Wembanyama leads Spurs’ response to level series with Thunder

After the San Antonio Spurs’ Game 3 defeat, Victor Wembanyama shouldered much of the responsibility, saying he had not done enough to lift his teammates.

He responded in Game 4.

Wembanyama took control from the opening tip and never let go, powering the Spurs to a 103-82 home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder to even the Western Conference finals at 2-2.

“We just responded,” Wembanyama said. “It was nothing amazing. It wasn’t magic. We just did what we needed to do.”

He finished with 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals.

The tone was set immediately. Wembanyama drilled a 3-pointer on the Spurs’ first possession, then blocked Chet Holmgren’s dunk attempt on the Thunder’s second trip down the floor.

“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, mirroring their early advantage in Game 3.

“They punched us in the 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.

On Sunday, the lead eroded much more slowly after the Spurs jumped ahead 23-8.

Oklahoma City cut the deficit to five with just over a minute remaining in the second quarter.

Then Wembanyama and the Spurs answered.

Devin Vassell scored four quick points, and after San Antonio grabbed a rebound on Cason Wallace’s missed 3-pointer, Wembanyama drilled a shot from near midcourt to send the Spurs into halftime 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 helped the Spurs force 20 turnovers while holding the Thunder to 33% shooting from the field.

“He’s been phenomenal,” Johnson said. “He may be our most consistent player if you take away any stats and just watch us play.”

San Antonio scored 25 points off turnovers and attempted 14 more free throws than the Thunder (32-18).

Oklahoma City shot its worst percentage in any game since March 2022, finishing 6 of 33 (18.2%) from 3-point range.

Its 82 points were the fewest for the franchise since Dec. 2, 2021, and the lowest 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 pressure on to open the second half, going on a 20-7 run over nearly seven minutes to start the third quarter.

With the game largely decided, Gilgeous-Alexander sat the entire fourth quarter after playing the full third.

San Antonio mostly defended Gilgeous-Alexander one-on-one but frequently sent help and rotated behind him.

He finished with 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting, and no other Thunder player scored more than 12.

Oklahoma City’s bench, a key factor in taking a series lead through three games, struggled without injured Jalen Williams and replacement Ajay Mitchell.

Alex Caruso, who had averaged 21 points per game in the series, was held scoreless on just one shot attempt as the Thunder bench was outscored 34-30.

More than half of Oklahoma City’s bench points came in the fourth quarter when coach Mark Daigneault emptied his reserves.

The Thunder reserves shot 12 of 47 from the field, including 1 of 10 from Jared McCain, who had played a key role in Game 3.

With two primary ballhandlers out, Oklahoma City’s offense never found rhythm, 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 had 13 points and one turnover. De’Aaron Fox added 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists with no turnovers as the Spurs shot 38.9% from the field and 27.3% from 3-point range.

DAILYSABAH