Besides the New York Knicks, who are destroying the East, the Oklahoma City Thunder had the most impressive performance so far this postseason vs. the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the 2026 Western Conference Finals.

The Thunder weathered the storm after the Spurs 15 points in their 123-108 Game 3 win. The foul merchant himself, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, overcame a poor shooting performance Friday to score a team-high 26 points by hitting 12-of-12 free throws.

However, Oklahoma City won Game 3 thanks to its terrific bench and by keeping Victor Wembanyama off the glass, as he grabbed the fewest rebounds (four) among San Antonio’s starting 5.

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They run it back Sunday with OKC holding a 2-1 series lead. Without further ado, here are my looks for the Thunder-Spurs Game 4 of the 2026 Western Conference Finals.

Best Bets for Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs Game 4

• San Antonio Spurs -2.5 (-110) at FanDuel, risking 1.1 units (u).
• Thunder SG Jared McCain UNDER 13.5 points (-125) at DraftKings, risking 0.63u.
• Spurs C Victor Wembanyama OVER 13.5 rebounds (+105) at DraftKings, risking 0.5u.

Oklahoma City’s depth will be tested Sunday. The Thunder could be missing All-Star wing Jalen Williams, aka J-Dub, who is questionable for Game 4, and they will definitely be without 2025-26 NBA Sixth Man of the Year finalist, Ajay Mitchell.

THUNDER STAR JARED MCCAIN SAYS HE GETS HATE FOR PAINTING HIS NAILS AND DOING TIKTOK DANCES ONLINE

But OKC’s bench stepped up in a big way for Game 3. Especially PF Jaylin Williams and SG Jared McCain. Williams scored 18 points and went 5-for-6 from behind the arc. McCain added 24 points on 10-for-21 shooting.

This leads me to my first player prop for Game 4: Jared McCain UNDER 13.5 points. Out of principle, I have to bet on a bench player’s Under after a career-best playoff performance.

First of all, McCain had the unlimited green light Friday and I’m literally betting on him getting less usage despite OKC missing two rotation players. He attempted the most field goals for either team in Game 3. That’s insane for a backup in a conference finals.

Also, McCain went 3-for-4 with Wemby defending him Friday. That’s almost impossible and indicates just how irrationally confident he was in Game 3. Whether it’s pure regression or coaching adjustments by the Spurs, McCain will come back down to earth Sunday.

SPURS PHENOM VICTOR WEMBANYAMA MAKES NBA HISTORY WITH FIRST CAREER DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD

My second player prop is Victor Wembanyama OVER 13.5 rebounds (+105). He has grabbed 14+ rebounds in seven of his 13 games this postseason. Wemby was injured in and ejected from two of the games in which he fell short of 14 rebounds.

Wembanyama will be pissed after his team blew a 15-0 lead to start Game 3 and he got out-rebounded by all of San Antonio’s starters and Thunder C Isaiah Hartenstein. This should motivate Wemby to dominate the paint and glass more Sunday.

Finally, I’m sticking with my pre-series read that the Spurs would advance to the NBA Finals and I’m betting them to even the conference finals, and cover the -2.5, before heading back to OKC for Game 5.

Maybe it’s a year or two too soon for San Antonio and I’m just wrong. But I cannot believe Oklahoma City is good enough or deep enough to beat Wembanyama without its second-best player, J-Dub.

Prediction: Spurs 113, Thunder 107

_____________________________

Follow me on X @Geoffery-Clark, and check out my OutKick Bets Podcast for more betting content and random rants.

Delhi Capitals – Photo: ANI

Expansion

This is part three of a series examining the challenges confronting the NATO alliance.

LVIV, Ukraine — Four years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, officials across NATO’s eastern flank increasingly believe the alliance’s future is already being rewritten on Ukraine’s battlefield.

From drone warfare and cyber defense to civilian resilience and large-scale military mobilization, Eastern European officials say Ukraine has become one of the world’s most battle-tested militaries, forcing NATO to rethink how future wars will be fought.

