As the West Finals heat up, the Knicks advance towards the NBA Finals
The Knicks take control of the East, while the Thunder and Spurs, led by Victor Wembaneyama, set up a tense Western Conference Finals battle.
In a pivotal Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, the San Antonio Spurs decided the game.
The Spurs defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-82 on Sunday, May 24th, tying the series at 2-2 and avoiding an elimination scenario.
It was a perfect effort by the Spurs, who held the Thunder to their lowest scoring total all season. In fact, the lowest point Oklahoma City has scored this season was 97 points against the Charlotte Hornets in January, and its 82 points are the lowest since December 2021, when the Thunder scored just 79 points in a 73-point loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Here are the highlights from Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals between Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
This is what it’s like when a star player, perhaps the most talented hooper on the planet, leads a team. With the series tied at 3-1, Victor Wenbanyama was sensational in the first half, dropping 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting, five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.
Wenbanyama played with purpose on both ends of the floor. He was a vocal leader and communicated with his teammates and coaches. He played inside and outside, attacking the rim and using his range to hit outside shots.
He finished the game with 33 points on 11-of-22 shooting, eight rebounds, five assists, and three blocks.
This is a wembane yama with no answer for the Thunder.
“I’m not surprised,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after the game. “We’ve been very competitive all year, and he’s been at the forefront of that more than anything. From my perspective, I think tonight he felt an obligation to set the tone for us in a lot of ways.”
Jaylen Williams has missed a lot of time this season with a hamstring injury, so the Thunder know how to play without him. However, with Ajay Mitchell injuring his right soleus muscle in Game 3, the Thunder may have ball-handling issues.
Mitchell recently started the game Williams missed. And the Thunder’s offense stalled Sunday night when SGA faced the extra players, as both are good ball-handlers and provide an outlet for the Thunder to generate offense when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander faces double teams.
When asked how the Thunder could generate offense without Williams and Mitchell, Daigneault said, “We can.” “I thought there was a lot left on that end of the floor tonight. We just didn’t have the sharpness, power and precision we needed to break them.”
Gilgeous-Alexander had seven assists in Game 4. The next closest players, Isaiah Hartenstein and Kenrick Williams, each posted just three. The Thunder committed 20 turnovers Sunday night, the most this postseason.
That’s the swarming defensive intensity San Antonio needs to win this series.
The Spurs were more powerful, used active hands to deflect the ball, forced steals and were disciplined. They didn’t fall for the bait Oklahoma City often uses to trick defenders into foul trouble.
When asked what was different in Game 4, Wenbanyama told reporters after the game, “I won’t go into details, but in general I was more disciplined and trusted the game plan more.”
More importantly for the Spurs, they were able to turn their defense into offense as they hit seven straight missed shots midway through the first to give San Antonio a 16-0 lead. The Spurs threw extra bodies at Gilgeous-Alexander and caught him with full-court pressure, making every possession difficult.
“Anytime we can turn defense into offense, whether it’s turnovers or rebounds, that’s when we’re at our best,” Johnson said. “We can jump out and run and play hard in space. We did that tonight.”
In the first half, the Thunder shot 35.6% from the ball. They finished the game at 33.0%.
Take down Thunder with a shot (including shooting from beyond the arc)
The Thunder entered Sunday night’s game having shot 39.5 percent from 3-point range and converted 47 from beyond the basket in the series.
In the first half, the Thunder made just 1 of 11 3-point shots (9.1%). The rest of the game wasn’t much better, with Oklahoma City finishing the game hitting just 6 of 33 (18.2%) from 3-point range.
Jared McCain went 0-of-5 and Alex Caruso made just one 3-pointer. Naturally, given how the night went, he missed that too.
“We just rotated our shooters and didn’t give them too many wide open threes,” Spurs guard Devin Vassell said. “They’ve been hitting so many wide-open threes the last few games and you have to respect them, especially when they’re making them. We tried to cut them and just made fast plays.”
Spurs looking for fast break
That’s natural. The Thunder are the best half-court defensive team in the association. So, if the Spurs have any chance of stopping Oklahoma City from settling into a set defense, that would be an advantage for them. It destabilizes the sander and makes it easier to get into the paint.
The Spurs took a 10-0 advantage in fast break points in the first half and finished the game with an 18-7 advantage.
San Antonio dominated the game in scoring from turnovers, statistically outscoring Oklahoma City 25-13.
Mark Duigneault looks to the bench again to provide spark
The Thunder are the deepest team in the NBA. Coach Mark Daigneault saw his team struggle from the start and looked to his substitutes for inspiration.
Eleven players saw playing time in the first half, which is not unusual for the Thunder. Daigneault has played a similar rotation this series, but the difference this time is that this group didn’t provide that spark.
After Alex Caruso had a monster game early in the series off the bench, the Spurs’ bench scored eight points, while the Thunder’s reserves only scored six points in the first half.
By the end of the game, the score was 34-30 in favor of the Thunder, but the result was skewed by Daigneault pulling his starter early and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander not playing a second in the fourth quarter.
“They just punched us in the face early on,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after the game. “For the second game in a row they came out as the aggressors. Last game we were able to get back on track and tonight we couldn’t do that. We’ve got to start the game better. Obviously it’s a little more difficult on the road. We understand that. But if you want to win games, especially against such a strong team, you’ve got to go out there and do it.”
