The San Antonio Spurs avoided a 3-1 series deficit Sunday night, and Devin Vassell made it clear afterward what changed in a 103-82 Game 4 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder: defense.
After Oklahoma City won Games 2 and 3, San Antonio responded by holding the Thunder to 33% shooting and just 82 points, the franchise’s second-lowest postseason total. The Spurs also limited Oklahoma City to 6-of-33 shooting from 3-point range while tying the Western Conference finals at 2-2.
“That’s what we hang our hat on, the defensive end,” Vassell said after the win at Frost Bank Center. “We felt like those two games that they won, we just weren’t ourselves. We weren’t playing to the level that we could. We were leaving them open way too much.”
The Spurs corrected that in Game 4.
“I think we made a great defensive adjustment,” Vassell said. “We were just able to rotate the shooters and not give them so many wide open threes. I feel like they had so many wide open threes over the past couple games. You got to respect them, especially if they’re making them.”
The change showed immediately. San Antonio opened a 23-8 lead in the first quarter and never surrendered control, forcing tough looks while preventing the Thunder from finding rhythm around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 19 points on 6-for-15 shooting.
Vassell pointed to execution rather than offense as the reason the Spurs responded in a high-pressure situation.
“2-1 against the defending champs. You definitely don’t want to go down 3-1,” Vassell said. “Going to their house, we knew we had to respond. That’s how you respond. You get stops. You don’t try and focus on the offensive end. You get stops. You get out in transition. You guard your yard.”
The swing sequence came midway through the opening quarter when Vassell blocked Jared McCain at the rim and immediately found Victor Wembanyama for an alley-oop dunk during a 16-0 run. Wembanyama finished with 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
Vassell said the play reflected the mindset he has carried throughout his first postseason.
“I’ve been trying to be super disruptive,” he said. “Really good on the ball but also off the ball and just being a leader on the court. It gets loud out there and you can’t hear what the coaches are saying. So to have somebody who can be a steady ear, a steady voice, that’s what I’m trying to be.”
The guard finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists, but emphasized that his value extends beyond scoring.
“There’s nights where you can’t make a shot and you can’t control that, but you can always control your energy and your effort,” Vassell said. “A lot of games my shot may not fall and that’s okay. But how else can you impact the game? That’s how I look at it.”
He also praised veteran Harrison Barnes for calming the group in tense moments.
“That’s OG right there, man,” Vassell said. “He’s been through all of it. He’s won it. He knows how to calm us down.”
Perhaps Vassell’s strongest statement came when discussing San Antonio’s unexpected playoff rise during its first deep postseason run.
“That experience does not matter,” Vassell said. “We’re here. We’ve had all the experience we’ve needed this regular season and we’re going to keep proving everybody wrong.”
Game 5 is Tuesday in Oklahoma City with the Western Conference finals tied 2-2.