This week, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been invited to attend the alliance’s annual summit in Ankara in July, underscoring how central Ukraine has become to NATO’s future despite not being a member of the alliance.

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“I think today the Ukrainian army is the number one army in Europe,” Mayor of Lviv Andriy Sadovyi told Fox News Digital during an interview in the western Ukrainian city.

“I think NATO needs the Ukrainian army,” he added.

The debate over NATO’s future intensified this week as alliance foreign ministers gathered in Sweden ahead of a major NATO summit in July, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling the upcoming meeting “one of the more important leaders’ summits in the history of NATO.”

Rubio warned NATO allies this week that the alliance lacks sufficient munitions production for future conflicts, a concern echoed by Ret. Lt. Gen. Richard Newton, who said the Pentagon is studying Ukraine’s rapid wartime industrial adaptation.

“A number of nations are taking a page out of Ukraine’s transformation of its defense industrial base, in terms of quality as well as the tremendous increase in quantity of arms to the frontlines as well,” Newton said, adding, “The Pentagon is taking note and working to encourage the transformation of our own industrial base so we can drastically improve and more rapidly provide capabilities to our forces in the field, not in a matter of years but in months and perhaps even in weeks.”

Rubio also referenced President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would maintain troop deployments in Poland after concerns earlier this week about possible reductions on NATO’s eastern flank.

AS TRUMP FORCES NATO TO PAY UP, ALLIANCE RACES TO CLOSE MILITARY GAP WITH US

Speaking before the NATO meeting, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski welcomed Trump’s announcement. “I want to thank President Trump for his announcement that the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels,” Sikorski said.

“I think this makes Putin very uncomfortable.”

Some note that the debate over NATO’s future comes with deep irony for Moscow.

One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s central grievances before the invasion was NATO’s eastward expansion and Ukraine’s growing ambitions to move closer to the alliance. Moscow repeatedly demanded NATO roll back its military footprint to pre-1997 levels and opposed any future Ukrainian membership.

Instead, the invasion accelerated NATO’s expansion.

Finland formally joined NATO in 2023, ending decades of military nonalignment, while Sweden joined in 2024 after Russia’s invasion dramatically reshaped security calculations across northern Europe. Finland alone added more than 800 miles of direct NATO border with Russia.

Now officials in Poland and Ukraine say the war is not only expanding NATO geographically, but fundamentally transforming the alliance itself.

“For decades, NATO focused largely on expeditionary wars and counterterrorism,” said Polish Deputy Defense Minister Paweł Zalewski during an interview in Warsaw. “Modern warfare is mostly done by drones.”

“There is not a military in the world which is better than Ukraine” in understanding today’s battlefield realities, he added.

US SCRAMBLES AS DRONES SHAPE THE LANDSCAPE OF WAR: ‘THE FUTURE IS HERE’

Ret. Gen. Philip Breedlove, who served as NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said the war has fundamentally transformed how militaries around the world understand modern warfare.

“The war in Ukraine has changed far more than just NATO’s understanding of modern warfare — it has changed the whole world’s understanding,” Breedlove told Fox News Digital.

Breedlove added that Ukraine’s military has evolved into “one of Europe’s most capable and formidable” forces after years of fighting Russia, despite having surrendered its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.

UKRAINE MAKES FASTEST GAINS IN YEARS AS RUSSIA TALKS STALL, EXPLOITING CRACKS IN KREMLIN COMMAND

“Today, most agree that Ukraine is not only fighting, but winning back land against one of the world’s most formidable forces,” he said.

That transformation is visible throughout Ukraine.

Before Russia’s invasion, Ukraine had one of Eastern Europe’s largest IT sectors. Sadovyi said the war forced much of that technological ecosystem to pivot toward defense production.

“Before the invasion, we had in Kyiv a huge IT cluster, 40,000 workers,” Lviv’s mayor said. “During the war, we rebuilt the IT cluster to defend cluster.”

