Thunder beat – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered 26 points and 12 assists as Oklahoma City Thunder climbed out of an early 15-point hole to beat the San Antonio Spurs 123-108 in Game 3, taking a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.
SAN ANTONIO — The Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t just fall behind in Friday night’s Game 3. They dug a hole they could feel, conceding the kind of start that turns a series on its head before the first quarter is even fully formed.
San Antonio opened with a 15-0 run, the longest streak to start a conference finals game since the play-by-play era began in 1997. Devin Vassell sparked it with a three-pointer that pushed the Spurs to 10-0 and forced an early timeout from Thunder coach Mark Daigneault.
For a while, it looked like the building was writing the ending itself. Victor Wembanyama made it worse with a sequence that included crossing Isaiah Hartenstein before drilling a three-pointer. while Fox started the charge with a driving layup. Even when Isaiah Hartenstein ended the drought with a runner over Wembanyama. the moment came with thunderous boos after his physical play against the Spurs in Game 2.
Then Oklahoma City began to work its way back—quietly at first, then with sudden momentum. After trailing 31-26 at the end of the first quarter, the Thunder erased the deficit with a 13-2 run that arrived when Wembanyama went to the bench.
In the end, Oklahoma City won 123-108 and took a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals. Gilgeous-Alexander led the charge with 26 points and 12 assists. and the Thunder climbed out of that 15-point hole within minutes of the game getting away from them. Jared McCain added 24 points and Jaylin Williams contributed 18.
A big part of the turnaround came from the bench. Oklahoma City outscored San Antonio 76-23, with Alex Caruso adding 15 points.
Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t sugarcoat the early deficit, admitting the Thunder “didn’t give our best effort to start that game.” But he pointed to what mattered most after the damage was done—staying locked into the next possession.
“We just went out there and competed,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They obviously jumped on us early. First game in their building, their crowd behind them, they were excited to play. We just wanted to make sure we competed from that point on. We obviously didn’t give our best effort to start that game, but can’t do nothing about it. It’s behind us. All we can do is focus on the next possession, and we did that.”.
San Antonio couldn’t match the Thunder’s response. Wembanyama finished with 24 points. Vassell scored 20 and De’Aaron Fox added 15 in his series debut, returning after a sprained right ankle. Fox’s return also mattered beyond the stat sheet—it sparked the Spurs’ historic first burst.
Oklahoma City entered the game without Jalen Williams, who sat out with left hamstring soreness. Still, the Thunder made the Spurs pay for a start that looked like it might become a runaway.
Daigneault framed the shift in discipline more than emotion. “Other than the first 15 points, our defence was really tight,” he said. “We got back, settled down into the half court. Our offence had something to do with that. We ran good offence tonight, despite the fact that they were amped up and ready to go, the Spurs were. It’s a discipline series. We did that. We couldn’t be reckless against them, they are too good with the ball, too well coached, too talented. So you’ve got to be able to do it with discipline. I thought we really were disciplined tonight.”.
The physical edge never vanished. The second half turned chippy early, with emotions boiling over after contact. Stephon Castle hit the court on back-to-back dunk attempts. and the second dunk attempt led to a flagrant 1 foul against Ajay Mitchell. Technical fouls followed on Mitchell and Vassell after the two exchanged words following the foul.
Even so, Oklahoma City continued to push ahead. Back-to-back three-pointers by Gilgeous-Alexander and Jaylin Williams extended Oklahoma City’s first lead to 35-31.
Wembanyama, speaking as a first-time playoff participant, acknowledged the turbulence as part of the process. “It’s my first playoffs,” he said. “It’s the first playoffs for many of us. Of course, there was going to be hard trials. It’s to be expected, but now we’re going to see what we’re made of.”
Fox was cleared to play 45 minutes before tipoff after his sprained right ankle. Dylan Harper, dealing with right adductor soreness, was also cleared to play 45 minutes. Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams remained out.
With Oklahoma City winning two straight after San Antonio’s double-overtime victory in Game 1, Game 4 is set for Sunday with the series now tilted heavily toward the Thunder’s next step—one game away from turning a comeback into control.
Oklahoma City Thunder San Antonio Spurs Game 3 Western Conference finals Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Jaylin Williams Jared McCain Alex Caruso Victor Wembanyama Devin Vassell De'Aaron Fox Mark Daigneault Jalen Williams Isaiah Hartenstein