Gilgeous-Alexander leads Thunder past Spurs for 2-1 NBA playoff lead | Basketball news

The reigning NBA champions have seen four members of their bench finish in double figures to set up a valuable win.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder survived an early deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 123-108 and take a 2-1 lead in their NBA Western Conference Finals series.

NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander Friday is the reigning NBA champions, who saw four members of their bench finish in double figures to set up a valuable win.

Jared McCain led the bench scorers for the Thunder with 24 points while Jaylin Williams had 5 points to go along with 18 points.

French forward Victor Wembanyama led San Antonio in scoring with 26 points, while Devin Vassell added 20.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault praised his team’s “resilience” after rallying from an early 15-point deficit to eventually close out a convincing victory by the same margin.

“It was a blowout — credit to them,” Daiigneault said of San Antonio’s fast start. “They were ready to play and they got us early, but I thought we showed some composure to understand how the game turned out in the 48th minute.

“It’s a long game and the bench gave us a big lift to help us get the game to a good place. The team’s composure.”

Another tense clash between the Western Conference rivals got off to a rough start, with the Spurs roaring out to a 15-0 lead just minutes into the game.

The Thunder quickly regrouped and fought back to close the gap to 31-29 early in the second quarter before a Gilgeous-Alexander three-pointer put the visitors ahead.

Oklahoma City then led 58-51 at halftime after outscoring San Antonio 32-20 in the second quarter, thanks to 10 points from Ajay Mitchell and Alex Caruso.

The momentum that built in the opening two games of the series then continued in the third quarter, when Mitchell pushed Stephon Castle as the Spurs guard jumped the basket.

Castle jumped onto the field as teammate Devin Vassell tackled Mitchell, sparking a frenzy.

By that time, Oklahoma City had built a 10-point lead, 67-57, and held on to take a 95-84 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The points continued in the fourth, and the Thunder kept their chances to close out the win.

“We were very aggressive to start the game and obviously we didn’t hold back,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said afterwards.

“It wasn’t as consistent as we started but I thought we played too fast, and that’s something that got lost as the game went on. We’ve got to find a way to do that.”

Four of the best-of-seven games take place in San Antonio on Sunday.