NATO ALLY POLAND WARNS RUSSIA, BELARUS PUSHING ILLEGAL MIGRANTS TOWARD ALLIANCE — AND THE US

Ukraine now operates a rapidly expanding wartime innovation ecosystem focused on drones, anti-drone systems, battlefield communications and decentralized weapons production. NATO officials and European militaries are increasingly studying those lessons closely.

Breedlove says the conflict exposed the limits of traditional air power and accelerated the rise of drone warfare.

“It’s critical to remember that the war in Ukraine is being fundamentally fought without the support of modern air warfare because of the failures of the Russian Air Force,” he said.

“It’s why drone warfare has grown so exponentially, because neither side was able to marshal true modern air capabilities.”

The changes are also reshaping NATO strategy.

The Polish defense official Zalewski told Fox News Digital the Pentagon is now promoting what Polish officials describe as “NATO 3.0,” a model in which Europe assumes greater responsibility for conventional defense as the United States shifts more attention toward China and the Indo-Pacific.

“The main assumption of this concept is that conventionally it would be Europe defending itself,” he said.

EUROPE STEPS UP TO FUND ITS OWN DEFENSE, PROVIDE SECURITY FOR UKRAINE AFTER TRUMP THREATS

That shift comes as Poland dramatically increases military spending and positions itself as one of NATO’s leading military powers on the alliance’s eastern flank. Warsaw spent nearly 5% of GDP on defense this year, the highest level in NATO.

Polish officials argue the war proved Eastern Europe was right to take Russia’s threat seriously long before many Western European countries did.

“The eastern flank is much more powerful than even five years ago,” Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Bosacki told Fox News Digital during reporting in Warsaw.

“We were right about the nature of Putin’s regime and Russia’s aggressive strategy.”

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Ukraine is not currently a NATO member, and the alliance has avoided offering Kyiv a concrete timeline for accession during the war out of concern it could trigger direct confrontation between NATO and Russia.

But across Eastern Europe, officials increasingly argue the alliance’s future may depend on Ukraine regardless of formal membership.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said Sunday that Democrats have failed to connect with working-class voters because the party too often backed “status quo establishment candidates” unwilling to challenge what he described as a rigged economic system.

Speaking on “Meet the Press,” Khanna weighed in on a newly released Democratic National Committee autopsy report examining the party’s 2024 election loss and broader struggles with voters.

“We do need to recognize that the status quo has failed,” Khanna said. “This is a system that has created massive inequality. That the economy is lopsided and unfair, and it’s not working for many working-class and middle-class Americans. And too often we’ve run status quo establishment candidates who have been unwilling to call out an economic and political system that has failed.”

DEMOCRATS IN RETREAT, WITH VOTERS SAYING THAT THE PARTY IS NO LONGER A ‘FRIEND OF THE WORKING CLASS’: REPORT

Khanna made the remarks after NBC’s Kristen Welker cited a passage from the DNC report arguing Democrats have focused too heavily on “winning arguments” while Republicans focused on “winning elections.”

The California Democrat rejected the idea that Democrats should abandon reasoned debate but acknowledged the party needs a stronger economic message aimed at voters struggling financially.

“I don’t think we need to give up reason,” Khanna said. “I think more Americans probably want reason debate in this country.”

DEM PARTY BLAME GAME: ACCUSATIONS FLY AS TO WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HARRIS’ MASSIVE LOSS TO TRUMP

Khanna also reflected on former Vice President Kamala Harris and the report’s conclusion that the White House did not do enough over several years to improve her standing before Democrats switched nominees.

“In retrospect, had she been in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio talking about the economy and been the lead for the president’s economic policies — the Inflation Reduction Act, the American Rescue Plan, the CHIPS Act — perhaps we would have done better,” Khanna said.

Still, Khanna argued Democrats must now focus on rebuilding support among working-class voters heading into future elections.

“We need to have an economic message that actually is talking to the working-class folks who have been shafted,” he said, “and that’s taking on a system that has been rigged.”

