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San Antonio — The Spurs take down the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. The Spurs won in dominating fashion, 103-82.

This Spurs victory was led by their superstar Victor Wembanyama. He finished this game with 33 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks.

Takeaways from Game 4

Thunder: Where do we start with the Thunder? They looked like a former shell of themselves compared to the other three games that were played in this series. First, no one could find a shot going 33% from the field, 18% from three, and 89% on free throws.

Losing by 21 points is an embarrassment for this Thunder team, who haven’t been held under 100 points since February against the Bucks.

They played and looked sloppy with the ball, turning the ball over 17 times in the game.

Defensively, they looked good, but they never got to cause chaos with their ability to turn the ball over. The Spurs punished their physical defense, which they’re known for this entire season.

Shai couldn’t figure out his way around this Spurs defense. They had him in. They stopped double-teaming him when he had the ball. They forced the other players around him who were wide open in the past three games to shoot.

The Thunder’s bench has been phenomenal throughout this series, but couldn’t get a shot to go down for the life of them. Jared McCain, Jaylin Williams, and Alex Caruso, who have been big for them, scored only 7 points total. Since the Spurs switched their defensive plan on Shai, who was typically shooting wide-open shots, they were shooting when a defender was on them.

Spurs: They came into this game and dominated the Thunder. They put the whole Thunder team in a blender, and the Thunder couldn’t find ways out of said blender.

Wemby stepped up big for the Spurs, spearheading both sides of the ball. On offense, he found his form as he had in Game 1 of this series. Where the Thunder couldn’t find an answer to stop the lob threat, he is a player. On defense, he had a rating of 77, a much better rating compared to the 127 he had in Game 4.

The defense as a whole played great with a rating of 80.8 as a team. Luke Kornet came up big with rebounding as he had 7 total with 2 blocks in the game.

Stephon Castle was effective in this, even though he had 5 fouls toward the end. Those fouls didn’t look like the ones he had in previous games, where he was getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar. His scoring was better; he shot 5-11 from the field. He made the right passes at the right moments in the two-man game with Wemby.

Everyone on the Spurs team had a role, from Mitch Johnson, and they played it to perfection. To sum up how both teams played one another was grit and grind. No bucket was easy for either team. Offense was a non-factor in this game. The Spurs just executed better defensively and got their shots to fall.

Looking ahead to Game 5

Thunder: The Thunder got embarrassed in Game 4, no ifs, ands, or buts, straight up got whooped by the Spurs. They will have to find ways around this new defense they’re putting on Shai. Shai needs to play at his MVP level season he just had for these last few games left in this series. He can’t come out as he did in Game 1 and now Game 4.

I’ll keep beating the horn. Chet needs to have a monster game in Game 5 since JDub and Ajay Mitchell could be out for Game 5. He’s the one who needs to remind himself and others why he was all nba thrid team. To be fair, he hasn’t looked bad, but he hasn’t stood out like others.

On defense, they won’t stop being physical with the Spurs since both teams play physical with one another. But how can they be physical in the right moments? They fouled the Spurs 25 times in Game 4.

The bench needs to find adjustments to how they will approach Game 5. Jared McCain looked like an afterthought in this game compared to Game 4, where he was attacking Wemby. This unit will find its form again, and hopefully it will be back for Game 5.

Since it’s been confirmed that Ajay Mitchell will likely be out till Game 6, where he will be reevaluated. It will be hard to find another person to fill his shoes in that starting lineup. If Jalen Williams comes back into Game 5, Mark needs to put him with the second unit. Where can you get the most out of him since he will likely be rusty? I say this because he will be a boost to the second unit and will most likely be rusty, but if he does run, I don’t see why Mark won’t put him with the first unit.

Spurs: Wemby and the Spurs will need a type of performance as they had in Game 4. They will need to keep making Shai feel uncomfortable. Because Shai will not be the same player as he was in Game 4, he will find ways around the defense they threw at him in Game 4. So Mitch will have to adjust, or let Shai beat you and no one else.

Luke Kornet has been unplayable in some of these games, but this last game was something to remember. Because if he can’t get at least 7 boards again, then what’s the point of him being out on the floor? The same goes for everyone else.

Stephon Castle and Carter Bryant still need to not be in foul trouble. These two will always be targets for Thunder players because they both play close and physically with their opponents. Castle found ways around but was still getting and Bryant was always getting caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

I don’t know how much longer the Thunder will allow Devin Vassell to punish them with his scoring abilities. So you need Fox and Harper to step up big on offense. Fox had a good Game 4; he shook the rust off, but he will need to continue that performance into the next game.

Harper has been silent offensively in these last couple of games. I know he got hurt in Game 3, but even when he was on the court, he was ineffective for them on both sides of the ball. If the Spurs get the same Harper as they did in Games 1 and 2, it will make it a whole lot easier to let Wemby rest for a little.  

Predictions

Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals will be played back in Oklahoma City. The Thunder look to make up for the performance they had in Game 4. Can the Spurs replicate what they did in that game to achieve victory over the Thunder and go up 3-2, or will the Thunder go up instead?

I believe OKC will win a close battle against the Spurs to go up 3-2. The final score was 105-98. Another defensive battle like Game 4, but Shai will find ways around the adjustments the Spurs throw at him. Shai will finish the game with 37 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds.

Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals is on Tuesday, the 26th at 7:30 pm CT. You can watch it on NBC/Peacock.