The San Antonio Spurs are heading into an elimination game after dropping Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, and forward Julian Champagnie did not soften his assessment of what went wrong in the 127-114 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
After San Antonio held Oklahoma City to 82 points in a convincing Game 4 win, the Thunder responded with 127 points on Tuesday night at Paycom Center to take a 3-2 series lead. Champagnie said the difference came down to urgency.
“I just think that they were the more desperate team tonight,” Champagnie said postgame. “I thought they wanted the game more than we did and we were a step late to a lot of stuff tonight.”
That defensive slippage proved costly against a Thunder team that regained rhythm quickly after its worst offensive outing of the postseason. Oklahoma City scored 40 points in the second quarter and had already reached 82 points early in the third after managing only 82 for the entire game two nights earlier.
The Spurs forward pointed to effort and execution rather than fatigue, dismissing the idea that the physical toll of a deep playoff run explained San Antonio’s performance.
“That’s no excuse honestly,” Champagnie said. “Tired or not, everybody’s tired. I bet all the guys on the other team are tired as well. So I don’t really think there’s any excuse for that.”
Instead, he credited the coaching staff while emphasizing that players must execute more consistently.
“I think the coaches are doing a good job of putting us in positions to succeed,” Champagnie said. “I think that we have to take care of the basketball. I think that we have to fight the urge to give in to what our mind is telling us and kind of play with our bodies. So I don’t think there’s much of an excuse for it. We have to just be better.”
San Antonio briefly threatened a comeback after falling behind by 20 in the third quarter. The Spurs cut the deficit to eight entering the fourth before Oklahoma City rebuilt a double-digit cushion behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 32 points and strong bench production from Alex Caruso and Jared McCain.
Champagnie, however, said large deficits are not impossible to erase in the NBA if teams respond with greater intensity.
“We went down 20 in the third so there’s a lot of time in a basketball game especially an NBA game,” he said. “Guys get hot some guys miss shots like that’s just the ebbs and flows of the game.”
He even referenced the Eastern Conference finals, where the New York Knicks erased a major deficit against the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier in the series.
“The Knicks did it a couple days ago against the Cavs in the fourth with seven minutes left,” Champagnie said. “So it’s not impossible. I don’t think everything has to go perfect. You have to play harder and a little more desperate than the other team.”
Champagnie also provided one of the Spurs’ brightest offensive performances in Game 5, finishing with 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting and knocking down four 3-pointers after struggling to find consistency from deep earlier in the series.
“Just shooting with confidence,” he said. “Obviously I haven’t made shots in a little while so just shooting with confidence. Telling myself shots are going to go in.”
Looking ahead to Thursday’s Game 6 in San Antonio, Champagnie projected confidence despite the pressure of a win-or-go-home situation.
“I think we’ll be fine,” he said. “I think we’ll be ready to play next game. Obviously it’s a win or go home situation so I’m 100% sure everybody will come to play.”
