Catching Isaiah Hartenstein‘s pass, Jared McCain curled to the top of the key. The 22-year-old pulled up for the outside jumper. As the ball kissed the glass, it loudly rattled through thanks to some shooter’s luck. The big-time fourth-quarter bucket demonstrated why he’s jettisoned to the top of OKC’s rotation.

The Oklahoma City Thunder saved their season with a 122-113 Game 2 win over the San Antonio Spurs. They tied this year’s epic Western Conference Finals at 1-1.

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McCain finished with 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting, six rebounds and three assists. He shot 3-of-9 from 3 and went 1-of-2 on free throws. He also had two steals.

What an NBA playoff journey it’s been for McCain. The expectations were very low. Maybe he’d have a few flurry buckets in the opening rounds of the postseason. But to put up nine points in the second half as the Thunder badly needed answers for offense sans Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? That’s just storybook stuff. Not even his biggest homers could’ve predicted this.

As other Thunder role players have shrunk in the big moments, McCain has shown how a trigger-happy mentality has helped him climb the rotation. Even with an inefficient night, they loved his ability to play within the flow of the offense and not be afraid to put up semi-contested shots.

And when the Thunder badly needed some momentum, McCain provided it in the fourth quarter. Holding up on defense, he’s had quite the developmental journey in just the three months since he arrived in OKC. Amazing to think he suited up for G League games just five months ago.

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What a find McCain has been since his arrival. Not much was expected from him. It was viewed as a buy-low move toward the future. But for him to contribute to a win in the freaking Western Conference Finals shows you can’t write the book on anybody in the early part of their career.

Alongside Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace, that three-headed reserve trio helped the Thunder conjure up enough offense to outlast the Spurs’ late rallies. That’s the formula OKC must repeat the rest of the way if Jalen Williams ends up missing more time with his latest hamstring injury. The good news is, they should be used to playing without the All-NBA talent at this point.

“Jared’s been enlightening for us as a team. Just from a personality standpoint, anyway. Anybody that’s got to talk to him or see him since he’s been here, he’s one of those guys that just has endless energy every single day,” Caurso said about McCain. “He’s smiling and joking and trying to be part of the team and be a great teammate. That translates to his game as well. He’s constantly moving on offense, which is manipulating the defense. He’s starting to pick up some of our other principles.”

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Jared McCain continues to be an OKC playoff hero in Game 2 win over Spurs