Player grades: Thunder flex depth in 123-108 Game 3 win over Spurs

SAN ANTONIO — Going with the side-dribble, Jared McCain had Victor Wembanyama back-pedaling with the pump-fake. The 22-year-old drove his way to the rim before he bumped into the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year winner and let off a circus floater that banked in. He flexed his muscles in celebration.

The Oklahoma City Thunder somehow, someway picked up a 123-108 Game 3 win over the San Antonio Spurs. The bench propelled them to a 2-1 series lead in the 2026 Western Conference Finals.

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Wow. There are two sides to this coin — for the Thunder, this was an epic, storybook win. Down Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and friends found a way to get a series-altering road win to regain homecourt advantage. If you’re the Spurs, this is a flat-out embarrassment. A bunch of variables went their way and none of them mattered.

To paint how improbable a win this was for the Thunder, let’s go back to the opening minutes. It didn’t take long for the Spurs to feed into their hyped-up home crowd. They scored the first 15 points of the game. Not even four minutes in, things were on the verge of getting ugly for OKC.

Eventually, the Thunder settled in. Isaiah Hartenstein‘s rainbow floater marked OKC’s first points. With Alex Caruso and a few reserves in to shake up the formula, they found a rhythm. He knocked down another outside jumper. Jaylin Williams soon joined him in the fun from beyond the arc.

Just like that, the Thunder calmed things down. They were in a manageable 31-26 deficit after the first quarter. Quite the ground to make up on in a short period of time. Chipping away, the Spurs slowly lost their ground. And the Fiesta-themed San Antonio crowd became quiet.

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After the Thunder went down 15 points from the jump, they went on an extensive 52-30 run to completely change the vibes of this one. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander banked in a floater to give OKC a shocking 52-45 lead with under four minutes left in the first half. As a juxtaposition, four minutes into the game, it felt like we were on our way to a Spurs blowout win.

Having the Spurs scrambling, Caruso tricked Wembanyama into committing a shooting foul — a far cry from their Christmas clash when San Antonio dared him to beat them from the outside. Now, their best defender was closing out hard.

In complete control, the Thunder scored 32 points in the second quarter. They entered halftime with a 58-51 lead over the Spurs. Umm. Wow. Just an unreal turnaround. It’s one thing to lose because Gilgeous-Alexander turned into a scoring machine. But it’s another when OKC’s depth just outplays San Antonio’s — a sacrilege act per Brian Scalabrine.

Keeping their distance on the scoreboard, Gilgeous-Alexander had his best stretch as a one-on-one scorer. If he wasn’t being a field-goal-making machine, he was getting to the free-throw line as both teams went there plenty in a third quarter that took nearly an hour of real time to play out.

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Things got feisty as Stephon Castle was on the receiving end of two hard fouls. Mitchell eventually exited and didn’t return. The Thunder just shrugged their shoulders and took on the challenge headfirst. You lose your playoff breakout guy? That’s cool. McCain and Williams can seamlessly step up.

Despite being short-handed, the Thunder steamrolled through the Spurs’ top-three defense. They tallied 37 points in the third quarter. That put them in a 95-84 advantage through three frames. Running a makeshift second unit, McCain continued to add to his mythos.

In rhythm, McCain knocked down a corner look. The Thunder had a 100-85 lead as the Spurs only needed 90 seconds to call a timeout. He turned into OKC’s impromptu scorer. And did it in a way nobody expected as a slasher through San Antonio’s interior defense. Gilgeous-Alexander eventually rejoined the closing lineup as he helped put the finishing touches on this gutcheck win.

Eventually, the Spurs waved the white flag. It was the first time in this epic playoff series that either side had to do so. The Thunder scored 28 points in the final frame. By the final three minutes, the pink-green-orange color-coded San Antonio crowd slowly drowned into a boring dark grey backdrop as seats emptied.

