The Oklahoma City Thunder turned a nightmare start into a statement win away from home.
After withstanding a 15-0 Spurs run to open Game 3, Oklahoma City clawed back to take its first lead early in the second quarter. After a layup by Jared McCain tied it at 45-45 with just over five minutes left in the half, the defending champs never trailed again and grabbed a 2-1 series lead.
Here are some of the more eye-opening numbers from the Thunder's win Friday.
Minus-37: Luke Kornet's minus-37 plus-minus in the series through three games suggests the Spurs are bleeding points when Victor Wembanyama sits. That's the worst cumulative plus-minus in the conference finals so far, with teammate Keldon Johnson (minus-34) a close second.
4: Wembanyama's four rebounds are tied for the fewest he's grabbed all year. The Spurs star finished with four rebounds in Game 2 of the first-round series versus the Portland Trail Blazers, when he played just 12 minutes before suffering a concussion. He also had four boards in Game 4 of the second-round clash with the Minnesota Timberwolves before getting ejected in the second quarter for elbowing Naz Reid.
7-0: No one can realistically deny Jalen Williams' importance to Mark Daigneault's squad but the Thunder have been perfect in seven games without the 25-year-old this postseason.
16-0: The only team to start a playoff game better than the Spurs did Friday and still lose was the 2017 Washington Wizards. They put up 16 unanswered on the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the 2017 Eastern Conference semifinals and lost 123-111. The Wizards lost the series in seven games.
22: Oklahoma City only grabbed seven offensive rebounds Friday but somehow put up 22 second-chance points. For comparison, the Spurs had 17 second-chance points with nine offensive boards.
24: Jared McCain's 24 points were a new playoff high, shooting 10-of-21 from the floor but only 2-of-10 from deep. His 21 field-goal attempts are the most he's had in any game since going 12-of-26 as a rookie with the Philadelphia 76ers in a November 2024 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
76: The Thunder's 76 combined bench points are the most recorded in any conference finals or Finals game since the NBA began tracking starting players in 1971.
