3 things to note about Thunder vs. Spurs Game 4

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san antonio – Oklahoma City Thunder manager Mark Dynaud met with reporters Saturday morning on little sleep, as you would expect from a coach aiming for his second straight NBA championship.

It was located in the Thunder team’s hotel and was a unique library surrounded by a collection of different titles. Under the Texas Sun: The Adventures of a Young Cowpuncher; Western Water Made Simple; the ranch we were; Organic Compound Data Handbook;and paradise map.

It was about 12 hours after the Thunder left Frostbank Center with a 2-1 victory after a 123-108 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals on Friday.

Denault said he attended the team dinner after the game, met his parents, and “then watched movie last night.” “I usually watch a movie on game night. I’m always pretty tired after the game anyway.”

The Spurs’ 15-0 lead to start the game could have been a nightmare. But from that point on, it was all Thunder – an unconventional 123-93 run – and Daigneault was able to get more rest before waking up and preparing for Game 4 on Sunday.

“We had a great win last night. You know Game 4. If we want to go get that game, we’re going to have to really get a win,” Denault said. “Then the gears just started moving.”

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Here are three things to watch about Sunday’s Game 4 in San Antonio (8 ET, NBC/Peacock).

1. What can Wenbanyama bring to Game 4?

The Thunder wouldn’t be presumptuous enough to think they’ve figured something out against Victor Wembaneyama. First of all, it’s reckless. Also, in this series, the Spurs had a positive net rating when Wembaneyama was on the floor, allowing 114.2 points and 108 points per 100 possessions.

The problem is that the Spurs can’t keep him on the court for the entire game, and the Thunder are crushing it outside of Wenbanyama. In Game 3, in the nine minutes Wembaneyama was on the bench, the Thunder defeated the Spurs 35-16, including a 15-5 first quarter and 9-0 second quarter.

“We can’t play him for 48 minutes, so we can’t lose by 20 points in those few minutes,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “There’s a combination of who we’re going to play, what we’re going to run and what our game plan is going to be in between. I’ve got to make sure that group helps that group, and the group that we have with Victor has got to be better as well.”

Wenbanyama still had 26 points in Game 3, but his production has diminished in certain areas of his production. Let’s start with rebounding. He had 24 rebounds in Game 1, 17 in Game 2, and 4 in Game 3, including nine offensive rebounds, then five, then zero. His points in the paint dropped from 26 in the Spurs’ series-opening win to 10 in each of their two losses.

In other words, the Thunder are doing a good job of keeping Wenbanyama from dominating the paint, especially with easy dunks.

Oklahoma City has had success guarding him with multiple defenders, including Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet Holmgren (a first-team All-Defensive selection this season) and Jaylin Williams. According to NBA data, different Thunder players spend the most time on Wembang Yama from game to game.

It’s the different players, different looks, and different physical levels that try to wear down Wenbanyama.

“Vic gives us an advantage over anyone else,” Johnson said. “It’s very easy to observe. The way we execute these advantages throughout the season is that our three guards (De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper) mostly have the basketball in their hands. To put it bluntly, they’re not 100 percent right now.”

“So we have to adjust, not changing the way we play, but understanding how we can continue to take advantage of them. … We have to continue to evolve. That’s what the game of chess requires, and they’ve made some good adjustments.”

2. Thunder enjoys road success

The Thunder are undefeated (5-0) in playoff road games and are 10-5 in playoff road games over the past two seasons.

“It’s hard to win playoff games on the road,” Daigneault said. “As we saw last night, we gave everything we had to win that game like we did last night. And even though it was a 15-point win, it still wasn’t easy. It’s challenging. We’re not going to graduate to that. (Sunday night) will be just as difficult.”

In five road playoff games this season, the Thunder have conceded more points than at home, but also scored more on the road than at home.

A road win in Game 4 would move the Thunder to 3-1 in the series and send them back to Oklahoma City for a chance at a shutout. If they do so, they will be back in the NBA Finals for the second consecutive season.

“It requires mindset, emotional control, and the ability to block out distractions and perform with calm and confidence,” Daigneault says. “And this team has that, and the more we get into that situation, the more it grows, and this team has done a great job with that.”

3. A closer look at the Thunder’s deep bench

This bench statistic is controversial. Oklahoma City’s bench has outscored San Antonio’s bench 183-64 in this series, including 76-23 in Game 3. The 76 points were the most points scored by a bench in a Conference Finals game since the conference finals were first held in 1970-71.

These are staggering numbers.

The Thunder made 47 3-point shots through three games, and the bench made 37 of them, giving them a field goal percentage of 48.5 percent and a 3-point shooting percentage of 44 percent. Thunder reserve players accounted for 24 of the team’s 35 steals.

Alex Caruso scored a playoff career-high 31 points in Game 1, and four non-starters reached double figures in points in Games 2 and 3, including Jared McCain’s 24 points and Jaylin Williams’ 18 points in Game 3. Williams is shooting 58.3% from 3S.

Cason Wallace was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive Second Team on Friday and will begin the game on the bench. He is averaging 10.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.0 steals while shooting 50 percent from the field.

“We have a lot of guys we can rely on,” Daigneault said. “We also play in a way that requires a lot of energy. We play with a lot of pressure. We provide a lot of support, so we go into longer shutout losses. We want to be a good transition defensive team. … We want to shatter the offensive glass. Everything we want to do to give us the best chance to win requires energy, and there are different ways to do that.”

“You can condition eight players to do that and it can be successful. But when you have a team as deep as we have, we choose to put those players out there and keep fresh legs on the court.”

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Jeff Gilgit has been covering the NBA since 2008. Email him at jzillgitt@nba.com, find his archives here and follow him at X.