After dropping Game 3 at home against the Thunder, the Spurs had to respond with aggression to avoid putting themselves in a tough spot heading into the second half of the series. Hence, the Spurs secured a 103-82 win over the defending champions in Game 4 to tie the series at two wins apiece.
They dominated right from tip-off and did not let the Thunder take the lead at any point in the game after the first two minutes in the first quarter. Let’s take a look at the five things that contributed to the Spurs’ resounding win to bring this series to parity.
1. Victor Wembanyama’s Leadership On Both Ends Of The Floor
Victor Wembanyama, the reigning defensive player of the year, also showcased tonight why he is equally lethal on both ends of the floor. He finished the game with 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals, and three blocks while shooting 11-22 from the field (50.0 FG%) and 3-7 from beyond the arc (42.9 3P%).
Following Game 3, Shaquille O’Neal called out Victor Wembanyama for not playing up to his potential. In Game 4, he played much more like it as he clogged the lanes, used his wingspan to provide elite rim protection, and remained aggressive on offense.
2. The Spurs’ Discipline With The Ball
In the first three games, the Spurs’ backcourt caused a lot more turnovers than they did tonight. In the first two games, De’Aaron Fox was sidelined with an injury, and Stephon Castle alone had 20 turnovers in both games combined. In Game 3, Fox looked rusty himself in his comeback and caused four turnovers in the loss.
Tonight, the Spurs’ starting backcourt had a single turnover combined. Fox did not turn the ball over even once; Castle only had one turnover. One of the Thunder’s strengths is their ability to break out in transition and beat teams before they set up their half-court defense.
But with the Spurs’ discipline with the ball tonight, they did not let the Thunder find any rhythm or momentum to bounce back from the early punch in this fixture.
3. San Antonio Capitalized On Oklahoma City’s Mistakes
The Spurs turned the tables on the Thunder as they made them pay more for each turnover. The Thunder had 17 turnovers in the game, and they allowed the Spurs to score 27 points off those turnovers.
Meanwhile, the Spurs only lost the ball 12 times tonight, but the Thunder only scored 13 points off those. This difference shows that the Spurs were focused on scoring quickly in transition and not allowing the defending champions to set their defense.
4. The Spurs Respond To The Thunder’s Physicality On Defense
San Antonio saw the heights to which the Thunder can meddle with what is considered permissible physicality in the game and decided to turn up their intensity tonight on defense as well.
While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drew a few fouls in his favor initially, for most of the night, the Spurs were being allowed to be as physical as they wanted with him. They showed him multiple bodies whenever he tried to be aggressive at the rim and forced several misses.
As a result of the MVP’s inability to have an answer for the Spurs’ physical defense, he sat out for the entire fourth quarter, which allowed the Spurs to close this game out without much resistance for a comeback from the Thunder.
They forced Gilgeous-Alexander to have yet another playoff game where he could not reach the 20-point benchmark. He finished the night with 19 points, seven assists, four rebounds, and two steals while going 6-15 from the field (40.0 FG%) and causing four turnovers.
5. The Thunder’s Struggles In Shot-Making And Lack Of Scoring Options
The Thunder heavily relied on Ajay Mitchell and Jalen Williams to be the secondary scoring options for them throughout their previous successes in the postseason. But tonight, both those players were sidelined due to an injury.
With the lack of alternative options and the Spurs always throwing bodies on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder struggled to generate offense on the floor and missed a lot more shots than they usually do.
They were 30-91 from the field (33 FG%) and 6-33 from beyond the arc (18.2 3P%), with struggles from rotation players like Jared McCain, Aaron Wiggins, and Jaylin Williams. Without the reliable scoring options like Ajay Mitchell and Jalen Williams, the Thunder’s offense looked weak tonight.
A culmination of these factors is what resulted in the Spurs’ 103-82 win tonight in Game 4. They have now very importantly tied the series as they head on the road for Game 5 on the day after tomorrow. They will face the Thunder in Oklahoma’s Paycom Center on Tuesday, May 26th.