DEMOCRATS’ ‘COMEBACK RETREAT’ SUGGESTS PARTY TO ‘EMBRACE PATRIOTISM’ TO WIN BACK WORKING-CLASS VOTERS

Khanna also defended the DNC Chair Ken Martin as some Democrats call for his resignation following backlash over the handling of the autopsy report.

“No,” Khanna said when asked whether Martin should step down.

Khanna pointed to Martin’s opposition to super PAC involvement in Democratic primaries and his criticism of superdelegates selecting party nominees as positions he supports.

“Ken Martin is a Paul Wellstone Democrat,” Khanna said. “There are two things he’s done that I actually agree with.”

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Khanna added that Martin could have handled the autopsy process better and should work more closely with state parties ahead of the 2026 and 2028 election cycles.

“Could he have handled this autopsy better? Absolutely,” Khanna said. “Should he be working more with state parties to make sure they’re funded into ’26 and ’28? Absolutely. But I don’t believe he should resign.”

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The DNC report was commissioned after Democrats’ losses in the 2024 election cycle and was reportedly delayed before its public release amid internal disagreements over its findings and political fallout.

A long-standing cruise ship tradition has become the center of intense debate following stricter enforcement issued to passengers.

For years, vacationers have used personalized signs, festive banners, and colorful magnets to distinguish their rooms and celebrate milestones.

However, recent safety guidelines and stricter rules are dividing the cruise-goer community.

OUTRAGED CRUISE PASSENGERS BLAST COMPANY’S ‘IDIOTIC’ NEW DRESS CODE CRACKDOWN

The latest wave of controversy ignited after passengers sailing on Royal Caribbean International’s Symphony of the Seas received an official notice from the cruise line outlining specific guidelines for stateroom door decorations, according to a letter obtained by Cruise Hive.

Their official policy explicitly prohibits “placing materials anywhere on the interior of the ship (including stateroom doors, along corridors, etc.).”

Fox News Digital reached out to Royal Caribbean for comment on the development.

The news highlights a larger debate among frequent cruisers who view door decorating as an integral part of the cruise experience.

One Reddit post on the subject, titled “Door decorations, yea or nay?” delved into the topic.

REDDIT SPLITS OVER ‘DISGUSTING’ CRUISE HABIT TRAVELERS SAY IS SURPRISINGLY COMMON

“All the pictures I’ve seen look fun, but I’m worried about being the only one doing it, or our decorations (nothing expressive obviously) disappearing over the trip,” the user wrote.

Long cruise ship hallways often look identical, making it easy to walk past the correct room.

According to one attendee sharing their thoughts on a different Reddit post, “We went on a group girls trip and this definitely helped the six of us with drink packages find our door.”

However, cruise operators argue that the practice introduces significant safety issues.

Chief among these concerns is the threat of fire. Cruise ship doors and walls are designed with strict fire-safety ratings to contain emergencies.

CRUISE SHIP OUTBREAKS FAIL TO SCARE OFF TRAVELERS AHEAD OF BUSY SUMMER SEASON

According to the official website of Carnival Cruise Line, their decoration policies mandate that “Decorations may consist only of fire retardant materials” and strictly dictate that “No string lights of any kind are allowed.”

Safety is not the only issue fueling the crackdown. Many cruise lines are trying to mitigate damage caused by unauthorized adhesives.

Cruisers who use superglues, heavy duct tape, or command strips frequently ruin the paint or underlying finish of expensive metal doors.

“Please avoid using tape and other adhesives, including gel adhesives, to affix items to your stateroom door, as this can damage the doors’ finish,” Disney Cruise Line warns its passengers in their prohibited items list.

CRUISE PASSENGERS BLAST NEW DINING DRESS CODE ON MAJOR CRUISE LINE

Additionally, high-quality or sentimental decorations can be targets for theft and vandalism by passing guests, which leads to disputes onboard.

“Their new policy is not to do anything about it.”

Users online reported their items being stolen, as well as how much the cruise line can help them in the aftermath.

