The San Antonio Spurs jumped out to a 15-0 lead to begin Game 3 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but ultimately fell 123-108.
Now, the Spurs enter a crucial Game 4 on their home floor looking to even the series at two games apiece.
For that to happen, there’s little doubt Victor Wembanyama needs to be the best player on the court. Although he finished with 26 points on Friday night, he had just two made field goals deep into the third quarter and ended the game with only four rebounds and three assists.
During “Inside the NBA” on Saturday night, Shaquille O’Neal made it clear he believes Wembanyama must elevate his game if San Antonio wants a chance to win the series.
“You’re playing against a great championship team with great others, you can’t let the others get involved,” O’Neal said. “That’s how [the Thunder] win games… And I’m going to need Wemby to do more. It’s not enough. I can say that as Lord Supreme of all big men… He has to do more. I heard him say he’s not making his teammates better. It’s because he’s not dominating the game! When Alex Caruso is on you, I don’t want to see a turnaround.”
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The Spurs won four of five meetings against the Thunder during the regular season and have certainly shown throughout this postseason that they have the tools to compete with them.
However, through three games in the series, the biggest difference has been the production from Oklahoma City’s bench compared to San Antonio’s.
The Thunder received a staggering 76 combined bench points in Game 3, with 76 of their 123 total points coming from Jared McCain, Jaylin Williams, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, Kenrich Williams, and Isaiah Joe.
It’s extremely difficult to beat the defending champion Thunder when your bench is being outscored 76-23 in a playoff game, and while Wembanyama is certainly capable of delivering another dominant performance like he did in Game 1, the Spurs will still need far more production from both the bench and the rest of the starting lineup if they hope to win three more games and reach the NBA Finals.
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