Spurs’ Young Core Sees More Pressure As Injuries Take a Toll in WCF Against the Thunder

OKLAHOMA CITY – The San Antonio Spurs spent the first two games of their Western Conference Finals series proving they could hang with the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

Now with Game 3 looming, they must prove they can survive themselves.

What began as a magical postseason run has now become a test of strength and endurance after rookie guard Dylan Harper left Wednesday’s Game 2 with what the team called right adductor soreness. The injury comes as De’Aaron Fox remains day to day with an ankle sprain, which has kept him out the first two games of the Conference Finals.

San Antonio's Dylan Harper will be a game-time decision tonight in Game 3 against the Oklahoma City Thunder after MRI showed an adductor injury, not a hamstring, sources tell ESPN. Harper is expected to go through his pregame routine to make a decision on his status. pic.twitter.com/O4atDfehgR
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 22, 2026

With the series tied 1-1, injuries will now begin to reshape the rest of the series.

After stealing Game 1 in a double overtime thriller, the Thunder had the Spurs looking overwhelmed in the final minutes of Wednesday’s 122-113 loss, using their depth and defensive pressure to wear down the Spurs’ injury-depleted frontcourt.

With Fox missing his second straight game and Harper out most of the second half, the majority of the offensive burden fell on the shoulders of second year guard Stephon Castle, which the Thunder knew and seized on.

While Castle finished with a team-high 25 points, Oklahoma City’s defense trapped him, and made him panic, forcing him into turning the ball over nine times, after he had given the ball away 11 times in Monday’s Game 1.

The injuries to Fox and Harper, resulting in the lack of consistent and steady ball handling, have now become the issue that will make or break the series.

San Antonio acquired Fox for exactly this moment: to stabalize the offense, control the pace and tempo, and relive pressure from the franchise’s younger guards. Instead, the 28-year-old has been forced to watch from the bench for the first two games while trying to push through a nagging injury that head coach Mitch Johnson admitted would normally keep him out during the regular season.

“Honestly, he’s trying to play every day,” Johnson told reporters after the Game 2 loss. “It’s a tough injury that he wouldn’t be playing with in the regular season, so he’s trying to tough it out.”

The Spurs’ injury situation became even more concerning once Harper limped to the locker room on Wednesday evening.

The rookie guard has become one of the Spurs’ postseason surprises, stepping into the starting lineup in a hostile environment and filled Fox’s role with great composure. He scored 24 points, to go along with 11 rebounds, six assists, and seven steals in Game 1. He then added 12 in Game 2 before leaving with injury.

The loss of Harper also changes the emotional impact of the series for San Antonio. Through two games, the Spurs’ fearlessness and youth has rattled the Thunder. The Spurs played fast, loose, and confident. Now, the injuries have forced the coaching staff to shorten rotatations, tighten up, and lean heavy on its stars like Castle and Victor Wembanyama.

In Game 2, Wembanyama remained dominant throughout the game despite some physical play by the Thunder for over 48 minutes in the form of multiple bodies and arm-pulling. Without Fox and Harper, Oklahoma City can now collapse even harder inside the paint and dare San Antonio’s role players into beating them.

The Thunder might be missing Jalen Williams in this one with a hamstring issue, but right now they're still more fresh, deep, and experienced. Those are the exact components that are needed in this stage of the season for teams to win a championship.

And for the Spurs? Well, for them, this series is no longer about their lack of experience or being “ahead of schedule."

The real question is: do they enough healthy bodies to survive this?

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