Spurs put clamps on OKC, knot semis series

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The San Antonio Spurs flaunted a much-needed defensive masterclass to shut down the Oklahoma City Thunder, 103-82, in Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference Finals on May 25, 2026, at Frost Bank Center in Texas.

San Antonio pulled off its best defensive performance of the ongoing 2025-26 NBA playoffs, limiting Oklahoma City to just 82 points, its lowest-scoring postseason game since the first round against the Phoenix Suns.

With the lopsided win, the Spurs evened the Western Conference Finals series at 2-all and will head back to Oklahoma with momentum after dealing the Thunder their worst loss of the playoffs so far.

That was clearly a statement win for the hungry San Antonio squad.

After taking a sucker punch in Game 3, the Spurs realigned their focus to avoid a 1-3 hole in front of an electric crowd of 19,405 loyal San Antonio fans, who witnessed a defensive performance for the ages.

To get into Oklahoma City’s heads, the Spurs showed they did not need any double teams to contain reigning Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Not a single tight double team or hard blitz was deployed during the Spurs’ 91 defensive possessions. Talk about mental warfare, San Antonio head coach Mitch Johnson just showed the Thunder that they are not afraid of putting single coverage on the back-to-back NBA MVP.

The quartet of Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant took turns giving SGA different looks, limiting him to just 15 attempts on a dismal 6-of-15 shooting from the field.

Aside from throwing multiple bodies at SGA, San Antonio executed the funnel baseline trap to perfection, negating OKC’s extra passes to both corners and neutralizing its drive-and-kick offense.

After a brilliant defensive effort, the offense came along for the Spurs as Victor Wembanyama set the tone with 11 points in the first quarter.

Wembanyama made up for a passive Game 3 outing and kicked off Game 4 with cruel intentions, punishing OKC’s frontcourt rotation with aggressive drives to the basket.

His mobility and second-chance efforts also put Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren in early foul trouble, leaving OKC with a thin bench rotation.

Wembanyama sent the early exclamation point after converting a half-court buzzer-beating 3-pointer to help the Spurs wrap up the first half with a 12-point lead, 50-38.

It was all San Antonio when the second half began, as its defensive consistency made it hard for the Thunder to generate open looks from both downtown and the perimeter.

For the first time in the playoffs, the Thunder capped the final two quarters with just 44 points. Due to the Spurs’ relentlessness in locking up their sweet spots, head coach Mark Daigneault decided to throw in the towel with seven minutes still remaining in regulation.

Wembanyama was nothing but spectacular after spearheading San Antonio’s bounce-back rampage with an all-around effort of 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals.

Vassell and Castle each had 13 markers, while De’Aaron Fox had a resilient bounce-back performance from an ankle sprain, tallying a double-double of 12 points, 10 rebounds and five dimes.

On the other hand, SGA top-scored for the defending champs with 19 points but needed more offensive help as Hartenstein, Holmgren and Kenrich Williams were the only OKC players who reached double digits in scoring.

The head-to-head debate will continue on May 27, 2026, as the series shifts back to Paycom Center for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.

Can OKC protect home court and take its first series lead? Or will San Antonio replicate its Game 1 magic and move a win away from securing an NBA Finals berth?