Spurs, Victor Wembanyama set historic NBA Playoffs record despite Game 3 loss to Thunder originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The San Antonio Spurs had all of the momentum going for them in the first quarter. Coach Mitch Johnson was running the proper schemes as he had both Dylan Harper and De’Aaron Fox back. Victor Wembanyama was also balling out while being a great defensive anchor against the Oklahoma City Thunder. All of it may have ended on a 123-108 loss to go down 2-1 in the NBA Playoffs but they still broke a historic record.
Spurs led by Wembanyama get historic NBA Playoffs record no one reached before
The Spurs started Game 3 with an insane 15-0 run to force the Thunder in making immediate adjustments. This is the longest unanswered run to start a conference finals game ever since the play-by-play era started in 1997-98, per ESPN Insights.
As fate would have it, Victor Wembanyama and Coach Mitch Johnson could not hold on to that historic lead. The Thunder fought back immediately and the first quarter ended with a score of 31-26 in favor of the Spurs. By halftime, the Spurs lost control of the game completely. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, Jared McCain, and Jaylin Williams all started activating like sleeper agents. They only allowed the Spurs to score 20 points while the Thunder got 32 points in the second quarter,
When all of this are considered and the Spurs are compared to other teams in league history, they are following the footsteps of the 2017 Washington Wizards that went up 16-0 in the Eastern Conference second round against the Boston Celtics but still lost. The 2026 Spurs and the 2017 Wizards are the only teams to start an NBA Playoffs game on a 15-0 run or better but managed to lose.
De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper’s injuries naturally play a part in this. But, it all came down to the Spurs missing 28 free throw attempts, turning the ball over 15 times which prevented any offensive momentum, and losing the rebounding battle 41-37 despite having Wembanyama on their team.
There is still hope for the Spurs so that they do not follow in the Wizards’ path, who lost eventually to the Celtics in the NBA Playoffs. It will come down to finding a consistent offense against the Thunder.