Oklahoma City Thunder 123 win

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points and added 12 assists as Oklahoma City beat San Antonio 123-108 on Friday at Frost Bank Center, giving the Thunder a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals. Jared McCain scored 24 points off the bench and Jaylin Williams added 18 as Oklahoma City recovered after falling behind 15-0 in the opening 2:37. Victor Wembanyama scored 24 points for San Antonio, while Devin Vassell added 20 and De'Aaron Fox had 15 in his first game of the series. The NBA's series page lists Game 4 for Sunday, May 24, at 8 p.m. ET. ### How did Oklahoma City recover after San Antonio's 15-0 start? San Antonio opened the game with a 15-0 run, the longest run to start a conference finals game since the play-by-play era began in 1997, according to the Associated Press game recap published by NBA.com. Fox, cleared to play before tipoff after a sprained right ankle, scored during that burst, and Wembanyama added a 3-pointer as the Spurs took control early. (nba.com) Gilgeous-Alexander said Oklahoma City stayed with the game after the early deficit. "We just went out there and competed," he said, according to the AP recap. "They obviously jumped on us early. First game in their building, their crowd behind them, they were excited to play." ### Which numbers decided Game 3? Oklahoma City's bench outscored San Antonio's reserves 76-23, a differential that NBA.com said set a franchise playoff record for bench points in a conference finals win. (nba.com) McCain's 24 points and Jaylin Williams' 18 were both playoff career highs, and Alex Caruso added 15 points off the bench. NBA.com said the Thunder's second unit now holds a plus-119 scoring differential through three games in the series. Cason Wallace also scored 11 points, giving Oklahoma City four reserves in double figures in Game 3. ### Who was available, and who was not? Jalen Williams did not play because of left hamstring soreness, leaving Oklahoma City without one of its regular starters for Game 3, the AP recap said. (nba.com) Even without him, the Thunder got enough scoring depth to offset San Antonio's starters. De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper were both cleared to play 45 minutes before tipoff for San Antonio, according to the AP recap. (nba.com) Fox finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists in his Western Conference finals debut after missing the first two games. ### What did the result do to the series? The victory gave Oklahoma City a 2-1 edge after San Antonio won Game 1 in double overtime and the Thunder took Game 2. (nba.com) The NBA's playoff page shows Oklahoma City leading the best-of-seven series, with results of 122-115 for San Antonio in Game 1, 122-113 for Oklahoma City in Game 2 and 123-108 for Oklahoma City in Game 3. NBA.com's live recap said the team that wins Game 3 of a best-of-seven series tied 1-1 has gone on to win the series 73.2% of the time. (nba.com) That figure was presented by NBA.com in its running game coverage. ### When do the teams play next? Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday, May 24, at 8 p.m. ET, according to the NBA's Western Conference finals schedule page. (nba.com) The same page lists Game 5 for Tuesday, May 26, Game 6, if necessary, for Thursday, May 28, and Game 7, if necessary, for Saturday, May 30. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama remain the listed series leaders entering Game 4, with the NBA page showing Gilgeous-Alexander averaging 26.7 points and 11.0 assists, and Wembanyama averaging 29.3 points and 15.0 rebounds through three games. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2)