The Thunder defeat the Spurs, 123-108, in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals to take a 2-1 series lead.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs had cut Oklahoma City’s lead from 15 points to nine in the fourth quarter, and Thunder coach Mark Daigneault called timeout.
In the huddle, Daigneault wanted to settle his team and get better offense on the next possession. Jared McCain responded with an 11-foot jumper, and after a Spurs miss, Jaylin Williams completed a four-point play with 5:57 left, pushing the lead back to 15 and pushing the Thunder closer to another playoff road victory.
Oklahoma City finished the job, defeating San Antonio 123-108 in Game 3 on Friday for a 2-1 series lead.
While Game 3 differed from Game 2 just as Game 2 differed from Game 1, themes have emerged: the Thunder’s depth is having an massive impact on the series, MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is excelling with the pass and the Thunder are not flustered by a double-digit deficits.
“Credit them, they were ready to play, and they got us early,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “I just thought we showed great poise and understanding the 48-minute nature of the game.”
Game 4 is Sunday in San Antonio (8 ET, NBC/Peacock).
Here are the takeaways from another Thunder win:
1. The other J. Williams, McCain lead Thunder bench effort
The Thunder’s starters scored just 47 points – zero from Lu Dort, two from Ajay Mitchell. For most teams that would be problematic. Not for the Thunder, whose reserves outscored the Spurs’ reserves 76-23 in Game 3.
McCain, who the Thunder acquired from Philadelphia at the February trade deadline, scored a playoff career-high 24 points, including 16 in the second half – two of which came on a crafty lay-up with the 7-4 Wembanyama trying to block the shot.
Jaylin Williams scored 14 of his playoff career-high 18 points in the first half and added five rebounds. Cason Wallace, who was named to the KIA NBA All-Defensive second team just before the game, had 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals and Alex Caruso delivered 15 points three rebounds, two steals and one block.
Jared McCain (22 points) and Jaylin Williams (18 points) both set playoff career-highs as the Thunder bench propels them to victory.
For the series, the Thunder’s bench has outscored the Spurs’ bench 183-64.
“We just try to look at things through the lens of our own strengths,” Daigneault said. “We’re not looking at anything relative to the opponent. The last thing you want to do is assume that an opponent has a weakness that they don’t have. We assume the opponent’s always at their best, and we need to be ours and depth is a part of that. But it’s not relative to San Antonio. It just needs to be one of our strengths that we rely on regardless of circumstance.”
The Thunder’s reserves also steadied a game in which the Spurs jumped to a 15-0 lead.
“We go out there and just play our brand of basketball no matter who’s out there,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
2. Gilgeous-Alexander excels despite not shooting great
MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t score in the first quarter. However, he began impacting the game with his passing and finished with 26 points on 6-for-17 shooting and 12 assists. He also was 12-for-12 on free throws.
The Spurs have tried to force the basketball out of Gilgeous-Alexander’s hands.
“They’re into the ball, they’re aggressive, they pressure,” he said. “They’re heavy in the gaps, especially when I have it. And at times they send double teams – and recklessly. Before halfcourt, after halfcourt, they just send them randomly. Every time I come down, there’s a play for me to make, whether it’s for myself or my teammates, and I just try to do so to the best of my ability.”
He has 33 assists and seven turnovers in the series.
“What’s working for him or what’s not working, he’s just moving the team,” Jaylin Williams said. “A lot of guys in that situation do everything they can get points and get shots off, but he’s doing the right thing.”
3. Injuries still weighing on series
Jalen Williams reinjured his left hamstring in the second quarter of Game 2, and the Thunder ruled him out for Game 3. Williams also missed the final two games against the Phoenix Suns in the first round and missed all four games against the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference semifinals with hamstring strain. The Thunder offset his absence with that depth.
De’Aaron Fox returned to the Spurs’ starting lineup after sustaining a sprained right ankle against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He had 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and while he had four turnovers, his presence helped the Spurs cut back on turnovers after they had 44 turnovers in the first two games. They had just 15 in Game 3.
There were times when Fox favored his right ankle, including one time when he left the game because he was in pain. San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson has indicated Fox will be a game-time decision for the remainder of the playoffs.
Spurs reserve Dylan Harper (right adductor soreness) also played after sustaining an injury in the third quarter of Game 2. He had six points.
4. Thunder finding ways to limit Wembanyama
Daigneault and Thunder players have expressed multiple times how difficult it is to defend Wembanyama. Oklahoma City has managed to reduce his impact game by game since that historic 41-point, 24-rebound performance in Game 1.
Wembanyama had 26 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the field and 8-for-10 on free throws but for the second consecutive game he had just 10 points in the paint after scoring 26 paint points in Game 1. He also had just four rebounds and no offensive boards.
The Thunder used various defenders on Wembanyama, including 7-foot, 268-pound Isaiah Hartenstein and the 6-foot-10, 241-pound Jaylin Williams.
“I know I’m not going to play as many minutes as he is, so the minutes I’m out there, I’m trying to make his job as tough as I can make it,” Williams said. “It’s fun to be out there doing the physicality (and) those types of things.”
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Jeff Zillgitt has covered the NBA since 2008. You can email him at jzillgitt@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
