wins in the series, regularly making use of the mid-range jumper. “It’s what the NBA is about now,” Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s spread out basketball, everybody that’s on the court has to be able to make a play, like it’s very position-less offensively and defensively. The better you are at guarding both positions, the more you play; the better you’re doing multiple things on offense, the more you play. It’s just how it is.” The Spurs got physical with McCain late in Game 5, including on a hard foul by Mason Plumlee with less than two minutes remaining. That foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 1 foul Wednesday after league review. After Tuesday’s loss, San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said the Spurs needed more out of Victor Wembanyama. Wembanyama averaged more than 20 rebounds per game over the first two games of the series but has averaged just 6.0 rebounds over the last three. He scored 20 points in Game 5 but was just 4 of 15 from the floor. “I don’t think we screened well,” Spurs point guard De’Aaron Fox said. “And that’s for us screening for him and vice versa. … We have to be able to screen better for each other and then play with pace.” Fox said the formula for Game 6 was simple. “We’ve got to play like the more desperate team,” Fox said. During last season’s run to the NBA Championship, the Thunder twice faced elimination, beating Denver and Indiana in Game 7s. ===== NBA WARNS VICTOR WEMBANYAMA FOR MEDIA RULES VIOLATION San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has been warned by the NBA for violating media access rules by not speaking to reporters after Game 5, the league told ESPN on Wednesday. The Spurs lost 127-114 to the host Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night and now trail 3-2 in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals. A team spokesman said after the game that Wembanyama would not be available to media. The 22-year-old center scored 20 points in 38 minutes on 4-of-15 shooting from the field — including 0-for-5 from 3-point range — and 12 of 12 from the free-throw line. He collected just one rebound in the first half and totaled six as well as two steals and three blocks. The league’s history of fining players from not being available to media after playoff games includes Jimmy Butler III (then of the Miami Heat) and Dillon Brooks (then of the Memphis Grizzlies), who were fined $25,000 each in 2023, per ESPN. Wembanyama, an All-Star the past two seasons, won the Magic Johnson Award this season from the Professional Basketball Writers Association. The annual honor, created in 2001, is for the NBA player who best combines excellence on the court with cooperation and dignity in dealing with the media and public. He leads the Spurs in scoring average (22.9 points per game), rebounds (11.1) and blocks (3.7) in 15 playoff games. He averaged 25.0 points, rebounds and a league-best 3.1 blocks in 64 regular-season contests. The first overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, Wembanyama was the 2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year. He was the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, the lone unanimous choice for All-Defensive first team as well as first-team All-NBA this season. He was an All-Star the past two seasons. About The Author troyderengowski61@gmail.com See author's posts Post navigation THUNDER TOP SPURS 127-114 IN GAME 5, MOVE A WIN AWAY FROM A RETURN TO NBA FINALS
