Overview
- NBC color commentator Reggie Miller informed Mike Tirico on air during the Game 5 broadcast that Tirico had won the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality — Play-by-Play.
- This is Tirico’s first Sports Emmy in the play-by-play category after earlier Emmy wins for studio hosting.
- The announcement came while the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 127-114 in Game 5 to take a 3-2 Western Conference Finals lead.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander overcame a poor start with early turnovers and missed shots to steady the Thunder, and veteran Alex Caruso said the team must produce beyond one star to close the series.
- The live award moment amplified cross-promotion for NBC and shifts attention to a potential Game 6 in San Antonio where the Spurs can force a Game 7 or the Thunder can advance to face the rested New York Knicks in the Finals.