The Oklahoma City Thunder dominated Game 3 of the tournament NBA Western Conference Finals, despite the San Antonio Spurs taking an early lead.
The Spurs scored the first 15 points of the game, the longest scoring streak to start a Conference Finals game since play-by-play tracking began in the 1997-98 season.
But Oklahoma City responded by silencing the crowd and winning 123-108 to take a 2-1 series lead.
“Down by 15 at any given time, alarms go off,” Thunder guard Alex Caruso said. “You have to make a play now, you don’t have time to wait.”
The defending champions turned to the bench for inspiration and quickly turned the momentum in their favour. Oklahoma City’s reserves dominated, outscoring San Antonio’s bench 76-23, the highest bench score total in a Conference Finals or NBA Finals game since starters were first officially tracked in 1971.
Backup guard Jared McCain led the way by scoring 24 points in just 27 minutes. Reserve forward Jaylen Williams added 18 points and hit five of his six attempts from three-point range, while Caruso contributed 15 points and guard Kason Wallace added 11 points.
McCain gets praise from Gilgeous-Alexander
The Thunder were once again without star winger Jalen Williams due to left hamstring soreness, but their depth continued to make a difference.
“We’re going to throw another punch,” McCain said. “We will come back.”
“You have a group of players that are ready to do whatever the team needs,” Jaylen Williams added. “You built us as a team. You built us as players to be ready for this moment and to be ready when your name is called.”
McCain, who was acquired from Philadelphia at the trade deadline despite having no prior playoff experience, impressed with his gritty offensive play. Although he shot just 2-of-10 from three-point range, he scored 16 points in the paint and frequently attacked San Antonio’s defense off the dribble.
“He radiates confidence,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said of McCain. “He knows exactly who he is. He knows exactly what he’s doing, and he goes out there and does it no matter what.”
Wembanyama finished with 26 points for the Spurs but was limited to 8 of 15 shots as Oklahoma City’s physical defense gradually took control of the game.
