With minimal time left on the game clock at the end of the first half, Victor Wembanyama received the ball right in front of the Spurs bench. He only took 3 lengthy strides before launching a miracle shot from the black and white of the Spurs logo. Everyone watched as the ball went up, and its vertex time seemed to slow down. And then it came down, and the way it came down perfectly encapsulated the Spurs victory.
BANG!
Spurs 103 - Thunder 82 (2-2)
What happened?
In a must-win game 4 for the San Antonio Spurs, they came out with a sense of urgency and desperation that drove them to the win. On the other hand the Thunder came out flat. They were getting good looks but it just wasn’t going in, it was as if the Thunder were thinking, ‘We won Game 3, now we can rest.’ That is the wrong mentality going into a crucial Game 4 that could potentially put the nail in San Antonio’s coffin. The star of the show was clearly Victor Wembanyama who guided San Antonio to the win with 33 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 stocks. Wemby uses his constant competitive nature to help him dominate in big moments. “That’s kind of what Vic does,” rookie guard Dylan Harper said. “He kind of steps into big moments. He’s never afraid of it. He loves those moments.” SGA seemed out of it with only 19 points and the Spurs worked together to stop counter him. He was mainly guarded by the rotation of guards such as Dylan Harper, De’Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie with the more than occasional double team bolstered from Wemby and Harrison Barnes. San Antonio also stayed close to OKC’s shooters which resulted in the Thunder finishing 1-11 from deep in the first half. The physicality and urgency of San Antonio was also crucial to them getting the win with Wemby hitting a deep three only 24 seconds into the game to set the tone on offense and did the same on the other end on minute later with a big block on Chet Holmgren.
What does it mean?
This series is now genuinely 50/50. Two similar teams who both split their wins at home heading into OKC for Game 5 on Wednesday. The team that wins Game 5 when it’s two to two wins the series 73% of the time.
The problem with guarding Wemby:
OKC’s problem with Wemby is that there is essentially now way to guard him. Your just picking your poison. If you send a double team, San Antonio’s shooters are open and Castle, Harper and Fox will kill you from deep. If you go one on one, Wemby scores 35-40. The Thunders best bet is to make him work on the offensive end by getting either Hartenstein or Holmgren to be physical with him early, use his competitiveness to make him frustrated, get him into foul trouble, and make every paint entry a huge battle. It’s almost embarrassing when Mark Daigneault sends Alex Caruso who is a foot shorter than Wemby to guard him because he is cooking Chet on every possesion.
By the Numbers:
OKC dropped 82 points. They averaged 118 during the regular season. That’s a 36 point drop.
The Spurs had a 13-man rotation and the Thunder had a 12-man. That is utter depth from both teams.
The Thunder had 20 turnovers compared to the Spurs 13. They need to take care of the basketball.
The Thunder shot 6/33 from three. That is a back down to earth moment for OKC’s shooter after Game 3.
Daily Recap
NBA
Spurs 103 - Thunder 82 (2-2) Highlights
NHL
Golden Knights 5 - Avalanche 3 (3-0) Highlights
Golden Knights 5 - Avalanche 3
Colorado were three goals up. Vegas came back to win 5-3 and how lead the series 3-0. The Golden Knights were down 3-0 in the first period and just kept going, scoring 4 unanswered goals including Tomas Hertl’s go-ahead backhander through the five-hole to give Vegas their first lead at 4-3. Vegas have now completed 4 third period comebacks in these playoffs, good enough for the most in a single playoff run in NHL history. Colorado are one loss away from elimination. Teams that have gone down 3-0 in the NHL playoffs have won exactly one in history. Good luck Colorado because the Vegas already have one foot in the doorstep of the Finals.