Spurs vs. Thunder Game 4 takeaways: Pivotal contest for San Antonio
· Yahoo Sports
This game, in the landscape of the Western Conference finals, is pivotal.
The San Antonio Spurs cannot afford to fall behind in this series and must protect homecourt. Because if the Thunder win Sunday, May 24 in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead back to Oklahoma City for Game 5, San Antonio’s rise could be quelled earlier than it wants.
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All eyes will be on the two stars in the series, reigning two-time consecutive Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder and Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs.
At halftime, the Spurs lead, 50-38.
Here are live takeaways from Game 4 of the Western Conference finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs:
When Victor Wembanyama plays like this, the Spurs can win a title
This is what it looks like when a star player — arguably the most gifted hooper on the planet — carries his team. With the threat of a 3-1 series deficit looming, Victor Wembanyama was sensational in the first half, dropping 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting, hauling in 5 rebounds, dishing 3 assists and swatting away 2 blocks.
Wembanyama is playing with intention on both ends of the floor. He’s being the vocal leader, communicating with teammates and coaches. He’s playing inside and out, attacking the rim and using his range to hit outside shots.
This is the Wembanyama for which the Thunder have no answer.
This is the swarming defensive intensity San Antonio needs to win this series
The Spurs were more forceful, used active hands to deflect balls and swipe steals, and they were disciplined; they didn’t fall for the bait that Oklahoma City so often uses to dupe defenders into foul trouble.
More importantly for the Spurs, they were able to turn that defense into offense, with a stretch of seven consecutive missed shots midway through the first sparking a 16-0 San Antonio run. The Spurs were throwing extra bodies at Gilgeous-Alexander and picking him up with full-court pressure to make every possession difficult.
In the first half, the Thunder shot the ball 35.6%.
The path back for the Thunder is from deep
The Thunder entered Sunday night’s game shooting 39.5% in this series from 3-point range, with 47 conversions from beyond the arc.
In the first half, the Thunder made just 1-of-11 attempts (9.1%) from 3. The Spurs weren’t particularly efficient from deep either — San Antonio shot just 5-of-16 (31.3%) from deep — but Oklahoma City will have a tough time coming back from this 12-point deficit if the outside shot isn’t falling.
The Spurs want to get out on fastbreaks
It makes sense: the Thunder are the premier half-court defensive team in the association. So any chance the Spurs can prevent Oklahoma City from getting settled into their set defense, it’s to their advantage. It destabilizes the Thunder and allows for easier entry into the paint.
The Spurs took a 10-0 advantage on fastbreak points into the half.
Mark Daigneualt, once again, looks to his bench for a spark
The Thunder are the deepest team in the NBA. Coach Mark Daigneault, seeing his team struggle early from the floor, turned to reserves to try to get a spark.
Eleven players recorded minutes in the first half, which isn’t uncommon for the Thunder; Daigneault has played a similar rotation in this series, but the difference is that, this time, the group isn’t providing that spark.
After Alex Caruso posted monster games earlier in the series to carry the bench, the Thunder reserves scored just 6 points in the first half, compared to 8 from the Spurs bench.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Spurs vs Thunder Game 4 takeaways: Pivotal for Wemby, San Antonio