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)

Roy Cooper’s winning streak in North Carolina elections will be tested on Tuesday as the former Democratic governor faces off with President Donald Trump’s handpicked candidate Michael Whatley in a state that often sends Republicans to the U.S. Senate.

The race is one of Democrats’ best chances to flip a Republican-held seat as they try to win back control of the chamber. The incumbent, Thom Tillis, is retiring after clashing with Trump last year, setting the stage for an open contest.

Trump won North Carolina in all three of his presidential campaigns, and the Senate campaign will reveal how much his standing has slipped at a moment of widespread frustration over inflation and the war with Iran.

Whatley, 58, a former state and national party chair, has never held elected office before, and he’s trailed Cooper in fundraising. Republicans shifted campaign cash away from North Carolina in October, a sign that they were pessimistic about Whatley’s chances.

Democrats need to add four seats in the Senate to gain control, and Cooper, 69, is one of the party’s prized recruits. He previously won four terms as state attorney general and two terms as governor.

A loss would dampen Democrats’ hopes of winning the majority and potentially end Cooper’s political career with his first statewide defeat.

Cooper has focused on the economy, pledging to “make stuff cost less.” He was broadly critical of Trump’s policies, especially tariffs and the Iran war. But he has typically avoided personal broadsides and consistently pledged a bipartisan approach should he reach Capitol Hill.

“I saw this administration take root, and I’d see two or three things happening almost every single day that reached a new level of chaos, any one of which we could talk about for hours. And I said, ‘Man, I’ve got to do something about this,’” Cooper said at a recent campaign rally.

Still, he promises, “I’m going to be a strong, independent senator for North Carolina.”

Cooper also has emphasized his support for public education and the expansion of Medicaid insurance coverage while he was governor, drawing contrasts with Whatley and Republicans.

Whatley has not tried to distance himself from the president, as some of his fellow Republicans have done across the country. He’s welcomed Trump and Vice President JD Vance to North Carolina for campaign events multiple times.

“I am honored that we are going to have the greatest president of our lifetime, Donald J. Trump, here,” Whatley said ahead of a metro Charlotte rally with Trump.

He has also spent most of his campaign energy promoting Trump’s policies more generally — especially the “big beautiful bill” that included tax cuts — and accusing Cooper of being soft on violent criminals as governor and attorney general.

Trump has escalated those attacks, which Cooper rejects, using the Charlotte-area rally to describe North Carolina’s cities as “blood-soaked killing fields.” North Carolina’s violent crime rate ranks in the middle third of states, according to FBI statistics.

The president also has drawn fault lines over the response to Hurricane Helene. The 2024 storm battered western North Carolina in the final months of Cooper’s second term as governor and as Trump was campaigning to return to the White House. Trump said Cooper “did nothing” to help storm victims. Cooper has long rejected that accusation, pointing to the work state and local governments did with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which Trump has since attempted to gut.

Whatley’s biggest challenge will be maximizing Republican turnout while winning over North Carolina’s growing swath of independents. Registered Democrats and Republicans in North Carolina are split about evenly, while independent voters outnumber both.

Cooper’s undefeated electoral record shows he’s been able to add independent voters to his Democratic base — enough that both of his elections as governor, 2016 and 2020, came at the same time that North Carolina voters opted for Trump over Democratic presidential nominees.

President Donald Trump listens as North Carolina Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley speaks at a campaign rally at Pitt–Greenville Airport, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, in Greenville, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Ramey)