The Oklahoma City Thunder opened Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals on the road in the worst possible way, falling behind the San Antonio Spurs, 15-0, before most of the crowd could even settle in.

Then their bench took over.

Oklahoma City stormed back from the early deficit for a 123-111 win to take a 2-1 series lead, and the biggest difference came from a bench that once again looked like the best in the league. Four Thunder reserves scored in double figures, giving Shai Gilgeous-Alexander exactly the kind of support that has made the reigning champions so difficult to keep up with all season.

Among Oklahoma City’s starters, only Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren scored in double figures. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 26 points and 12 assists, while Holmgren added 14 points. That would normally leave a team vulnerable in a conference finals game, especially against a Spurs team built around length, physicality, and the growing brilliance of Victor Wembanyama.

Instead, Oklahoma City found answers from their second unit.

Jared McCain led their bench with a playoff career-high 24 points on 10-of-21 shooting in 26 minutes. The 22-year-old guard, acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers in what now looks like an extremely lopsided trade in Oklahoma City’s favor, has given the Thunder another source of shot creation off the bench. For a player only in his second season after being drafted 16th overall in 2024 by the Sixers, his poise in this kind of setting continues to stand out.

Jaylin Williams added a playoff career-high 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including five three-pointers, while Alex Caruso chipped in 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting with three threes, two steals, and a block. Cason Wallace also provided 11 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals in 28 minutes. It seemed like every time San Antonio tried to mount a rally, one of Oklahoma City’s reserves was there to hit a timely shot or force a key stop.

That began early. Caruso checked in at the 8:57 mark of the first quarter with the Spurs already rolling. San Antonio still led, 19-4, when McCain, Wallace, and Williams entered with 7:01 left in the period. Oklahoma City’s lineup of those four reserves with Gilgeous-Alexander immediately stabilized the game. Wallace and Caruso hit back-to-back threes to spark the comeback, and by the 10:56 mark of the second quarter, the Thunder had pulled ahead, 32-31, on a Gilgeous-Alexander three to cap a 32-16 run.

The teams went back-and-forth for a few minutes, but after a 45-all tie, Caruso gave Oklahoma City the lead with two free throws. The Thunder never gave it back. They led by double digits for most of the second half and by as much as 18 in the fourth quarter, repeatedly keeping San Antonio at arm’s length.

Caruso’s shooting in this series has been particularly absurd. Through three games in the West finals, he has scored 31 points with eight threes, 17 points with three threes, and now 15 points with three more. That kind of perimeter production from a defensive specialist only deepens Oklahoma City’s already overwhelming attack.

The Spurs should not be dismissed though. They have too much talent and have already shown too much character in this postseason to bow out quietly. 

The Thunder still need two more wins to return to the NBA Finals, yet when their reserves can swing a conference finals game this decisively, it becomes easier to see why a second straight championship feels very much within reach.