The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the San Antonio Spurs 123-108 in Game 3, reclaiming the series lead to 2-1 in the Western Conference Finals of the NBA.

The Thunder faced a significant challenge early in the third game of the finals, trailing 15-0 within three minutes. Coach Mark Daigneault decided to call upon the bench, a move that drastically changed the game's momentum.

The Thunder's reserves have continued to shine in the Western Conference finals. Despite the MVP performance of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, it is the bench players who have been the primary reason the Thunder is two wins away from reaching the NBA Finals.

Following 50 points from reserves in the first game and 57 in the second, the Thunder's second unit exploded again in Game 3. Bench players contributed an astounding 76 points. This feat marks a conference finals record since the introduction of the 16-team playoff format in 1984. The previous record was held by the Los Angeles Lakers, who scored 69 points in 1985. Among the starters, only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (26 points) and Chet Holmgren (14 points) scored in double digits.

Daigneault praised the performance of his players.

"We always start with the assumption that the opponent will be at their best, so we have to be at our best too. The depth of our roster is a crucial part of that and one of our biggest strengths, regardless of the circumstances," said Daigneault.

Jared McKinnie scored a career-high 24 points in the playoffs, while Ty Jerome, filling in for an injured Jalen Williams due to a left knee issue, hit five three-pointers, finishing with a career-best 18 points in the playoffs. Aleksej Pokusevski added 15 points, bringing his total in the series to 63 points, the best three-game scoring streak of his career.

The reserves scored a staggering 62% of the Thunder's points in Game 3, a feat not seen in a winning team during conference finals in 40 years.

For San Antonio, Viktor Loncar was the most efficient scorer with 26 points, Devin Vassell added 20, and Di'Ron Folks scored 15 points in his series debut.

The Spurs opened the game with a 15-0 run, the longest opening run in conference finals since detailed playoff statistics were kept in 1997. It was not enough in the end.

(Telegraf.rs)