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“I heard from someone that Royal Caribbean was able to use security cameras to track down their stolen door magnet, so I went to guest services when mine was stolen, and they said their new policy is not to do anything about it,” wrote one person.

A user responded that someone in their Facebook group ran into the same issue.

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“They had personalized sailing magnets stolen and guest services said they consider anything outside of the stateroom not worthy of checking cameras,” they wrote.

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This appears to be in line with the letter at the center of the latest controversy.

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“Please Note: We expect guests to be mindful of your door display, but any decoration displayed outside of your stateroom door is done at your own risk,” Royal Caribbean wrote.

“Royal Caribbean International is not responsible for any items on display that go missing outside of your room.”

A Senate Republican warned that President Donald Trump’s decisions were “killing our chances” for the GOP holding onto power in the Senate. 

It’s another chapter in the ongoing breakdown of the relationship between Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Trump that started last year during Republicans’ push to pass the president’s “big, beautiful bill.” 

The latest episode on Friday came after Trump accused Tillis of being a “nitpicker” on Truth Social. 

“When I told him that I would not, under any circumstances, endorse him for another run, too much work and drama (he couldn’t have won, anyway!), he immediately quit the race and publicly announced that he was going to ‘retire,’” Trump said.

TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON $1.8 BILLION ‘SLUSH FUND’ THAT KILLED HIS AGENDA, SPURRED REPUBLICAN REBELLION

“I said, ‘Wow, great news, that was easy!’ The media said how brave he was to take me on, but he wasn’t brave, he was just the opposite – HE WAS A QUITTER,” he continued. “Now he can have all the fun he wants for a few months, with some of his RINO friends, screwing the Republican Party.”

Tillis has not shied away from being critical of the Trump administration since announcing his decision not to run for office again, and he has typically aimed his barbs at the president’s top advisors.

He did so again by blaming Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund on U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, pushing 50-year mortgages and the bipartisan Senate housing package on Housing Director Bill Pulte, the push to acquire private companies with taxpayer dollars on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and the spate of firings of top generals at the Pentagon — and “not holding Putin accountable for his systematic kidnapping, rape, torture, and murder of Ukrainian civilians,” on War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

SENATE GOP ERUPTS OVER TRUMP DOJ ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION’ FUND, PUNTS ICE, BORDER PATROL FUNDING

“If opposing these things makes me a RINO, then I gladly accept that nickname,” Tillis said on X. “We need Republicans to do well in November, but the stupid stuff is killing our chances!”

White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital in a statement that Trump is “the unequivocal leader, best messenger, and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party, and he is committed to maintaining Republicans’ majority in Congress to continue delivering wins for the American people.”

REPUBLICANS RECOIL AS TRUMP’S BILLION-DOLLAR DOJ ‘SLUSH FUND’ FOR ALLIES THREATENS ICE, BORDER PATROL PLAN

“In just over one year, the President has made our country greater than ever before with the most secure border in American history, the largest middle-class tax cuts ever, and the lowest murder rate since 1900,” Wales said. “President Trump will continue to draw a sharp contrast with his commonsense agenda and the radical Democrats in Congress who allowed millions of illegal aliens to flow through the border, unanimously opposed the Working Families Tax Cuts, and are soft-on-crime.”

Still, many of those decisions have given Republicans across the spectrum of the Senate GOP heartburn, and most recently, the “anti-weaponization” fund derailed Congress’ effort to fund immigration operations across the country for the remainder of Trump’s term. 

Tillis was one of several Republicans who blasted the fund created by the Department of Justice (DOJ) shortly after its announcement earlier this week and joined in a dogpile against acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday behind closed doors.

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Like several others, Tillis was concerned that the fund could be used by Jan. 6 rioters convicted of assaulting police officers. 

“Imagine that,” Tillis said earlier this week.
”A fund that is set up to compensate people who assaulted Capitol Police officers and other responding agencies, right? People that had pled guilty to physical acts against the president may actually be able to get compensated. How absurd does that sound coming out of my mouth?”