Wemby lifts San Antonio to win

In what was a pivotal Game 4 in the Western Conference finals, the San Antonio Spurs knotted things up.

The Spurs outclassed the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, May 24, 103-82, to tie the series at 2-2 and avoid falling into an elimination scenario.

It was a complete effort from the Spurs, who held the Thunder to their lowest scoring output all season long. In fact, the lowest scoring total Oklahoma City had posted this season was 97 points, in a January loss against the Charlotte Hornets, and its 82 points were lowest since December 2021, when the Thunder lost by 73 points against the Memphis Grizzlies and scored just 79.

Here are the takeaways from Game 4 of the Western Conference finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs:

This is what it looks like when a star player — arguably the most gifted hooper on the planet — carries his team. With the threat of a 3-1 series deficit looming, Victor Wembanyama was sensational in the first half, dropping 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting, hauling in 5 rebounds, dishing 3 assists and swatting away 2 blocks.

Wembanyama played with intention on both ends of the floor. He was the vocal leader, communicating with teammates and coaches. He played inside and out, attacking the rim and using his range to hit outside shots.

He finished the game with 33 points on 11-of-22 shooting, adding 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks.

This is the Wembanyama for which the Thunder have no answer.

“I’m not surprised,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after the game. “Our competitive response all year has been pretty good, and he has been at the forefront of that, more than not. I think tonight, from my perspective, felt an obligation to set a tone for us in a variety of ways.”

Jalen Williams has missed a ton of time this season with hamstring injuries, so the Thunder know how to play without him. But in tandem with Ajay Mitchell’s right soleus strain that popped up in Game 3, the Thunder might have a ball-handling problem.

Mitchell had started the games recently that Williams missed. And because both excel at ball-handling and providing outlets for the Thunder to create offense when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is facing double-teams, the Thunder offense stalled Sunday night when SGA faced those extra bodies.

“We can,” Daigneault said when asked how the Thunder can create offense without Williams and Mitchell. “I thought we left a lot to be desired on that end of the floor tonight. We didn’t have the sharpness, force or precision necessary to crack them.”

Gilgeous-Alexander dished out 7 assists in Game 4; the next closest players, Isaiah Hartenstein and Kenrick Williams, posted only 3 apiece. The Thunder committed 20 turnovers Sunday night, most this postseason.

This is the swarming defensive intensity San Antonio needs to win this series

The Spurs were more forceful, used active hands to deflect balls and swipe steals, and they were disciplined; they didn’t fall for the bait that Oklahoma City so often uses to dupe defenders into foul trouble.

“I’m not going to get into details but, in general, being more disciplined and just trusting the gameplan even more,” Wembanyama told reporters after the game when asked what the difference was in Game 4.

More importantly for the Spurs, they were able to turn that defense into offense, with a stretch of seven consecutive missed shots midway through the first, sparking a 16-0 San Antonio run. The Spurs threw extra bodies at Gilgeous-Alexander and picked him up with full-court pressure to make every possession difficult.

“Anytime we can turn defense into offense — that’s turnovers, that’s rebounding, whatever the aspect may be — that’s when we’re at our best,” Johnson said. “We can get out and run, play in space with momentum. We did that tonight.”

In the first half, the Thunder shot the ball 35.6%; they finished the game at 33.0%.

Shooting — including from beyond the arc — let the Thunder down

The Thunder entered Sunday night’s game shooting 39.5% in this series from 3-point range, with 47 conversions from beyond the arc.

In the first half, the Thunder made just 1-of-11 attempts (9.1%) from 3. It wasn’t much better the rest of the way, with Oklahoma City finishing the game just 6-of-33 (18.2%) from 3-point range.

Jared McCain went 0-of-5 and Alex Caruso attempted just one 3-pointer. Not surprisingly, with the way the night went, he missed that one, too.

“We were just able to rotate to shooters and not give them so many wide open 3s,” Spurs guard Devin Vassell said. “They had so many wide open 3s over the past couple of games and you’ve got to respect them, especially if they’re making them. We were trying to cut them out and just playing fast.”

The Spurs want to get out on fastbreaks

It makes sense: the Thunder are the premier half-court defensive team in the association. So any chance the Spurs can prevent Oklahoma City from getting settled into their set defense, it’s to their advantage. It destabilizes the Thunder and allows for easier entry into the paint.

The Spurs took a 10-0 advantage on fastbreak points into the half and finished the game with an 18-7 edge.

In points off turnovers, San Antonio also dominated the game, outscoring Oklahoma City in the statistic, 25-13.

Mark Daigneualt, once again, looks to his bench for a spark

The Thunder are the deepest team in the NBA. Coach Mark Daigneault, seeing his team struggle early from the floor, turned to reserves to try to get a spark.

Eleven players recorded minutes in the first half, which isn’t uncommon for the Thunder; Daigneault has played a similar rotation in this series, but the difference is that, this time, the group didn’t provide that spark.

After Alex Caruso posted monster games earlier in the series to carry the bench, the Thunder reserves scored just 6 points in the first half, compared to 8 from the Spurs bench.

By the end of the game, that stat flipped to favor the Thunder, 34-30, but it was skewed because Daigneault pulled his starters early, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander not playing a single second in the fourth quarter.

“They just punched us in our face early,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after the game. “That’s two games in a row they’ve come out as the aggressors. Last game, we were able to course correct, and tonight we just didn’t do so. We’ve just got to do a better job of starting games. Obviously it’s a little more challenging when you’re on the road. We know that. But we got to go out there and do it if we want to win games, especially against a team that good.”