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The Thunder shot 48% from the field and went 17-of-38 (44.7%) from 3. They shot 28-of-33 on free throws. They had 29 assists on 39 baskets. Six Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 26 points and 12 assists. McCain exploded for 24 points and four rebounds off the bench. Williams also helped in a reserve role with 18 points and five rebounds. Caruso had 15 points and three rebounds. Wallace finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Chet Holmgren had 14 points and three rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Spurs shot 43% from the field and went 13-of-41 (31.7%) from 3. They shot 27-of-33 on free throws. They had 26 assists on 34 baskets. Five Spurs players scored double-digit points.

Wembanyama led the way with 26 points and four rebounds. Devin Vassell had 20 points and seven rebounds. De’Aaron Fox had 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists in his return. Stephon Castle tallied 14 points and seven assists. Julian Champagnie had 10 points and five rebounds.

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And just like that, the Thunder are back in the driver’s seat. Sure, there’s been some casualties with Williams and possibly Mitchell, but OKC has flexed its depth all playoff series like McCain did to Wembanyama when he finished over him for the trick shot. Meanwhile, the Spurs’ top-heaviness is starting to wobble them a bit.

In their two wins, Gilgeous-Alexander has been the engine, but the Thunder have seen a different combination of background characters shine in the spotlight. This time, it was McCain and Williams. Both provided some badly-needed offense for a team lacking a traditional second go-to scorer due to injuries. It’s been a wild formula, but OKC finds itself in a 2-1 series lead after the doomers were out in full force with Williams’ late scratch.

Let’s look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A

Drawing the foul on Vassell after getting by him, the San Antonio crowd was in disbelief and in anger as Gilgeous-Alexander kept baiting the Spurs to get a little too physical with him. Ear-ringing chants of ‘Flopper’ drowned the lower bowl. For the two-time MVP winner, he’s used to the animosity at this point.

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Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 26 points on 6-of-17 shooting, 12 assists and two rebounds. He shot 2-of-4 from 3 and went 12-of-12 on free throws. He also had one block.

Synonymous with their slow start, Gilgeous-Alexander revved up the scoring engine in the second half. He had 17 points to help put the Spurs away. Seldom driving to the rim and not seeing his mid-range jumper fall at its usual clip, the 27-year-old relied on his foul-drawing ability to put up his points.

It might upset the Twitter folks and San Antonio crowd, but Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t mind being unpopular — as long as the Thunder get the playoff win. The Spurs have upped their aggressiveness in stopping the 30-point scoring machine. And that has opened up the floor to the rest of OKC. Feeding the ball to role players has helped them get two straight wins over the Spurs.

The assist numbers show Gilgeous-Alexander making the right read. You’re seeing that innate trust in his teammates pay off with high-scoring games. While he’s yet to have a video-game-esque scoring output this series, you gotta feel great about his process as a lead ball-handler. He’s grown a lot over the years in that department. Now, you’re seeing the fruit of all that work at the biggest stage.

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The Thunder have found a wacky recipe to be halfway there to clinch an NBA Finals trip. It hasn’t been the household names you probably associate the reigning NBA champions with. But Gilgeous-Alexander and the bench guys have stepped up to get these last two wins.

Jared McCain: A-plus

Dribbling past Champagnie, McCain stepped foot in the paint before he daringly pulled up for the mid-range jumper. Even with Wembanyama within arm’s reach, the 22-year-old converted the bucket. Only fitting he’s the one to push the Thunder’s lead beyond double-digit points for good.

McCain finished with 24 points on 10-of-21 shooting, four rebounds and one assist. He shot 2-of-10 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws.

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Wow. Just wow. Everything that’s happened to McCain since he was shockingly traded to the Thunder has led to this point. Not only has he helped them in spurts during their NBA playoff run, but you can now count this as a game he earned a large slice of credit for. In the freaking Western Conference Finals.

