SAN ANTONIO -- Spurs guards De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper were cleared to play in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.
Harper went through his pregame routine before the club gave him the OK to play. Harper (adductor) and Fox (right ankle) were listed as questionable, but their status was updated before the scheduled start of Game 3, with the series tied. The Spurs, who will greatly benefit from both guards returning to the court, were thin in the backcourt.
Second-year star Stephon Castle and Jordan McLaughlin were the club's only healthy guards after San Antonio's loss to Oklahoma City in Game 2.
Harper suffered his injury in the third quarter of Game 2, after driving to the basket for a layup that was blocked by Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Harper continued to play until the 4:50 mark of the quarter, when he was replaced by Carter Bryant.
After going to the locker room, he returned to the bench briefly before a Spurs staffer escorted Harper back. He was diagnosed with right adductor soreness.
Fox, meanwhile, suffered his high right ankle sprain in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals at Minnesota. Fox played through pain to finish Games 5 and 6 of that series before missing the first two games of the conference finals. In both instances, Fox participated in his pregame warmup routine before the Spurs held out the nine-year veteran, who is averaging 18.8 points, 5.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds this postseason.
Before sitting out Games 1 and 2 of the West finals, Fox hadn't missed a game since March 25 and started 72 games in the regular season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
