After the San Antonio Spurs’ Game 3 loss, Victor Wembanyama took much of the blame on his own shoulders, saying he wasn’t doing enough to help his teammates.
In Sunday’s Game 4, Wembanyama took control early and didn’t let go until the game was in hand, helping the Spurs to a 103-82 home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder to even the Western Conference finals at two games apiece.
“We just responded,” Wembanyama said. “It was nothing amazing. It wasn’t magic. We just did what we needed to do.”
Wembanyama had 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals. He set the tone early, hitting a three-pointer on the game’s first possession, then blocked Chet Holmgren’s dunk attempt on the Thunder’s second possession.
“Our competitive response all year has been pretty good. He’s been at the forefront of that more than not,” San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said of Wembanyama. “I think tonight he felt, not speaking for him but from my perspective, an obligation to set a tone for us in a variety of ways.“
The Spurs built a 15-point lead, just like they did in Game 3.
“They punched us in our face early,” Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said.
But in Friday’s game, San Antonio quickly let the lead slip away and ultimately lost by 15 points. Sunday, the lead dwindled much more slowly after jumping up 23-8. Oklahoma City cut the deficit to five with just more than a minute remaining in the second quarter. Then Wembanyama and the Spurs punched back in a big way.
San Antonio’s Devin Vassell scored four quick points, and then after the Spurs grabbed the rebound on Cason Wallace’s missed three-pointer, Wembanyama nailed a shot from near midcourt to send his team into half-time with a 12-point lead.
“I was just thinking shoot to score,” Wembanyama said. “I wasn’t messing around.“
Vassell finished with 13 points and played a key role in helping the Spurs force 20 turnovers while holding the Thunder to just 33% from the floor.
“He’s been phenomenal,” Johnson said. “He may be our most consistent player if you took away any stats and just watched us play.”
San Antonio scored 25 points off turnovers and attempted 14 more free throws than the Thunder (32 to 18). Oklahoma City’s shooting percentage was its worst in any game since March 2022, with the Thunder going just 6-of-33 (18.2%) from beyond the arc. Their 82 points were the fewest for the franchise since Dec. 2, 2021, and their fewest in a playoff game since 2020.
“We’ve got good individual defenders so when we connect individual and team defense, it holds teams to low-scoring numbers,” Wembanyama said.
The Spurs kept their foot on the gas to start the second half, posting a 20-7 run over nearly seven minutes to start the third quarter.
The Spurs changed up their defense on Gilgeous-Alexander, mostly defending the two-time reigning MVP one-on-one, but constantly rotating on him. After playing the entire third quarter and with the game virtually decided, Gilgeous-Alexander sat the entire fourth quarter. He finished with 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting. No other Thunder player scored more than 12.
Oklahoma City’s bench had been key to grabbing the series lead through three games, with the Thunder reserves outscoring San Antonio’s 183-64. But with both starter Jalen Williams and his recent replacement, Ajay Mitchell, unavailable due to injuries, the Thunder reserves struggled to find footing.
Alex Caruso, who had averaged 21 points per game in the series, was scoreless on just one shot attempt as the Thunder bench outscored San Antonio’s 34-30. More than half of those points (18) came in the fourth quarter when Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault emptied his bench.
The Thunder bench was just 12 of 47 from the floor, including 1 of 10 from Jared McCain, who played a major role in Oklahoma City’s Game 3 victory.
With two of their top three ball handlers out, the Thunder’s offense looked off-kilter from the start, ultimately scoring just 19 points in each of the first two quarters.
“We left a lot to be desired on that end of the floor,” Daigneault said. “We didn’t have the sharpness, force, or precision necessary to crack them. Credit them. They outplayed us tonight. But the group we had can play a lot better.”
Stephon Castle, who struggled with turnovers over the first two games, had 13 points and just one turnover. De’Aaron Fox had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists with no turnovers as the Spurs shot 38.9% from the field and 27.3% from beyond the arc.
