Oklahoma City did not take control of Game 5 only through star power. Isaiah Hartenstein posted 12 points, 15 rebounds, and a plus-24, while Cason Wallace logged seven points, five assists, two steals, two blocks, and a plus-29 in the Thunder’s 127-114 win over San Antonio on May 26. Those two kept changing the possession math of the series, and that may have mattered more than any single scoring run.
The Thunder did not need Hartenstein or Wallace to dominate the headlines. They needed them to tilt the game one extra possession at a time. Hartenstein kept extending Oklahoma City trips with offensive rebounds and interior physicality. Wallace kept disrupting San Antonio’s offense before the Spurs could even settle into actions. Together, they turned a competitive game into one where Oklahoma City kept getting cleaner chances and easier sequences.
Hartenstein kept creating offense before the offense even started
Hartenstein grabbed six offensive rebounds and nine more on the defensive glass, but the effect went beyond the total. He repeatedly forced San Antonio to defend second and third efforts after the initial stop should have ended the possession.
That changed the physical rhythm of the game. The Spurs could survive stretches where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander slowed down or Oklahoma City missed an early look. They could not survive giving the Thunder repeated extra chances around the rim while also trying to contain the drive game.
Hartenstein’s screening and sealing work mattered just as much. He kept creating wider driving lanes for Gilgeous-Alexander by forcing San Antonio’s guards to fight through contact and making Victor Wembanyama recover from deeper positions. That made Oklahoma City’s half-court offense feel less crowded than it did in the Game 4 loss.
Wallace kept wrecking the Spurs’ clean possessions
Wallace’s stat line only tells part of the story. His real impact came from how often he disrupted actions before they developed. He pressured ball handlers early, navigated screens cleanly and forced San Antonio to initiate farther from the middle of the floor.
The two steals and two blocks fit what the game looked like. Wallace kept arriving at the right spots without dragging Oklahoma City’s defensive shape out of place. That is why the plus-29 felt believable by the end of the night.
He also made several low-drama offensive plays that mattered late. Wallace moved the ball quickly, avoided wasted possessions, and hit a fourth-quarter three that helped push the Thunder back into control after San Antonio threatened to tighten the game.
The Thunder won the game in the spaces around the stars
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander still finished with 32 points and nine assists. Stephon Castle still scored 24 points for San Antonio. The quieter battle around those stars is what separated the teams.
Oklahoma City kept manufacturing extra opportunities. The Thunder scored 26 second-chance points, repeatedly turning loose rebounds and broken possessions into productive offense. Wallace then helped make sure San Antonio had to work harder just to get into its own actions cleanly.
That combination is why Oklahoma City’s depth has become such a difficult problem in this series. The Thunder are not relying only on one player to create advantages. They are stacking smaller advantages possession after possession until the game starts leaning in one direction.
Game 6 will probably swing on the same details
San Antonio faces elimination in Game 6 on May 28, and the obvious focus will stay on Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama and Castle. The hidden pressure points are still likely to decide the game.
If Hartenstein keeps extending possessions and Wallace keeps shrinking the floor for San Antonio’s guards, the Thunder can survive ordinary shooting stretches and still control the rhythm of the night. That is the real value of Oklahoma City’s role players in this matchup.
They are not just supporting the stars. They are quietly deciding how many clean possessions each side actually gets to play with.
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