The NBA conference finals are being shaped not only by stars, but by the supporting casts bold enough to punish defensive gambles.
In the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder rode a historic bench explosion to seize momentum against the San Antonio Spurs. In the East, the New York Knicks moved closer to the NBA Finals after Josh Hart turned Cleveland’s defensive strategy into a decisive Game 2 collapse.
Oklahoma City recovered from a brutal 15-0 start in San Antonio and stormed back for a 123-108 win in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, taking a 2-1 series lead over the Spurs. The Thunder’s reserves delivered a staggering 76 points, the most by any team in a conference finals game since the NBA adopted the 16-team playoff format in 1984.
The bench had already been a major factor in the series, scoring 50 points in Game 1 and 57 in Game 2. But Game 3 became its loudest statement yet.
Jared McCain powered the second unit with a playoff career-high 24 points, while Jaylin Williams hit five three-pointers and added 18 points, also a playoff best. Veteran guard Alex Caruso chipped in 15 points, continuing his strongest three-game scoring stretch of his career.
MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander still led the Thunder starters with 26 points, while Chet Holmgren added 14, but Oklahoma City’s depth was the difference. Its bench accounted for 62 percent of the team’s scoring, a rare feat in a conference finals victory.
Caruso was the first reserve called after San Antonio’s blistering opening run, and his presence helped stabilize Oklahoma City. By the end of the first quarter, most of the Spurs’ early cushion had disappeared. From there, the Thunder controlled the pace and flipped a 15-point deficit into a 15-point win.
In the East, the Knicks used a different version of the same formula: a role player stepping into open space and changing the series.
Cleveland repeatedly dared Hart to shoot, leaving him open in an effort to load up on Jalen Brunson and disrupt New York’s offense. For a half, the plan appeared to work as Hart missed his first three attempts from long range and showed visible frustration.
Then the third quarter arrived.
Hart found his rhythm, buried three triples, and helped ignite an 18-0 run that broke the game open. New York rolled to a 109-93 win over the Cavaliers to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals, its first such advantage at this stage since 1994.
Hart finished with 26 points and seven assists, while Brunson adjusted to Cleveland’s defensive pressure by distributing the ball and finishing with a playoff-high 14 assists. The Knicks’ offense thrived because Hart kept shooting, forcing the Cavaliers to pay for leaving him alone.
“I just knew I would keep shooting and if I did that, I would be good,” Hart said.
New York also continued to clamp down defensively, holding Cleveland to 38.8 percent shooting and just 26 percent from three-point range. Hart alone outperformed Cleveland’s designated shooters Max Strus and Sam Merrill, who combined to shoot 1-for-11.
Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell acknowledged the challenge of dealing with role players who punish selective defensive coverage, even pointing to Oklahoma City’s use of Caruso as a similar problem in the other conference finals.
With both series tightening, the common thread is clear: stars still command the spotlight, but the path to the NBA Finals may be decided by the players defenses choose to ignore.
The Thunder are now two wins away from returning to the NBA Finals, while the Knicks are also two victories from their first title shot in decades. In both cases, the surge has come from the margins, where bench scorers, glue guys, and overlooked shooters have turned into postseason difference-makers.