As the clock wound down in the second quarter Victor Wembanyama raised his octopus-like arms 70 feet from the rim and called for the ball. The first half had already been outstanding for San Antonio’s freshly minted All-NBA center: 19 points, four rebounds, a couple of blocks. But Wemby wanted more. He collected a cross-court pass from Devin Vassell, took three dribbles and fired up a 43-footer that didn’t so much as nick the rim on its way down. “I was just thinking,” deadpanned Wembanyama, “shoot to score.” — Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 25, 2026Right. All the boxes Wembanyama has checked—All-Star, All-NBA, the first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year—this was a new one. Down 2–1 to Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals, in danger of falling into a potentially insurmountable hole to the defending champs, the Spurs needed a big performance from their star. In the aftermath of a sluggish Game 3, Wembanyama promised his teammates and coaches: I’m going to be more aggressive. The result: 33 points, eight rebounds, three blocks in a tidy 31 minutes, a game-high +29 in a 103–82 Game 4 win. Impressive? Absolutely. Surprising? Nope, said Spurs coach Mitch Johnson. “I think our competitive response all year has been pretty good and he’s been at the forefront of that more than not,” Johnson said. “And I think tonight he felt, not speaking for him, but from my perspective and obligation to set a tone for us in a variety of ways.”From the start, Wembanyama tossed up two shots in the Spurs’ opening possession. He got three up in the game’s first 90 seconds. He stuffed Chet Holmgren on one end and dunked through Lu Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein on the other. “We all have high standards,” said Wembanyama. “I know I have a lot of responsibilities, but I’m here for it.”San Antonio’s defense was throttling. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 19 points. Holmgren could muster only 10. In Game 3, Oklahoma City’s bench scored 76 points. In Game 4, they were held to 34. The Thunder shot 33% from the floor and 18.2% from three. The 82 points Oklahoma City scored was its fewest in a playoff game in six years. “We left a lot to be desired on that [offensive] end of the floor tonight,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault. “We didn’t have the sharpness, force or precision necessary to crack them. And they were really good defensively with just their energy and their physicality.”Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox drives the ball past Thunder guard Isaiah Joe in the fourth quarter of Game 4. | Scott Wachter-Imagn ImagesFor three games, San Antonio locked in on Gilgeous-Alexander, sending bodies at the two-time MVP. And it’s worked: Gilgeous-Alexander cracked 30 points once in the first three games, shooting well under 40%. But the focus on him created opportunities for others, and the Thunder capitalized. In Game 4, the Spurs took a more disciplined approach. They collected 11 steals and 17 deflections. They forced 20 turnovers, turning them into 25 points. When Oklahoma City moved the ball, San Antonio had a hand near it. “Pretty much everybody would do that if they could trust that the rotations are there behind [them],” Wembanyama said. “But we got good individual defenders so when we connect individual and team defense, it holds teams to low scoring numbers.”Indeed, inside the Spurs’ locker room everyone knew: Game 3 was not them. That included Gregg Popovich. On NBC’s postgame show, De’Aaron Fox recounted how Popovich made a surprise appearance in San Antonio’s locker room after Game 3. “First time all season,” Fox said. Pop’s message: That’s not how we play basketball. “He saw it,” Fox said. “We all saw it. We all felt it.”No one more than Wembanyama. So much is on Wemby’s still slender shoulders, and once again he continues to deliver. After Game 3, Wembanyama said he needed to be more of a team player. His final stat line on Sunday included five assists. Trailing for the first time in the postseason, Wembanyama told reporters, “We’re going to see what we’re made of.” They responded with one of the most complete games of the playoffs. “We didn’t do nothing unexpected, but 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, but it was nothing amazing. It wasn’t magic. We just did what we needed to do. The series is far from over. We got six more wins before we can rest.”Indeed. San Antonio still has to win another game in Oklahoma City, still has to figure out how to close out a championship team that knows how to make adjustments. “Whether you win or lose, you want to learn the lessons from the game,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “When you lose, the lessons are a little bit louder.” As friendly as the environment has been for the Spurs the last two games, they know the hostility that is waiting for them in Oklahoma. “I think the biggest thing for us is honestly just the details,” said Spurs forward Harrison Barnes. “Can we do the little things? Can we start off by being connected defensively, communicating, rebounding? If we do all of those things, it puts us in a position to run and be at our best.”For months these two teams have been on a collision course, and in every way this series has delivered. Star performances, surprise ones, a chess match between two elite coaches and suddenly it’s a best of three to determine who heads to the NBA Finals. More boxes to check for Wembanyama. The best may be yet to come. More NBA From Sports IllustratedListen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow