The Oklahoma City Thunder played about as poorly as possible in Game 4 in San Antonio, and even though the Spurs didn’t shoot the ball that well, their defense was relentless, and OKC didn’t have an answer. Historically, when a playoff series is tied at 2-2, the winner of Game 5 goes on to win the series almost 82% of the time. This one is kind of a big deal.
Ajay Mitchell is out, and Jalen Williams is questionable, but I wouldn’t expect him to play unless he’s absolutely good to go. Without those two in Game 4, OKC struggled to take care of the ball and generate good looks, so it’s going to take some serious adjustments from Mark Daigneault to navigate San Antonio’s defense.
Victor Wembanyama continues to steal the spotlight in this matchup, but even on a bad night on Sunday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was able to contribute 19 points and 7 assists. He didn’t shoot the ball well, however, largely due to the physicality he had to deal with from the Spurs. The greater aggressor of each game has generally been the winner, and SGA needs one of his classic “consistent” performances to lead OKC to a victory and a series lead.
Still, the result of this meeting cannot fall solely on Shai’s shoulders. Chet Holmgren has not quite lived up to his solid regular-season numbers, and the bench unit needs to have a much better shooting night than they did in Game 4 (12-of-42 from the floor, 28.6%), which shouldn’t be all that difficult. When it comes down to it, OKC needs to play physical, high-pressure defense, and in turn, that will create better scoring opportunities on the other end.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 7:30 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: NBA on NBC and Peacock
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, San Antonio Spurs Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Cason Wallace
- SF: Luguentz Dort
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Spurs
- PG: De’Aaron Fox
- SG: Stephon Castle
- SF: Devin Vassell
- PF: Justin Champagnie
- C: Victor Wembanyama
Injury Report
Thunder
- Ajay Mitchell (strained right soleus) is OUT.
- Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgical recovery) is OUT.
- Jalen Williams (left hamstring soreness) is QUESTIONABLE.
Spurs
- NONE
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 32-34 against the Spurs in the regular season (22-11 at home, 10-22 away, 0-1 at neutral location) and 12-10 against them in the playoffs (8-3 at home, 4-7 away).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City, the Thunder has won the season series with the Spurs 5 times, lost 8 times, and tied 5 times.
- The Thunder went 1-4 against the Spurs in the regular season (1-1 at home, 0-2 on the road, and 0-1 at a neutral location).
- OKC is tied with San Antonio 2-2 in the Western Conference Finals (1-1 at home, 1-1 on the road).