Thunder Benchslap the Spurs: The Day After Report

PHOTOS⚡THUNDER | NBA Play-by-Play | CourtSketch Box Score

Thunder def. Spurs, 123-108

Postgame Bolts

• OKC were down 15-0 to start the 1st quarter. No JDub. Enter JWill, Alex Caruso and Jared McCain.
• This sequence early in the 2nd quarter flipped the entire complexion of the game:
• This sequence early in the 2nd quarter flipped the entire complexion of the game: Chet 3. SGA 3. JWill 3.3. 11-0 Thunder run.
• Somehow someway, OKC took their first lead after going down 15-0.
• Jared McCain has no idea he’s the smallest guy on the court and Wemby is an 8 footer. And nobody should tell him.
• Jaylin Williams had 14 points on 4-5 3 point shooting at halftime. Massive JWill minutes.
• Stephon Castle took exception to a couple back to back fouls from Alex Caruso and Ajay Mitchell.
• Amazingly, even the majority of Twitter, world capitol of OKC loathing, agreed they were common playoff fouls.
• Shocked the one on Mitchell was called a flagrant foul.
• And somehow after Devin Vassell initiated a dust up, he and Mitchell got offsetting techs.
• Are we going to get viral slo mo tweets, full podcast segments and written think pieces of Fox pushing Chet in the back?
• Free throw battle at one point in the 3rd quarter:
• Spurs: 22 free throw attempts OKC: 10 free throw attempts.
• SGA had shot 0 free throws. Meanwhile, the San Antonio crowd was chanting “flopper” at SGA for a clear foul (non shooting).
• Castle had more free throws than the entire Thunder team at this point.
• Congrats to all of us for surviving a 3rd quarter highlighted by 33 free throws.
• Wemby clearly kicked the ball on a pass. No whistle. “Steal” and fast break for the Spurs leads to 2 more free throws for Castle.
• Jared McCain went 1v1 vs Wemby at the rim. And he won.
• Jared McCain is 6’3”. Wemby is Infi'nity".
• This McCain game is going to get Daryl Morey fired again.
• McCain went into Wemby’s body and scored. Not entirely sure why Wemby threw his head back so hard that but surely all the talking heads will dedicate full segments to it.
• Look away, 76ers fans… Jared McCain had a new playoff high 24 points. McCain scored more than any non-top-3-MVP-finishing player.
• Jaylin Williams hit a huge and-1 3 pointer at the shot clock buzzer on a pretty left handed pass from McCain.
• JWill was 5-6 from 3 in Game 3.
• Thunder broke their franchise record with 57 bench points in Game 2. That record lasted one game.
• Thunder scored 76 bench points in Game 3.
• SGA scored a game high 26 points and had 12 assists to only 2 turnovers. But the box score does not do justice to his dominance in Game 3.
• Spurs threw 2 bodies at him every play and he either scored, assisted or passed out and his teammates played 4 on 3. All due credit to McCain, Caruso and JWill, but those were mostly open looks because of SGA's gravity and playmaking.
• Incredibly impressive OKC win. No JDub Spurs fully healthy. Hostile road environment. Ajay Mitchell left with an injury. Down 15-0 to start the game.. Outscored the Spurs every quarter after the opening frame.
• Speaking of, here's hoping for encouraging injury report news on Saturday for Mitchell. OKC could now be without their second and third ball handlers/shot creators/playmakers.
• Thunder improve to 2-1 in Round 3 and take back home court advantage. 15 point comeback. 15 point win. SGA: 26 PTS/12 AST McCain: 24 PTS/+28 Chet: 14 PTS/5-7 FG Caruso: 15 PTS/3-5 3PT/2 STL Wallace: 11 PTS/3 STL
• Next up: Game 4 in San Antonio on Sunday night.

One Key Takeaway: They Keep Underrating Shai

by Cray

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