Thunder bench makes NBA history in Game 3 vs. Spurs

There was some consternation for the Oklahoma City Thunder heading into Game 3 of their Western Conference Finals clash against the San Antonio Spurs. Jalen Williams was set to miss that all-important clash due to a hamstring injury, which has been a continuation of all the problems he’s suffered through this season. And to start things off, the Thunder were sputtering and the Spurs took advantage, going on a 15-0 run to begin Game 3.

The game changed when head coach Mark Daigneault decided that he’d already had enough of his starters and brought in the likes of Jared McCain, Jaylin Williams, and Cason Wallace at the 7:01 mark of the first quarter, with Alex Caruso already being on the floor earlier as the sixth man.

OKC was down 19-4 at the time; they then went on a 22-12 run to cut the Spurs’ lead to five at the end of one, and this momentum continued in the second as they built a comfortable enough lead, keeping the Spurs at bay for the entirety of the second half as they took Game 3, 123-108.

Suffice to say, the Thunder bench changed the game yet again. And in so doing, they made history; according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, OKC’s 76 total bench points are the most any team has scored in a Conference Finals or Finals game since tracking began in 1971.

McCain led the bench in scoring with 24 points, and he’s never been shy to shoot the ball. He continues to be quite the trade pickup for the Thunder.

But perhaps the more surprising performance came from Williams; he was lights out from beyond the arc, scoring 18 points on 5-6 shooting from deep. Wallace and Caruso just provide so much more on both ends than Lu Dort right now, while Ajay Mitchell has been out of form all series long, perhaps due to injury.

The Thunder have a significant depth advantage over this upstart Spurs team, and this has proven to be the difference through the first three games of the 2026 Western Conference Finals.

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