SAN ANTONIO — When he pressed the button Friday at 7 p.m., Frostbank Center was packed and Luis Kokames was deep in his pregame routine of painting a glowing Spurs logo on a toddler’s face in the arena’s vast concourse. The calm before the storm. Like many of the 19,034 fans who filled the arena, Colcames was not used to big games. He’s been delighting kids with custom facial art for more than 31 years, but given the scale of the game unfolding Friday, his pen was a little more nervous than usual.
“Oh, it’s crazy, the energy,” he said, waving his paintbrush in the air for emphasis. “It’s a double, it’s a triple!”
Then he had to get back to painting. It’s going to be a long night.
Already extremely entertaining through two games, the series doubled and tripled in intensity at times in Game 3, the first Western Conference Finals game played in San Antonio since 2017. The Spurs started the game off with a 15-0 run, feeding on the energy of their fans. Devin Vassell made two threes and Victor Wembaneyama blocked a shot from rookie supervillain Isaiah Hartenstein. De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper returned from injury. Stephon Castle stapled Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. As the Spurs played their first game, the primal screams of fans rattled television cameras, railings and rafters.
But crucially, it’s not the Thunder.
In a performance befitting the defending champions, the Thunder quickly cut short an early deficit, took a seven-point lead by halftime, emptied their bench in the final seconds of a 123-108 win, and went up 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, retaking command after losing Game 1 at home.
“We just went out there and fought,” said Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the Thunder with 26 points. “They obviously jumped on us early. Their first game in the building, the crowd behind them was excited to play. We just wanted to be able to compete from that point on.”
The first few minutes for the Spurs were basically perfect. The Spurs hit three 3-pointers in the first half, helping the team settle before the Thunder regained balance in the form of Jaylin Williams. Oklahoma City’s bench fought relentlessly for virtually the final 44 minutes of the game, with the Thunder’s reserves outscoring the San Antonio bench by a staggering 76-23 margin.
“That was a punch. Credit to them. They were ready to play and got us early,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “I thought we showed great composure to understand the nature of the game for 48 minutes.”
Jared McCain led the Thunder’s second unit with 24 points. Williams added 18 points on five 3-pointers.
For the Spurs, Wenbanyama scored 26 points and Vassell added 20 points, four steals, and six threes.
Like the first two games, this game had some shaky playoff-caliber moments.
Early in the third quarter, Alex Caruso committed a hard foul against Castle while going for a dunk. Castle stood over the Thunderguard for a moment, and the fans jeered. Shortly after, Castle drove again, but this time he was fouled harder by Ajay Mitchell. Vassell dove into Mitchell’s face, several guys immediately came off the bench, and while no punches were thrown, the heat level was rising. After review, Mitchell was given a flagrant foul and technical along with Vassell.
“My teammates are coming back,” Vassell said. “That’s my brother. The first play is a basketball play, but I mean, two in a row he was trying to dunk and you kind of shoved him. That could be a dangerous play.”
“I mean, it’s the playoffs. There’s a lot of physicality, a lot of grabbing and holding, and it just builds up. So I think there’s going to be a little bit of animosity building up, but I’m calm about it.”
Moments later, Gilgeous-Alexander drew a soft foul on Castle near midcourt, prompting chants. flopper, flopper It rained.
The Frostbank crowd was really excited until the final minutes. Their passion is completely natural, but also by design. Last summer, Wenbanyama worked directly with the team to launch a new fan section. This fan section became known as “The Jackals.” A group of about 100 Gen Zers stands throughout the game, belting out European-style chants (Ole, Ole, Ole!), banging drums, and causing general delirium.
Wenbanyama also hand-picked fan section leader Aiden Sterling. Aiden Sterling, a 26-year-old local accountant, attended every home game, including those during tax season. He even spoke with Wenbanyama early in the playoffs to adjust strategy. “Keep moving forward and be loud and make sure we are the hardest arena in the NBA to play in,” Sterling said. “I mean, I don’t think there’s ever been a superstar that’s had this much interest. I’ve never felt like this is connected to a team.”
Despite fan support, it’s clear the Spurs will need more than just a rabid home crowd to survive this series. Game 3 revealed cracks that cannot be easily repaired. Harper returned, but fell short in Game 1, scoring six points in 17 minutes. Fox stumbled late in the third and looked lackluster in the fourth. And Hartenstein, Caruso, and Chet Holmgren continued to thwart Wembangyama, who scored 26 points but had just four rebounds and nothing offensive. Spurs will need maximum Wenby to win three of their next four games.
“It’s hard to see them suffer,” Wenbanyama said of Harper and Fox. “I feel like I need to make my teammates better.”
After a chippy foul early in the second half, the crowd got louder and the Spurs got angrier, but the Thunder simply got better. Williams was the spark in the first half, but Gilgeous-Alexander, McCain and Caruso (15 points) kept the Spurs at arm’s length in the second half. McCain made a 3 off a corner kick with 10:28 left to give the Thunder a 15-point lead, and the Spurs never got closer than nine.
Now it’s the Spurs who are facing adversity — this is their first series loss in the playoffs.
“There will be challenges,” Wenbanyama said. “Come on, let’s see what we’re made of.”
More from NBA sports illustrated
Listen to SI’s NBA Podcast. open floorbelow, or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.
Add us as a preferred source googleto follow
#Spurs #crowd #stars #moment #Thunder #responded