Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio requested possession of the basketball during the closing moments of the opening half. He received it while standing 65 feet away from the rim.
Three Oklahoma City players stood between him and the basket. He dribbled three times. He earned three points.
And he accomplished it with remarkable ease.
The successful three-point shot from near midcourt as time expired in the first half generated perhaps the most thunderous cheers of his evening, though it represented just one of many instances where Wembanyama dominated Game 4 of the Western Conference finals on Sunday.
Despite sitting out most of the fourth quarter, he recorded 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots while the Spurs defeated the Thunder 103-82 to even the Western Conference championship series at two victories each.
“The truth is that we had never been in this kind of situation before,” Wembanyama said. “It was our first deficit in a playoff series and we just responded. It was nothing amazing. It wasn’t magic. We just did what we needed to do.”
Put differently, he expressed no shock at the outcome. A squad that won 62 games during the regular season — and one that has now defeated Oklahoma City six times in nine meetings this year — should no longer be caught off guard by any development.
Game 5 takes place Tuesday in Oklahoma City.
Following San Antonio’s defeat in Game 3, Wembanyama accepted responsibility for the loss, stating that the Spurs were “going to see what we’re made of” in Game 4 and emphasizing his need to better involve his teammates.
He fulfilled those promises completely.
“I saw a lot and I’m not surprised,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “I think our competitive response all year has been pretty good — and he’s been at the forefront of that more often than not. I think tonight, not speaking for him, he felt an obligation to set a tone for us in a variety of ways.”
Wembanyama tallied 11 points during the opening quarter, added 11 more on 10 shooting attempts in the second quarter, and concluded that stretch with his buzzer-beating three-pointer before intermission.
On the defensive side, his performance may have been even more impressive.
The unanimous Defensive Player of the Year — who received recognition on Sunday evening as a first-team All-NBA selection for the first time — spearheaded a defensive performance that limited Oklahoma City to their lowest point total of the season while forcing a season-high-tying 20 turnovers.
Prior to Sunday, the Thunder had scored at least 108 points in every playoff contest.
“We’ve played 12 playoff games. When you play 12 playoff games, they’re not all going to be masterpieces,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “As much as you want to win, there’s nights where you just don’t have it for whatever reason.”
On Sunday, Wembanyama may have provided that reason. The Thunder were outscored by 29 points during his minutes on the court. They converted 18 of 41 attempts in the paint, with Wembanyama significantly impacting those shots, forcing more outside attempts — where they managed just 12 of 50.
When asked about how the Spurs contained the Thunder so effectively, he responded:
“I’m not going to get into details, but in general, being more disciplined and just trusting the game plan even more,” Wembanyama said.
The Spurs will travel to Oklahoma City on Monday for Tuesday’s game, with the victor moving within one win of reaching the NBA Finals. Wembanyama clearly understands that despite this significant victory, the challenge only intensifies moving forward.
“The series is far from over,” Wembanyama said. “We’ve got six more wins before we can rest.”
