Jared McCain and Jaylin Williams might have just saved Thunder's season
· Yahoo Sports
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The Oklahoma City Thunder were on the road for the first time during the Western Conference Finals on Friday night.
The Thunder were in a tricky position entering Game 3. The team let Game 1 in Oklahoma City slip away, so the series was tied at 1-1 entering San Antonio. With a loss on Friday night, the Thunder would've been in a 2-1 hole with another game still left to play on the road before returning home.
So, it's safe to say, a loss on Friday would have been devastating. And, a loss might have happened if not for two members of the Thunder... and it's not the two players you'd think it would be.
Jaylin Williams and Jared McCain save the day
The Thunder were shorthanded entering this contest, as Jalen Williams was ruled out after suffering in injury in Game 2.
It's hard enough to beat a talented team like the Spurs on the road even at full health, so it's that much harder without your second-best player. However, the Thunder were able to get massive contributions from two unheralded players: Jaylin Williams and Jared McCain.
J-Will played 22 minutes and scored 18 points, grabbed five boards, and also came away with two steals. Williams was an incredible +22 in this game, but somehow, McCain was even better.
McCain racked up 24 points in 27 minutes and also added four rebounds and ending with a +28. McCain shot 2-10 from deep, but he shot an incredibly efficient 10-21 from the field overall.
This was the most points in a game since mid-March for both McCain and Williams. The scoring outbursts couldn't have come at a better time considering the starters (not including SGA) underperformed.
The four non-SGA starters combined for just 21 points. Lu Dort didn't score a single point and Ajay Mitchell only had two (Mitchell did only play 17 minutes after getting banged up). Considering the Thunder ended up winning by 15 points, taking away either Williams or McCain's contributions mean this was an entirely different game.
A whole new series
Now, the series momentum has shifted to the Thunder. There's still one more game in San Antonio on this trip, but worst-case scenario, the Thunder will head back home with a tied series.
Best-case scenario, the Thunder will head back to OKC with a chance to clinch in Game 5. This would be ideal considering the New York Knicks have gotten off to a 2-0 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Another positive for the Thunder is that Jalen Williams, or J-Dub, should be back soon. If the Thunder are able to win with mostly bench scoring, that should give them plenty of confidence that they can win when J-Dub gets back.