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The Spurs looked like a veteran team in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. They faced a Thunder squad missing two key pieces and made sure they never gave them hope for an upset en route to a 103-82 blowout win. Victor Wembanyama led the way with 33 points in 32 minutes while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander only had 19 in the losing effort.
It was clear from the start which team was playing with more urgency. Staring down the possibility of heading back to Oklahoma City down 3-1, the Spurs looked more focused and energized early on. Victor Wembanyama hit a three, which is always a good omen, but the Silver and Black were also mixing in some pick-and-rolls to get the big man going. While the offense was solid in the halfcourt, which is never a given, it was the defense that allowed San Antonio to carve out a 15-point lead in the first quarter for the second game in a row. With the Thunder lacking secondary creators, Mitch Johnson and his staff decided to dial down the pressure on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to prevent him from finding finishers. Great individual defense from Stephon Castle limited SGA, and it took Isaiah Hartenstein hitting four long floaters for the visitors to reach 19 points for the frame.
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Victor Wembanyama was on the floor for most of the first instead of resting with a lead, so the bench with Luke Kornet started the second. The subs have been outplayed all series, but once again, there was no secondary creator for the Thunder while SGA rested. The second unit still struggled to score but held its own on defense until Wembanyama could return. The low-scoring start of the frame was a harbinger of things to come, as the pace slowed down, and constant stoppages took both teams out of rhythm. It was an ugly stretch in which the Spurs’ defense did a terrific job on Gilgeous-Alexander while not allowing anything easy to anyone else, but the offense got stagnant and too many possessions ended up with one-on-one play and few passes. Still, thanks to the efforts of Vassell and Wembanyama, who hit a half-court shot at the buzzer, San Antonio held a 12-point lead at the half.
Normally, the…
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Publish date : 2026-05-25 04:06:00
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