Down 15-0 out of the gate, the Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t panic but rather unleashed a 76-POINT BENCH AVALANCHE; Yankee Scores reports…
The Oklahoma City Thunder had a slow start in game 3, trailing the San Antonio Spurs 15-0 after three minutes and 19-4 after five minutes at the Frost Bank Center crowd.
Thunder Bench
The quartet of Alex Caruso, Jaylin Williams, Jared McCain, and Cason Wallace came from the bench and secured a 123-108 win for the OKC Thunder. Thunder now leads the series 2-1, with Game 4 taking place on Sunday.
No doubt the Thunder bench made the absolute difference for the Thunder in Game 3. In theory, Spurs should have been able to approach the Thunder in depth with NBA Sixth Man of the Year Keldon Johnson and rookie phenom Dylan Harper leading the second unit this time.
Turning defense to dunks 💪
Your @OGandE Power Play of the Game 🎥 pic.twitter.com/sZ7I5pgPUV
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) May 23, 2026
The Bench Disparity
And yet, here it shows how the bench rescued Thunder:
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Thunder starters: 47 points
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Thunder bench: 76 points
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Spurs starters: 85 points
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Spurs bench: 23 points
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points on 6-of-17 shooting and notched 12 assists, but the bench players were phenomenal for a team without Jalen Williams. The MVP would always pull his weight, but what has really set it apart from the competition all season is its incredible depth, with a litany of lineup options that can produce magic moments.
Credit: Thunder It was not a night where Ajay Mitchell, Lu Dort, or Isaiah Joe made the biggest names for themselves. But it did not matter because OKC immediately figured things out and had complete control of the game from there on out.
This type of play comes from a strong culture and confidence and is exemplified in situations such as Jared McCain’s ability to take Victor Wembanyama one-on-one in the paint.
San Antonio wore down rapidly after their initial charge, and even Wembanyama couldn’t help much more than that. He played 86 minutes over games one and two—the most of any two-game stretch in his entire career—plus another 39 minutes on Friday.
While he was on the court, he enabled San Antonio to establish a lead of four points; however, the Thunder managed to outscore them by 19 over the following nine minutes. The Defensive Player of the Year ended up with 26 points, including 8-of-15 shooting accuracy, along with four rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.
A Historic Collapse
According to ESPN, the Spurs became just the second NBA side in the last 20 years to go into a playoff game with a 15-0 run and still end up losing.
They follow suit behind the 2016-17 Washington Wizards who had an impressive 16-0 lead against the Boston Celtics at some point.
