OKLAHOMA CITY (Interstat) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points, Alex Caruso added 17 off the bench and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 122-113 on Wednesday night in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, tying the series 1-1. Trailing after a back-and-forth first half, the Thunder used a 34-26 third quarter edge and a dominant bench to pull away. Oklahoma City’s reserves outscored San Antonio’s 57-25. Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 21 points and 17 rebounds, while Stephon Castle added 25 points. Devin Vassell scored 22 for San Antonio. The Thunder shot from the floor, from three-point range and from the free throw line at a higher rate than the Spurs. Chet Holmgren scored 13 points, and reserves Jared McCain and Cason Wallace each had 12. Oklahoma City forced 17 turnovers and converted them into 27 points. The game at Paycom Center drew 18,203 fans. San Antonio fell to 71-25, Oklahoma City to 73-19. Game 3 is Friday in San Antonio.

OKLAHOMA CITY (Interstat) — The MVP looked like the MVP again, and the Western Conference finals are knotted up. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander bounced back from a subpar series opener to score 30 points, Alex Caruso added 17 off the bench and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 122-113 on Wednesday night in Game 2. Chet Holmgren scored 13 points and reserves Jared McCain and Cason Wallace each had 12 for Oklahoma City. The Thunder finished with a 57-25 edge in bench scoring, plus a 27-10 edge in points off turnovers. The series is tied 1-1 heading to San Antonio for Game 3 on Friday. Victor Wembanyama posted 21 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks for the Spurs, who shot 43.8 percent from the floor. Stephon Castle added 25 points and 8 assists, Devin Vassell scored 22 points and Dylan Harper contributed 16 points. Oklahoma City shot 46.2 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from 3-point range and 77.8 percent from the free-throw line. San Antonio shot 40.7 percent overall, 34.2 percent from beyond the arc and 82.1 percent at the line. The game was played before a sellout crowd of 18,203 at Paycom Center. The most critical stretch of the game came in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter after the Spurs had trimmed a double-digit deficit to two points. San Antonio trailed 112-110 with 4:37 left after a 3-pointer by Vassell and a layup by Castle, but Oklahoma City responded with a defining sequence. Gilgeous-Alexander drove for a floating jump shot to make it 114-110 with 5 minutes to play. After a missed jumper by San Antonio’s Julian Champagnie, the Thunder grabbed three offensive rebounds on one possession before Isaiah Hartenstein converted a putback to push the lead to 116-110. The Spurs answered with a 3-pointer from Keldon Johnson to cut it to 116-113, but Gilgeous-Alexander scored on a step-back jumper over Castle with 42.7 seconds remaining, extending the lead to 120-113. San Antonio had a chance to draw closer but Castle missed a 3-pointer, and Caruso sealed the victory with a driving layup with 19.7 seconds left, making it 122-113. The Spurs committed 18 turnovers that led to 27 Thunder points, while Oklahoma City turned the ball over 14 times, resulting in 10 points for San Antonio. Oklahoma City built an early lead behind balanced scoring in the first quarter, matching San Antonio 31-31 after the opening period. The Thunder’s bench then took over in the second quarter, outscoring the Spurs’ reserves 24-7 in the period and extending the lead to 62-51 at halftime. San Antonio stormed back in the third quarter, scoring 37 points behind eight from Wembanyama and seven from Vassell, cutting the deficit to 96-88 entering the fourth. The Spurs continued their push early in the final quarter, getting a 3-pointer from Harrison Barnes and a layup from Castle to make it 99-96. But Oklahoma City answered with a 13-4 run highlighted by a McCain 3-pointer and a Wallace 3-pointer, pushing the lead back to 112-100 with 6:59 left. Hartenstein finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder, while Ajay Mitchell scored 10 points and McCain added 12 points and 6 rebounds off the bench. The Thunder’s depth proved decisive. Caruso hit three 3-pointers and added 5 assists in 25 minutes, while Wallace made three of his four attempts from deep. Oklahoma City’s bench shot 50 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from 3-point range. Gilgeous-Alexander, who struggled in Game 1 with 24 points on 8-of-22 shooting, was efficient