Referees botched so many calls that went against the Spurs in Game 5

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Referees botched so many calls that went against the Spurs in Game 5

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Renzo Pocholo Salao | Last updated May 27, 2026 12:41 AM ET

The San Antonio Spurs had plenty of legitimate gripes with the officiating on Tuesday during Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.

The Spurs came into the Oklahoma City Thunder’s house looking to steal a victory. But there seemed to be a lot of home cooking going on at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla.

While referees miss a few calls every game, there seemed to be several blatant errors or non-calls that went against the Spurs. One first-half example was rookie Dylan Harper getting caught by an elbow from Jared McCain, but the former was the one who got whistled for a foul.

OKC's whistle is disgusting.

McCain elbows Dylan Harper in the throat, then flops to the floor.

Foul on Harper. pic.twitter.com/jb5BpBzXTz
— House of Lowlights (@HouseLowlights) May 27, 2026

San Antonio was also robbed of two points after Cason Wallace got away with a clear goaltend in the final minute of the third quarter.

Not a goaltend???pic.twitter.com/F9CEBSinoq
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) May 27, 2026

On the Spurs’ next possession, Victor Wembanyama dribbled the ball off Chet Holmgren’s foot. Referees deemed it Thunder ball.

Ball clearly off of Chet Holmgren’s foot.

Mitch Johnson attempts to challenge directly in front of the official.

Refs do not give us the challenge.

This sport is rigged. #AdamSilverBasketball pic.twitter.com/VgXqgcETDN
— hymn duncan (@hymnduncan) May 27, 2026

San Antonio wanted to get a challenge in to reverse the ruling, but the referees did not grant head coach Mitch Johnson’s call for a review. Johnson, who had his call for a review ignored right in front of one official, was assessed a technical foul for complaining.

Mitch Johnson tried challenging a call and the refs ignored him. When he complained Tony Brothers gave him a technical foul pic.twitter.com/W6uaPPdCFG
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) May 27, 2026

Less than a minute of game time later, the Spurs got hosed on another out-of-bounds call that the NBC crew felt should have gone San Antonio’s way.

Tony Brothers calls it a jump ball after Hartenstein bats it out.

All 3 commentators say it was last touched by the Thunder pic.twitter.com/G8o0lKBqoL
— Tsoj (@TsojBall) May 27, 2026

The Spurs lost to the Thunder 127-114 for reasons that went beyond the officiating. Both Wemby and De’Aaron Fox shot 4/15 from the field, while Harper finished with just five points on 1/5 shooting.

But the unfavorable whistle certainly didn’t help San Antonio’s chances.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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