As the Oklahoma City Thunder pushed their lead in the third quarter to 18 points, their momentum had to be stopped. Victor Wembanyama, after his 33-point exploit in Game 4, looked out of sorts with 2 field goals and 1 rebound at halftime. Two minutes and six seconds later, the San Antonio Spurs still struggled, and that’s why Wemby took charge.

The NBC broadcasters saw that the French center was taking charge in rallying the troops. “Everyone over to the bench here, not happy with the start here, Jamal, to the third quarter. Who’s leading most of the charge in the huddle? Wemby. Very passionate about what’s going on,” said Hall of Famer Reggie Miller.

His co-analyst also agreed and chimed in. “He knows this is desperation time. You cannot get down to a team like this. He’s pleading with his team. ‘Fight, fight.’ He cannot let go of the rope. Right now, OKC is comfortable,” said the former 3x Sixth Man of the Year, Jamal Crawford.

The timeout was called after back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down a three-pointer as OKC led 76-58 with 9:54 remaining in the third frame. San Antonio, being on the back foot, was the story of the first half. They were outscored 40-31 in the second quarter, and the Thunder led by 11 at halftime. Nothing changed at the start of the third as the Spurs missed three shots and conceded two fouls. But the timeout and the words from Victor Wembanyama helped.

Entering tied 2-2, Game 5 was statistically the most decisive swing game. Dropping it due to an early defensive meltdown pushes the young San Antonio Spurs to the brink of elimination, trailing 3-2 heading into a must-win Game 6.

It was Oklahoma City that called the next timeout with 05:41 remaining, as the Spurs went on a 21-11 run to cut the gap to 8. San Antonio even outscored the home team by one point, 33-32, in the third. So that first timeout helped Wemby and co.

In fact, Ashley ShahAhmadi, sideline reporter for NBC, stated after the timeout, “I spoke to Carter Bryant before tonight’s game, and he said, ‘We wouldn’t be in this position without Victor’s leadership.'”

The rookie forward also had a personal moment when he and everyone else witnessed Victor Wembanyama’s leadership.

The 20-year-old was having his worst game. He picked up three fouls and turned the ball over in the third quarter. Coach Mitch Johnson even called him on the sidelines and yelled at his young star, who became emotional.

That’s when Wemby stepped up. The unanimous DPOY put his arm around his shoulder and even said a few words in Bryant’s ear while patting his chest.

Victor Wembanyama couldn’t lead the Spurs to their second straight win

Just two days earlier, the Thunder were held to 82 points in Game 4. But tonight, OKC had little to no problem and 82 points before the third quarter was 3 1/2 minutes old. The offensive engine that was missing found itself as SGA scored 32 points, Alex Caruso from the bench dropped 22, and Jared McCain scored 20 in his first playoff start.

OKC eventually pulled away in the 127-114 win. Even though the Spurs had three players score 20 or more, they missed 29 of their 41 3-pointers.

It was Stephon Castle who led with a team-high 24 points for San Antonio, and Julian Champagnie scored his playoff high for the season with 22 points. Victor Wembanyama was disappointing with his 20 points as he was held to 4-of-15 shooting and went scoreless from beyond the arc. Even the Spurs’ head coach put his team on notice after the game.

“It just felt like it was a little bit of everything in terms of we did not put ourselves in a position enough to be successful on each possession,” Mitch Johnson said. “And so, to beat a team of this caliber, in their building, with the stakes, we’ll need to be a lot better to give yourself a chance.” After Game 3, Victor Wembanyama was extra critical of himself, and he will have to do so again after tonight’s loss.