sports
Thunder bench overwhelms Spurs in Game 3 win
Key takeaways
- Down 15-0 to the San Antonio Spurs, not even three minutes into Game 3 of the Western Conference finals Friday night, Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault went to his bench for the first time.
- And everything changed in an instant, a harbinger of what was to come.
- The Thunder got 50 points from their reserves in Game 1, then 57 in Game 2 -- and on Friday, the bench mob struck again, scoring 76 points and keying Oklahoma City's 123-108 win over San Antonio for a 2-1 series lead.
Why this matters: a sports story that could shift standings, legacies, or fan conversations.
Down 15-0 to the San Antonio Spurs, not even three minutes into Game 3 of the Western Conference finals Friday night, Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault went to his bench for the first time.
And everything changed in an instant, a harbinger of what was to come.
The Oklahoma City bench keeps getting better in these Western Conference finals -- and, with all respect to MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the backups are the reason the Thunder are two wins from a return to the NBA Finals.
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