The Oklahoma City Thunder have moved one step closer to reaching the 2026 NBA Finals, beating the San Antonio Spurs 123-108 in Game 3 of their series to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder secured a win on the road tonight and will be looking to take a 3-1 lead by the time Game 4 is over at San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center.
The Spurs had De’Aaron Fox return to the lineup for the first time this series, while Dylan Harper also participated despite suffering an adductor injury in Game 2. The Thunder were without Jalen Williams and would lose Ajay Mitchell during the clash, but it wasn’t a problem.
The Thunder were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 26 points, two rebounds, 12 assists, and one block, while the Spurs were led by Victor Wembanyama’s 26 points, four rebounds, three assists, one steal, and two blocks.
Let’s analyze the five reasons why the Thunder have taken control of the driver’s seat in this series.
1. OKC’s Strong Team Effort Despite Losing Key Contributors
The Thunder won this game because of their rotation, not because of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Shai looked phenomenal while leading the team in the fourth quarter, but the Thunder had built their lead by way of team-wide production rather than letting Gilgeous-Alexander lead them individually.
The Thunder were without Jalen Williams and ruled out Ajay Mithcell after 17 minutes of action due to an injury as well. Mitchell has been OKC’s de facto No. 2 option without Williams for most of the postseason, and now both players might be ruled out going forward.
Instead of shutting down in the absence of two major offensive contributors, the Thunder did everything as a team to earn this win. Out of their nine-man rotation, six players scored in double digits while they also won the rebounding battle (41-37), generated more points off turnovers (20-16), and had more second-chance points (22-17).
In light of Williams and Mitchell’s absence, many would have expected Gilgeous-Alexander to go nuclear to earn this win, but the Thunder’s entire rotation stepped up to make this a simple affair after falling down 15-0 to start the game.
2. Stephon Castle Couldn’t Make An Offensive Impact
Spurs guard Stephon Castle didn’t have the offensive juice he brought to their lineup in Games 1 and 2. He was a -17 on the night and scored just 14 points on 1-8 shooting from the field. While he contributed offensively by going 11-14 from the line, Castle’s jump shots weren’t intimidating anyone tonight.
Fox’s return to the team allowed Castle to not add to his historic 20 turnovers through the first two games, but it clearly unsettled Castle’s offensive rhythm as he was a bit-part contributor on the night. Given that Fox and Dylan Harper are dealing with injuries, the Spurs can’t afford to miss out on Castle being a productive 20-point guard.
The Thunder have the defensive structure to make sure the Spurs can’t have success if Wembanyama doesn’t have a co-star to rely on. Castle was that man in Games 1 and 2, with his absence in that role tonight playing a huge role.
3. Spurs’ Bench Is Not On OKC’s Level
This was going to be about Jared McCain’s 24-point night off the bench, but almost all parts of the Thunder bench worked better than San Antonio in Game 3.
McCain was joined by Jaylin Williams (18 PTS), Alex Caruso (15 PTS), and Cason Wallace (11 PTS) off the bench, with this four-man unit contributing 68 points in the win as Caruso and McCain ended the night with a game-high +28.
The Spurs bench, on the other hand, generated 18 points (not including five points in garbage time from Kelly Olynyk and Mason Plumlee). Dylan Harper has been San Antonio’s biggest bench asset, but the injured rookie guard managed just six points in 17 minutes of action.
McCain isn’t the only one who deserves special credit, as the Thunder’s entire bench unit made sure they completely outplayed the Spurs, especially in the non-Wembanyama minutes.
4. Spurs Have A Lot To Figure Out Outside Wembanyama
Wembanyama showed he is a genuine NBA superstar with another strong performance in Game 3, ending the night as a +4 in a 15-point loss. The plus/minus is also skewed because of Wembanyama’s presence in the fourth quarter, with Wembanyama being a +15 in just 5 minutes out of the game at an earlier point in the game.
Wembanyama’s ability to be a game-changing difference-maker just by being on the court is incredible and is one of the main reasons San Antonio has come so far. However, the franchise needs to figure out what needs to be done to boost the team’s production outside of Wemby.
De’Aaron Fox was a +9 in his return game, but didn’t look 100% healthy and might have gotten reinjured due to a rough Lu Dort play. Castle and Harper are in their second and rookie seasons, respectively, so it’s unfair to expect strong game-to-game consistency from them, especially against a defense like the Thunder.
These might be growing pains for a young contender, but them happening in a Conference Finals Game 3 is unfortunate for the Spurs and for Wembanyama.
5. Three-Point Efficiency Was The Biggest Difference
One of the key on-court battles that the Spurs lost was three-point shooting. These numbers alone explain why the Spurs’ 15-0 lead from the start of the game vanished so quickly, as the Thunder’s shooters were connecting with great accuracy.
The Thunder went 17-38 (44.7 3P%) from outside while the Spurs went 13-41 (31.7 3P%) from outside. That accounts for 12 of the 15 points that helped OKC build its lead. All the other reasons play a huge role, but if the Spurs just enjoyed a slightly more efficient night from three, they’d be heading into a home Game 4 with the chance to take a 3-1 series lead. Instead, they have to do everything they can to avoid falling to a 3-1 series lead with OKC hosting Game 5.
