SAN ANTONIO -- The fiesta was in full effect a few minutes into Friday's Game 3 of the Western Conference finals at Frost Bank Center.
The San Antonio Spurs scored the first 15 points of the game, invigorating a passionate home crowd that hadn't hosted in nine years. The fans, decked out in fuchsia, teal and orange T-shirts organized by section, roared with delight when superstar center Victor Wembanyama swatted Oklahoma City Thunder big man Isaiah Hartenstein's floater to force a shot-clock violation.
The Spurs had gone on the longest run to open a conference finals game during the play-by-play era, which began in 1997-98. Then the Thunder went to the bench, beginning with subbing in two-time champion Alex Caruso.
"Down 15 at any point in time, alarms are going off," Caruso said. "You need to make a play now; you don't have time to wait."
San Antonio's lead didn't last long. The Thunder first took the lead early in the second quarter and seized command of the game soon after halftime before cruising to a 123-108 win to take a 2-1 series lead.
"Be calm, be poised in that situation and give each other confidence, give each other energy and know that we're going to throw another punch," said Oklahoma City reserve guard Jared McCain, who scored a career playoff-high 24 points. "We're going to come back."
The defending champions' depth was a dominant force once again, as Oklahoma City owned a 76-23 advantage in bench scoring.
The Thunder's 76 bench points were the most by any team in a conference finals or NBA Finals game since starters were first tracked in 1971.
It was the second consecutive game that Oklahoma City, which was missing star wing Jalen Williams due to left hamstring soreness, had four reserves score in double figures.
McCain scored 24 points in 27 minutes, matching Caruso for the game's best plus-minus, as the Thunder outscored the Spurs by 28 with him on the floor. Backup big man Jaylin Williams also had a career playoff-scoring-high with 18 points, going 5-of-6 from 3-point range, including 4-of-5 in the first half as Oklahoma City got back in the game. Caruso had 15 points, his lowest-scoring game of the series. Guard Cason Wallace chipped in 11 points.
"You just have a bunch of guys that are willing to do whatever the team needs," said Williams, whose physical defense helped limit Wembanyama to 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting. "Unluckily, we've dealt with a lot of injuries throughout the year, but it's built us. It's built us as a team. It's built us as players to be ready for the moment and be ready when your name is called."
The vast majority of the Oklahoma City roster is made up of proven champions after last season's title run. McCain is an exception. He's a second-year player who was acquired at the trade deadline from Philadelphia -- who were "selling high," since-fired 76ers general manager Daryl Morey said at the time -- and had zero playoff experience entering the postseason.
But McCain has showed zero fear, providing a spark with his scoring in several games since playing sparingly in the first round.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound McCain is known primarily as a shooter, but he had an off night from 3-point range in Game 3, going only 2-of-10 from deep. He more than made up for it by doing damage off the dribble, scoring 16 points in the paint. That included one drive when he bumped Wembanyama with his shoulder to create space to make an off-balance layup and then celebrated by flexing his right arm.
"He just oozes confidence," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "He knows exactly who he is. He knows exactly what he does, and he goes out there and does it no matter what. When the ball goes in or out, he makes the next play, makes the best play for himself and for the guys out there. He's always aggressive, poised and attacks the moment."
ESPN Research contributed to this report.