The Oklahoma City Thunder bench scored a historic 76 points to power a 123-108 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night, May 22, 2026, taking a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Oklahoma City overcame an early 15-0 deficit at the Frost Bank Center after head coach Mark Daigneault substituted his starting lineup less than three minutes into the first quarter.
According to ESPN, the 76 reserve points established a new record for the most bench points in a conference finals game since the NBA adopted the 16-team playoff format in 1984.
The previous record of 69 points was set by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1985, with Oklahoma City's bench contributing 62% of the team's total scoring in the Game 3 victory.
Only two Thunder starters scored in double figures, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded 26 points and Chet Holmgren added 14 points.
Jared McCain led the bench production with a playoff career-high 24 points, while forward Jaylin Williams made five 3-pointers to finish with a playoff career-high 18 points.
Alex Caruso added 15 points from the bench, bringing his three-game series total to 63 points, which marks the highest-scoring three-game span of his career.
The Spurs opened the game with a 15-0 scoring run, which stands as the longest game-opening run in the conference finals since play-by-play tracking began in 1997.
De'Aaron Fox initiated the run with a driving layup in his series debut, followed by a Victor Wembanyama 3-pointer and a Devin Vassell 3-pointer that prompted an early timeout.
Wembanyama finished the game with 24 points for San Antonio, while Vassell contributed 20 points and Fox added 15 points.
The Thunder responded with a 13-2 run when Wembanyama rested on the bench, narrowing the San Antonio lead to 31-26 at the end of the first quarter.
The game grew highly competitive early in the second half when Stephon Castle fell on consecutive dunk attempts, leading to a flagrant 1 foul and a technical foul on Ajay Mitchell.
Vassell also received a technical foul during the ensuing altercation before Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams hit consecutive 3-pointers to push the Thunder ahead 35-31.
The victory marks the second consecutive win for Oklahoma City following San Antonio's double-overtime win in Game 1, with Game 4 scheduled for Sunday.
