NBA Playoffs | Western Conference Finals: Game 3
Written by: Varun Sharma
Last Update: Fri May 22, 2026, 5:51 pm ET
Read Time: 5 minutes
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Tonight we head to Texas for Game 3 of this Western Conference Final. The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder split the first two games and now we're left with a best of five series; home court advantage now shifting towards the Spurs.
Tons to talk about, let's jump straight into it.
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Game Information
Matchup Information
- Location: Frost Bank Center; San Antonio, Texas
- Date: Friday, May 22nd, 2026
- Tipoff: 8:40 PM EST
Postseason Performers
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC): 36.8 MPG | 28.7 PPG | 3.1 RPG | 7.8 APG
- Victor Wembanyama (SAS): 31.2 MPG | 22.1 PPG | 12.3 RPG | 2.8 APG
Betting Odds
Odds via Lucky Rebel, an industry leader in the sports betting world.
Analysis & Breakdown
Orange & Blue
The Thunder suffered their first loss of the postseason in Game 1 of this series and responded in a big way. The Thunder scored 122 points with 30 coming from the MVP.
Shai had his worst shooting night of possibly the season in Game 1 and he responded with an efficient 30-piece; even added in 9 assists. Williams played just 7 minutes in Game 2 and after he went down, Head Coach Mark Daigneault was not shy about going to the bench.
Four bench players played 25+ minutes in Game 2, with all four scoring in the double digits. The Thunder bench outscored the Spurs bench 57 to 25. The Thunder also scored 27 points off turnovers and won the fast break battle.
Oklahoma City's depth is what sets them apart and their ability to make their opponents pay for every single mistake. The Thunder lead the playoffs in posts off turnovers, while simultaneously giving up the fewest amount of points off turnovers.
They take care of the ball, they defend without fouling and that's why they're back in the Western Conference Finals.
The Jackal's Den
The Spurs are back in San Antonio tonight and looking to respond after a ugly loss in Game 2. San Antonio gave up a postseason high 122 points, allowed the Thunder to shoot 48% from the field and allowed 27 points off of turnovers.
The Spurs have turned the ball over 44 times in the first two games, allowing 55 points off of those turnovers and most of these turnovers have come from second year PG, Stephon Castle. Castle's been phenomenal so far in the Conference Finals, averaging 21.0 points, 9.5 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game.
The only problem is he's also turned the ball over 20 times through two games. That needs to change going into Game 3 and with the Spurs back at home and De'Aaron Fox potentially returning to the lineup; I think it will.
Wembanyama's been great in his first every postseason run and he's been even better in the Conference Finals. He opened the series with 41 points and 24 rebounds but Game 2 was a different story. Victor scored 21 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and spent a majority of the game being illegally held by Isaiah Hartenstein.
The strategy to stop Wembanyama was just that hold him, make it hard for him and foul if you need to; especially if the referees refuse to blow the whistle.
Friday's Best Bets
Victor Wembanyama o39.5 P/R (-113) | Lucky Rebel
After the way I watched Oklahoma City defend Wemby in Game 2, I just know he's coming into tonight's game mad. Wemby also had his minutes closely monitored in Game 2 and I'm sure it's because of their Game 1 overtime win.
Victor played 49 minutes in Game 1 and having secured one win on the road, it felt like Head Coach Mitch Johnson was a little more reserved with his minutes.
Wemby scored 41 points in Game 1 and he's grabbed a total of 41 rebounds in the first two games. Even though he scored just 21 points in Game 2, he shot 50% from the field, went 3/7 from the perimeter and even had 5 offensive rebounds.
Victor's 41 rebounds in two games are impressive, even more so when you see 14 of those came on the offensive glass. He's averaging 10.5 second chance points per game in the first two games, more than double his average for the postseason (4.8).
As long as the whistle's working tonight, I love this spot for Wembanyama.
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