Victor Wembanyama took Saturday’s loss personally. The San Antonio Spurs made sure Monday felt nothing like it.
Wembanyama delivered 33 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks as the Spurs dismantled the Oklahoma City Thunder, 103-82, in Game 4 to even the Western Conference Finals at two games apiece. It was a statement performance from the 7-foot-4 French star—and a statement win for a Spurs team that has not lost three consecutive games all season.
The Spurs set the tone early and never wavered. San Antonio opened with a 16-0 run—capped by a Wembanyama alley-oop dunk off a Devin Vassell pass following a Vassell block on a Jared McCain layup attempt—to go up 23-8 with 4:19 remaining in the first quarter. The Spurs assisted on all 10 of their first-quarter field goals, moving the ball with the kind of crisp, purposeful efficiency that gave Oklahoma City no answers.
Spurs On-Point on Defense
San Antonio held the Thunder to 38 points in the first half—tied for the second-lowest half Oklahoma City has posted in the past four regular and postseasons combined. The Thunder are 2-9 when they score fewer than 40 points in any half over the last five seasons, and Sunday was a reminder of why that number exists. Oklahoma City finished shooting 33% from the field and went a brutal 6-for-33 from three-point range—18%.
The final score of 103-82 pushed the Thunder to their second-lowest postseason point total in franchise history. Their all-time low is 65 points in a playoff loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on May 3, 2014; their previous second-fewest was 85—also against San Antonio, also on May 21, 2014. The Spurs, it seems, have a habit of making history hurt.
Thunder Struggle Mightily
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder’s MVP and the engine of everything Oklahoma City does offensively, finished with 19 points on 6-for-15 shooting—a quiet night by his standards on a night his team could least afford it. After being outscored 76-23 in bench points in Game 3, San Antonio’s reserves flipped the script entirely, outscoring Oklahoma City’s bench 30-34—a swing that reflected how complete the Spurs’ performance was from top to bottom.
De’Aaron Fox contributed 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists in his return, while Stephon Castle and Vassell added 13 points each.
Wembanyama had made clear after Friday’s 123-108 loss that he needed to be better—for himself and for his teammates. He was. Monumentally so.
Game 5 tips off Wednesday in Oklahoma City. Game 6 returns to San Antonio on Friday.
