Spurs Reach Western Conference Finals After Defeating Thunder
SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembaneyama put on an impressive performance, scoring 33 points along with eight rebounds, five assists, and three blocks. The San Antonio Spurs managed to restrict the Oklahoma City Thunder to their second-lowest postseason score, winning 103-82 in Game 4 and thus moving on to the Western Conference Finals.
De’Aaron Fox contributed significantly with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. Notably, San Antonio hasn’t faced a three-game losing streak all season. Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell each chipped in with 13 points.
Looking ahead, Game 5 is set for Tuesday in Oklahoma City, followed by Game 6 in San Antonio on Thursday.
For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander managed to score 19 points, though he shot 6-of-15 from the field.
In Friday’s Game 3, Wembaneyama had a stellar game, leading Oklahoma City to a 123-108 win. He remarked that he needs to improve to help his teammates succeed. However, on Sunday, he was in great form, and the Spurs followed suit.
The Spurs’ defense was solid, limiting the Thunder to just 33 percent shooting overall and only 18 percent from beyond the arc (6-of-33).
In contrast to Game 3, where the Spurs were outscored 76-23 in bench points, the backups stepped up in this game, scoring 30 points and keeping Oklahoma City to just 34 points.
Game 4 started strong for the Spurs, who had previously opened the last game with a 15-0 run. Unlike that game, they maintained their lead this time.
After blocking a layup attempt by Jared McCain, Vassell lobbed an alley-oop to Wembaneyama, who dunked it, helping the Spurs to a 16-0 run and a 23-8 lead with 4:19 left in the first quarter.
San Antonio was on point early, assisting on all 10 of their field goals in the opening quarter.
Defensively, the Spurs held the Thunder to just 38 points in the first half, tying it for the second-lowest total in their last four regular-season and postseason games. Over the past five seasons, Oklahoma City has struggled historically when scoring under 40 points in the first half, with a dismal 2-9 record.
Interestingly, Oklahoma City’s lowest-scoring outing in the postseason was just 65 points, occurring in a playoff loss to Memphis back on May 3, 2014. Their second-lowest total was 85 points against San Antonio on May 21, 2014.