Wednesday, making 11 of 19 field goals and 7 of 8 free throws. He also dished 9 assists and grabbed 4 rebounds. Wembanyama, the Spurs’ 7-foot-4 forward, recorded his third double-double of the postseason and was a force on both ends, blocking four shots and altering numerous others. But he was limited to 4-of-12 shooting in the second half as Oklahoma City’s defense tightened. Castle was aggressive throughout, shooting 10 of 18 from the floor and adding 5 rebounds. Vassell hit 5 of 10 from 3-point range. The Spurs, who finished the regular season with a 71-25 record, had won the series opener in double overtime 122-115 on Monday. The Thunder, who posted a league-best 73-19 record in the regular season, evened the series. Oklahoma City took control late in the first half with a 15-4 run over the final 4:31 of the second quarter, turning a 51-48 lead into a 66-52 advantage. Caruso scored 7 points during that stretch, including a 3-pointer and a pull-up jumper. San Antonio responded with a 13-2 run early in the third quarter, capped by a Wembanyama 3-pointer, to cut the deficit to 69-66. But the Thunder answered with a 9-0 spurt, featuring a 3-pointer from Caruso and a layup by Gilgeous-Alexander, pushing the lead back to 80-69. The Spurs refused to go away, pulling within 96-91 on a 3-pointer by Jordan McLaughlin with 2:08 left in the third. Oklahoma City led 96-88 entering the fourth. In the final period, San Antonio cut the lead to 99-96 on a 3-pointer by Barnes, but McCain answered with a 3-pointer and Wallace added another to make it 105-96. The Spurs got within 112-110 on a 3-pointer by Vassell with 4:37 left, but the Thunder defense tightened and Gilgeous-Alexander made the key plays down the stretch. Hartenstein grabbed 5 offensive rebounds and helped limit Wembanyama’s second-chance opportunities. The Thunder outrebounded the Spurs 48-42 overall. Oklahoma City’s defense forced 10 turnovers in the second half, leading to 14 points. The Thunder also blocked 8 shots, led by 2 from Gilgeous-Alexander and 2 from Holmgren. The series now shifts to San Antonio for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday. If necessary, Game 5 would be back in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, May 26. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Oklahoma City Thunder 121, San Antonio Spurs 104. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Oklahoma City with a 54.20 percent probability to win. Oklahoma City had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-6.5 points. The total score of 235 went under the over/under line of 218.

OKLAHOMA CITY (Interstat) — The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs resume their playoff series Wednesday night at Paycom Center with the series even at 1-0 following Monday’s opener. The 72-18 Thunder hold the top seed in the Western Conference and home-court advantage, while the 70-24 Spurs enter as the seed. Game 2 is set for a 7 p.m. tipoff. Oklahoma City has relied on guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 30.5 points in the Thunder’s first-round sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers. In the series clincher May 11, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 35 points, eight assists and one rebound in 39 minutes. He has scored at least 22 points in six straight postseason games and recorded 42 points in a first-round victory over Phoenix. San Antonio counter with second-year guard Stephon Castle, who has emerged as a dynamic postseason performer. Castle posted 32 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in the Spurs’ series-clinching win at Minnesota on May 15. He has scored at least 13 points in nine of his past 10 playoff games and is averaging 20.2 points in the postseason. The Spurs swept the regular-season series 4-1 against the Thunder, including a 116-106 victory in Oklahoma City on Feb. 4 and a 130-110 win on Dec. 23. The lone Thunder win came Jan. 13, 119-98 in Oklahoma City. San Antonio advanced past Minnesota in six games, with its two losses coming by a combined seven points. The Thunder swept the Lakers and won their final three games of that series by an average of 20.3 points. Interstat’s game simulator projects a 121-104 Thunder victory. The winner of Game 2 will gain a significant advantage as the series shifts to San Antonio for Games 3 and 4. Game 3 is Friday, May 22, at the Frost Bank Center, followed by Game 4 on Sunday, May 24. The series will return to Oklahoma City for Game 5 on Saturday, May 30, if necessary. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. EDT.