Spurs Squander Hot Start, Fall To Thunder 123-108 In Game Three Of WCF

The return of the Western Conference Finals to San Antonio did not go quite to plan for the Spurs.

The Spurs watched a hot start go to waste, as they fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder 123-108 in Game Three of the Western Conference Finals on Friday night.

San Antonio stormed out of the gate, surging out to a 15-0 lead under three minutes into the ball game. The Thunder did not hit their first basket until there were 8:06 left in the opening frame. Oklahoma City would claw back a bit, cutting the Spurs lead to four.

But the Spurs would push forward. De'Aaron Fox, who returned to the lineup after missing the first two games, hit his first three of the series to keep the Spurs ahead.

Fox led all scorers in the first quarter, scoring nine of his 15 total points in the frame. Fox added seven rebounds and six assists in the game. The Spurs led the Thunder 31-26 at the end of the first quarter.

It would not take long though for the Thunder to roll in the second quarter, popping off a 9-0 lead of their own to take a 35-31 lead. The Spurs would come back to regain the lead, then the two began trading punches as they have so much in the series, exchanging the lead six times over a five-minute stretch.

Devin Vassell, who scored 20 points on the night, was a key part of the back-and-forth efforts for San Antonio.

The Thunder eventually ripped a 7-0 run, and kept the lead there, holding a 58-51 advantage at halftime.

Out of the break, Oklahoma City would extend their lead to ten, making it 67-57 about four minutes into the second half. But then a double technical foul situation brought some new chippiness to the series.

Ajay Mitchell was issued a flagrant foul. Castle would make both free throws to cut the Thunder lead to eight. Devin Vassell was also given a technical foul amid the skirmish. The Thunder though would not let the momentum slip, as they opened up a 95-84 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Oklahoma City would bust out of the gate in the final frame, opening up a 15-point lead before the Spurs responded and made a last push at coming back. San Antonio battled to get the deficit to within ten with under four minutes to play. Wembanyama did his best to keep the Spurs afloat.

But the Thunder would get clutch buckets down the stretch to close things out.

Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 26 points and two blocks. Steophon Castle added aother 14 points for San Antonio, along side the big night from Devin Vassell.

Turnovers were a problem once again for San Antonio. After committing 21 turnovers in Game Two, the Spurs coughed up the ball 15 times in Game Three, leading to 20 Thunder points. Bad shooting from deep was an issue for the Spurs too, as they went 13-for-41 from long range, and shot just 41-percent from the floor overall.

The Thunder were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 26 points and 12 assists, with Jared McCain tossing in another 23 points off the bench for Oklahoma City.

The Thunder now lead the series 2-1. Game Four is set for Sunday night in San Antonio.