BBNBA Playoffs: De'Aaron Fox's double-double helps Spurs tie WCF at 2-2

In Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, the San Antonio Spurs opened the gate with a 15-0 lead before losing by 15 points. They refused to cough up a similar lead in Game 4.

On Sunday night, the Spurs trounced the Oklahoma City Thunder at home, cruising to a 103-82 victory while knotting the series at 2-2. OKC led by as many as a single point a handful of times during the first quarter, but quickly fell into a hole from there. The Spurs took full control heading into halftime before leading by as many as 25 points in the third and fourth quarters. A 16-0 run for San Antonio in the third frame blew the game wide open.

And it was De’Aaron Fox who helped fuel the Spurs to a crucial win. Despite dealing with a nagging ankle injury that sidelined him for the first two games of this series, Fox went for 12 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists with just one turnover in his 31 minutes on Sunday. His performance complemented an excellent showing from Victor Wembanyama, who poured in 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and two steals. Keldon Johnson chipped in six points and three rebounds for the Spurs, although he shot just 3-12 from the field (0-4 3PT).

For the Thunder, back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was held firmly in check. The Spurs limited SGA to just 19 points and four turnovers on 6-15 shooting in addition to his seven assists and four rebounds. OKC’s bench had dominated this series through the first three games, but only barely won that battle in Game 4. Just 82 points for the Thunder marked its second-lowest total of the season. Cason Wallace only managed five points and four rebounds for OKC.

“They just punched us in our face early,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of the Spurs postgame. “It’s two games in a row they’ve come out the aggressor. The last game we were able to course correct. Tonight, we just didn’t do so.”

A pivotal Game 5 returns to Oklahoma on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on Peacock/NBC. Let’s pray we get three more games from this series.

Stats from Sunday night

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)	103-82 L @ SAS	19	6-15 (0-1)	4	7	2	0	4	-18	31
De’Aaron Fox (SAS)	103-82 W vs. OKC	12	5-13 (1-2)	10	5	1	1	0	-3	31
Keldon Johnson (SAS)	103-82 W vs. OKC	6	3-12 (0-4)	3	0	1	0	2	7	18
Cason Wallace (OKC)	103-82 L @ SAS	5	2-8 (1-3)	4	1	2	0	0	-10	21

Tonight in the NBA Playoffs

TIME/TV	MATCHUP	SERIES
8:00 p.m. ET | ESPN	(3) Knicks (Towns) @ (4) Cavaliers	ECF: NYK leads 3-0