Gilgeous-Alexander, bench propel Thunder past Spurs 123-108 after historic slow start for 2-1 lead

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 26 points and 12 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder climbed out of a 15-point hole minutes into the game to beat the San Antonio Spurs 123-108 on Friday night and take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Jared McCain had 24 points and Jaylin Williams added 18 for Oklahoma City. The Thunder were without Jalen Williams, who sat out with left hamstring soreness.

Oklahoma City’s bench outscored San Antonio’s 76-23, including 15 points by Alex Caruso.

“We just went out there and competed,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They obviously jumped on us early. First game in their building, their crowd behind them, they were excited to play. We just wanted to make sure we competed from that point on. We obviously didn’t give our best effort to start that game, but can’t do nothing about it. It’s behind us. All we can do is focus on the next possession, and we did that.”

Victor Wembanyama had 24 points for San Antonio. Devin Vassell added 20 and De'Aaron Fox had 15 in his series debut.

The Thunder have won two straight after the Spurs' double-overtime victory in Game 1. Game 4 is Sunday.

Fox (sprained right ankle) and Dylan Harper (right adductor soreness) were cleared to play 45 minutes prior to tipoff.

Fox's return sparked a historic start.

The Spurs raced to a 15-0 lead, the longest run to open a game in the conference finals since the play-by-play era began in 1997.

Fox opened the run by wrapping in a driving layup and Wembanyama followed by crossing over Isaiah Hartenstein to drill a 3-pointer. Vassell’s 3-pointer put the Spurs up 10-0, leading to an early timeout by Thunder coach Mark Daigneault.

“Other than the first 15 points, our defense was really tight,” Daigneault said. “We got back, settled down into the halfcourt. Our offense had something to do with that. We ran good offense tonight, despite the fact that they were amped up and ready to go, the Spurs were. It’s a discipline series. We did that. We couldn’t be reckless against them, they are too good with the ball, too well coached, too talented. So you’ve got to be able to do it with discipline. I thought we really were disciplined tonight.”

Isaiah Hartenstein broke the drought with a runner over Wembanyama, but the center was immediately greeted with thunderous boos after his physical play against the Spurs in Game 2.

The Thunder went on a 13-2 run when Wembanyama went to the bench and closed the first quarter trailing 31-26.

It was a pattern the Spurs could not overcome.

“It’s my first playoffs,” Wembanyama said. “It’s the first playoffs for many of us. Of course, there was going to be hard trials. It’s to be expected, but now we’re going to see what we’re made of.”

The series continued to be chippy with emotions boiling over early in the second half. Stephon Castle hit the court on back-to-back dunk attempts. The second resulted in a flagrant 1 foul against Ajay Mitchell and technical fouls on Mitchell and Vassell after the two exchanged words following the foul.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams extended Oklahoma City's first lead to 35-31.

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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort, front, and San Antonio Spurs guard De'aaron Fox compete for the ball during the second half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama shoots over Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) during the second half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

San Antonio Spurs guard De'aaron Fox (4) shoots over Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the second half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, left, reacts while defended by Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren during the first half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) works toward the basket as San Antonio Spurs guard De'aaron Fox (4) defends during the second half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) hangs on the rim next to San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) after a dunk during the second half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche, the NHL's best team during the regular season, are in serious danger thanks to a Vegas squad that's on a run after a late-season coaching change.

“I don’t think people had this on their bingo card,” Golden Knights defenseman Dylan Coghlan said. “We knew we could do it.”

Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev scored in a 2:07 span in the third period and the Golden Knights stunned the Avalanche 3-1 on Friday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Final.

Eichel tied it, then set up Barbashev for the go-ahead goal with 8:38 remaining. Barbashev added an empty-netter with 1:03 left. The comeback stunned the capacity crowd and wiped out the top-seeded Avalanche's 1-0 lead.

By winning twice at Ball Arena, the Golden Knights put the Presidents' Trophy-winning Avalanche in a huge hole. Since 1982, road teams that started 2-0 in the conference finals have a 13-0 series record.

“They understand the situation,” said Vegas coach John Tortorella, who has watched his team go 17-4-1 since he took over on March 29. “I’m not sure where the series goes. I’m not sure where Game 3 goes. But I know I’m not going to have to worry about that, because they get it."

Carter Hart had another stellar performance, stopping 29 shots. He made 36 saves in a 4-2 win on Wednesday.

Colorado was cruising after Ross Colton opened the scoring in the first period. But things unraveled for the Avalanche in the third. Eichel lined a shot past Scott Wedgewood for his first goal in 11 games to get Vegas on the board.

“I haven’t scored in a million days,” he cracked.

The Golden Knights then took advantage of a miscue — Devon Toews and Brock Nelson struggled to clear the puck along the boards in the Avalanche end — as Eichel sent a pass to Barbashev, who rang in a shot off the post.

This was the fourth third-period comeback by the Golden Knights in this postseason, the most in a single playoffs in team history, according to NHL Stats.

“Just resiliency,” Hart said. “That’s the key word for our group here — we’ve just stuck in games and just grinded it out, and just battled. Resiliency, that’s a term that describes our group really well. We’re never out of the fight, and we’re always grinding in games.”

Game 3 is Sunday night in Las Vegas. The Avalanche are hoping to have star defenseman Cale Makar back in the lineup. He has missed the last two games because of an upper-body injury.

“There's urgency to get him back since he got hurt,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “He's doing all the work he can possibly do to get back as fast as he can.”

Before the Golden Knights' rally, the Avalanche were 45-0-0 when leading after two periods in the regular season and playoffs combined.

“It stings for sure right now,” Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “But tomorrow we’ll wake up, have a meeting, fly to Vegas and regroup. That’s all you can do.”

Vegas struggled on the power play, going 0 of 4. The team also saw defenseman Brayden McNabb limp to the locker room in the first period soon after taking a check along the boards. He returned for the third period. The hard-checking Golden Knights finished with 32 hits and 16 blocked shots.

“We know how hard it is to win,” Eichel said. “A lot of that falls on playing hard defensively.”

Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson briefly left late in the second period after delivering a check on Barbashev and then ramming his face into the boards.

Wedgewood had 22 saves.

“We can't ride the emotional roller-coaster like fans,” Bednar said. “If you lose Game 1, you're getting swept. If you win Game 1, we're sweeping them. That's not reality. You have to deal with the task at hand and what's to come. We're not going to try and win four games the next night in Vegas. We're going to try to win one game.”

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Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood prepares for the second period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Vegas Golden Knights left wing Ivan Barbashev, front, falls after being tripped by Colorado Avalanche center Martin Necas (88) during the second period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) drives with the puck as Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brett Kulak (27) and center Martin Necas (88) defend while Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin (15) trails the play during the second period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Vegas Golden Knights center Nic Dowd, left, puts a shot on Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood during the first period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Vegas Golden Knights left wing Ivan Barbashev, center, is congratulated by Vegas Golden Knights defensemen Rasmus Andersson, left, and Noah Hanifin during the third period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)