The Oklahoma City Thunder are one win away from their second straight NBA Finals after beating the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night – but fans are convinced that the playoffs have been ‘rigged’ for them.
In a crucial Game 5 at their Paycom Center home, Oklahoma City moved 3-2 ahead in the Western Conference Finals following a tremendous display from MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who put up 37 points in a 127-114 victory for the hosts.
Though despite the win, a number of NBA fans believe the Thunder benefited from a highly controversial decision on the night, while the reigning champions were also accused of ‘flopping’ on two separate occasions.
During the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s game, Luke Kornet jumped to make a layup before Cason Wallace knocked the ball away as it touched the rim on its way down.
Wallace’s intervention appeared to be a breach of the ‘goaltend’ rule, which prevents defenders from illegally interfering with a shot. Yet much to the dismay of social media, the officials failed to penalize Oklahoma City by awarding San Antonio points.
One fan shared a clip of the moment on X and concluded: ‘The refs cheating for the Thunder’.
‘Game is completely rigged,’ another user fumed.
A third asked sarcastically: ‘so Cason Wallace can just take the ball out of the basket okay’.
A fourth put: ‘This game was scripted like Monday Night Raw’.
While another went as far as to say: ‘Turned off the game. Literally unwatchable’.
As they have done throughout the campaign, Thunder stars were also accused of exaggerating contact in order to win personal fouls during Game 5.
Before halftime Jared McCain drew the ire of supporters online when he appeared to elbow Dylan Harper in the throat, before flopping to the floor when the Spurs player chased him down and made slight contact.
Gilgeous-Alexander was also accused of going to ground too easily after being touched on the back by Julian Champagnie.
