Gilgeous-Alexander, bench propel
Thunder past Spurs 123-108 after historic slow start for 2-1 lead
[May 23, 2026]
By RAUL DOMINGUEZ
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 26 points and 12
assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder climbed out of a 15-point
hole minutes into the game to beat the San Antonio Spurs 123-108 on
Friday night and take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Jared McCain had 24 points and Jaylin Williams added 18 for Oklahoma
City. The Thunder were without Jalen Williams, who sat out with left
hamstring soreness.
Oklahoma City’s bench outscored San Antonio’s 76-23, including 15
points by Alex Caruso.
“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.”
Victor Wembanyama had 24 points for San Antonio. Devin Vassell added
20 and De'Aaron Fox had 15 in his series debut.
The Thunder have won two straight after the Spurs' double-overtime
victory in Game 1. Game 4 is Sunday.
Fox (sprained right ankle) and Dylan Harper (right adductor
soreness) were cleared to play 45 minutes prior to tipoff.
Fox's return sparked a historic start.
The Spurs raced to a 15-0 lead, the longest run to open a game in
the conference finals since the play-by-play era began in 1997.
Fox opened the run by wrapping in a driving layup and Wembanyama
followed by crossing over Isaiah Hartenstein to drill a 3-pointer.
Vassell’s 3-pointer put the Spurs up 10-0, leading to an early
timeout by Thunder coach Mark Daigneault.
“Other than the first 15 points, our defense was really tight,”
Daigneault said. “We got back, settled down into the halfcourt. Our
offense had something to do with that. We ran good offense 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.”
[to top of second column] |
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, left, reacts while
defended by Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren during the
first half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball
playoffs series Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP
Photo/Ashley Landis)
Isaiah Hartenstein broke the drought with a runner
over Wembanyama, but the center was immediately greeted with
thunderous boos after his physical play against the Spurs in Game 2.
The Thunder went on a 13-2 run when Wembanyama went to the bench and
closed the first quarter trailing 31-26.
It was a pattern the Spurs could not overcome.
“It’s my first playoffs,” Wembanyama 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.”
The series continued to be chippy with emotions boiling over early
in the second half. Stephon Castle hit the court on back-to-back
dunk attempts. The second resulted in a flagrant 1 foul against Ajay
Mitchell and technical fouls on Mitchell and Vassell after the two
exchanged words following the foul.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams extended
Oklahoma City's first lead to 35-31.
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