Something, something Daryl Morey. Something, something sold high. With Williams and Mitchell out, the Thunder calmly called on another one of their bucket-getters to fill the scoring vacuum. Not afraid of the high-stakes moments, McCain showed how trivial postseason basketball can look. He had 16 points in the second half.

Unlike most of his nights, McCain conducted his scoring within the perimeter. The outside jumper wasn’t there, so he lowered his shoulders and went downhill to get to the rim. Despite Wembanyama’s presence, he wouldn’t let San Antonio scare him away over hypotheticals. Not every role player or young player can say they carry themselves with the same type of moxie.

Anytime it felt like the Spurs could make a comeback, McCain answered on the other end. At one point, the Thunder kept feeding him the ball. And he kept taking shots. There’s value in that. Even if it included his fair share of misses. What an insane five-month journey it’s been for him.

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At the start of the calendar year, McCain logged G League games. Fast-forward to five months later and he’s taking 20-plus shot attempts in a Western Conference Finals game. This is some MyCareer-type stuff going on. And even the 2K developers would think this script would be too cheesy to approve.

Jaylin Williams: A-plus

Moving to the right-wing spot, Williams placed his hands up for the ball. Eventually, it went his way. As Luke Kornet went for the desperate closeout, the 23-year-old swished in the outside jumper at the buzzer. Not just that, but he drew a four-point play to demoralize San Antonio even further.

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Williams finished with 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting, five rebounds and one assist. He shot 5-of-6 from 3 and went 3-of-3 on free throws. He also had two steals.

Continuing the theme of Thunder role players stepping up, we saw Williams stamp his presence in this Western Conference Finals. Last game, it was Isaiah Hartenstein’s moment in the sun. This game, it was OKC’s backup center who helped put this away with an out-of-body experience.

The Spurs’ defensive strategy has been to sell out on Gilgeous-Alexander and live with the results of the rest. It helped them get four of five wins in the regular season. But after two playoff losses, they may need to rethink their strategy. As Williams was a constant catch-and-shoot threat throughout the night.

Williams had 14 points in the first half. Along with the other reserves, he helped the Thunder get out of their quick 15-point hole. The combination of Gilgeous-Alexander and friends was the right lineup to go with. The offense looked smoother and faster. And on defense, things were at an adequate level. Even if it wasn’t the shutdown rim protection we’re used to.

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The Thunder continue to lean on their depth. Especially with injuries piling up. Williams’ spacing helped open up the floor for them. The Spurs were left scrambling as their defense was sliced through. Goes to show you truly don’t know how the NBA playoffs will shape out. The 23-year-old had mostly been sitting outside of the rotation through three rounds.

Alex Caruso: A

Moving over to the right corner, Caruso caught Gilgeous-Alexander’s pass in stride. Leaning right, the 32-year-old swished in the outside jumper despite Champagnie’s late contest. Helping the Thunder get over a growing list of injuries, he’s continued to have an epic series.

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Caruso finished with 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting, three rebounds and one assist. He shot 3-of-5 from 3 and went 4-of-6 on free throws. He also had two steals and one block.

Where would the Thunder be without Caruso? Not up 2-1 in this series, probably. The 32-year-old has shown why his pedestrian regular seasons are well worth the price of admission with his playoff-rising resume. He’s doing it once again as one of OKC’s five most important players through their NBA playoff run. By now, putting up double-digit points has become the standard.

Caruso has rediscovered his outside shooting touch. It’s one of the biggest developments in the Thunder’s playoff run. There was some worry about it after a career-worst year in the regular season. But it’s only taken three games for him to have the Spurs completely rethink their strategy of leaving him open from beyond the arc.

There’s a reason why the Thunder have dominated in his numbers. And why the advanced metrics absolutely love what he brings to the court. Even if his box-score stats look whatever. They wouldn’t be here without his presence on both sides of the floor. On a night where OKC’s bench received a lot of the shine, he’s earned more love for it, too.

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This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder flex depth in 123-108 Game 3 win over Spurs

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