This is exactly the series everyone wanted and nobody planned for. Wembanyama stole Game 1 in double overtime, then Shai dropped 30 and 9 to even it up in OKC, and now we get a Game 3 in San Antonio where the home team might be without both of its starting guards. Tipoff is 7:30 local.
The Game 2 tape is the thing to chew on. The Thunder forced 21 Spurs turnovers into 27 points and got 57 points off their bench, with Caruso alone hanging 17 in relief. Stephon Castle had 25 and 8 but coughed it up 9 times — he's at 20 combined giveaways in the series, which is the exact pressure point OKC's defense exists to exploit.
The injury report is the real story before tip. Jalen Williams is questionable with a hamstring he tweaked in Game 2, which would tee Ajay Mitchell up for a bigger role. San Antonio could be even thinner — De'Aaron Fox is a game-time call on the ankle and Dylan Harper is questionable with adductor soreness. If both sit, Castle is running point against the league's nastiest on-ball defense for 40 minutes. Good luck.
- Day-To-DayJalen Williams G — Williams (hamstring) is questionable for Friday's Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals versus San Antonio, per Clemente Almanza of USA Today.
- OutThomas Sorber C — The Thunder announced Friday that Sorber has sustained a torn ACL in his right knee during an offseason workout, NBA reporter Marc Stein reports.
- Day-To-DayDylan Harper G — Harper is questionable for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals against the Thunder on Friday due to right adductor soreness, Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.com reports.
- Day-To-DayDe'Aaron Fox G — ESPN's Shams Charania reported Thursday on NBA Today that Fox (ankle) will be a game-time decision for Friday's Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals versus Oklahoma City,
- OutDavid Jones Garcia F — Jones Garcia underwent ankle surgery Wednesday and will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News reports.
The market sees a coin flip with a small homecourt nudge. Spurs are favored by 2 with a moneyline around -126, and the total sits at 218 — basically a vote that Game 2's tempo (135 combined points by regulation) is the baseline, not Game 1's grind-it-out OT slog.
The swing factor is whether Wembanyama can survive OKC's switching long enough to keep San Antonio's half-court offense functional without its guards. He went 21-17-6-4 in a loss; he probably needs a 30-piece here, and he needs Castle to take care of the ball. If the Spurs cut the turnovers in half, this is their game. If not, the Thunder go up 2-1 and the series tilts hard.