Thunder held to worst offensive effort in years in Game 4 loss - ESPN

SAN ANTONIO — More than eight minutes into Sunday's Game 4, the Oklahoma City Thunder's only source of offensive production was a series of floaters by center Isaiah Hartenstein.

Hartenstein cooled off, and none of the other Oklahoma City players got rolling against the smothering San Antonio Spurs defense.

The result was a 103-82 loss, evening the Western Conference finals at 2-2 as the series shifts back to Oklahoma City for Game 5 on Tuesday.

«They just punched us in our face early,» said Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting. «I think they just did a good job of being the aggressors. They were in us — forcing turnovers, being physical.»

It was the worst offensive performance in years for the Thunder, who were missing two of their top three creators with Jalen Williams (left hamstring soreness) and Ajay Mitchell (right calf strain) sidelined by injuries. Oklahoma City last scored fewer than 82 points in a game on Dec. 2, 2021, when the then-rebuilding Thunder were held to 79 points in a record-setting 73-point loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Thunder's output Sunday was the lowest-scoring playoff performance by a team that had the NBA's best record that season since 2013, when the Spurs held the Miami Heat to 77 points in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

The Thunder had a horrific shooting performance (33% from the floor, 18.2% from 3-point range) and were sloppy with the ball, committing 20 turnovers that the Spurs converted into 25 points.

«I thought we left a lot to be desired on that end of the floor tonight,» Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. «We didn't have the sharpness, force or precision necessary to crack them. They were really good defensively. Just their