OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder reserves delivered 76 points Friday night, the highest bench total in a conference-finals game since the NBA expanded to a 16-team postseason in 1984, guiding a 123-108 Game 3 win over the San Antonio Spurs and a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Head coach Mark Daigneault turned to his backups less than three minutes in after San Antonio opened with a 15-0 burst, the longest run to begin a conference-finals matchup since detailed play-by-play tracking began in 1997. The group reversed momentum immediately and never relinquished control.
Guard Jared McCain, acquired at midseason, paced the second unit with a playoff-career-high 24 points. Forward Jaylin Williams, starting in place of the injured Jalen Williams (left hamstring), hit five three-pointers and finished with 18. Veteran guard Alex Caruso added 15, giving him 63 points across the first three games, the best three-game stretch of his career.
“We assume the opponent’s always at their best and we need to be at ours, and depth is part of that,” Daigneault said. Bench production accounted for 62 percent of Oklahoma City’s scoring, a share no winning team had reached in a conference-finals contest over the past four decades.
MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Thunder starters with 26 points, while rookie center Chet Holmgren scored 14. Only two Oklahoma City starters reached double figures.
San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama posted 24 points, Devin Vassell 20, and De’Aaron Fox 15 in his series debut. After the Spurs’ early surge, the Thunder responded with a 13-2 run while Wembanyama rested, trimming the deficit to 31-26 by quarter’s end. Physical play escalated in the third period, highlighted by a flagrant-1 foul on Ajay Mitchell following contact on Stephon Castle.
Back-to-back threes from Gilgeous-Alexander and Jaylin Williams produced Oklahoma City’s first lead at 35-31, and the hosts never trailed again. The Thunder have now won two straight after San Antonio’s double-overtime triumph in Game 1. Game 4 is set for Sunday in Oklahoma City.
Source: ESPN
