The Oklahoma City Thunder walked out of Frost Bank Center with a 103-82 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals, and head coach Mark Daigneault did not spend much time looking for excuses.

After Oklahoma City shot 33% from the field, went 6-for-33 from 3-point range and committed 17 turnovers in a game that tied the series 2-2, Daigneault repeatedly credited San Antonio while also pointing inward.

“We left a lot to be desired on that end of the floor tonight,” Daigneault said after the loss. “We didn’t have the sharpness, force or precision necessary to crack them.”

The Thunder entered Sunday coming off a 123-108 win in Game 3, but San Antonio responded with its best defensive performance of the series. Oklahoma City finished with its second-lowest postseason scoring total in franchise history and scored only 38 first-half points while struggling to create consistent offense.

Daigneault pointed to the Spurs’ physicality and defensive execution as major reasons for the breakdown.

“They were really good defensively,” he said. “Their energy, their physicality coming in, you can kind of expect that, but it’s different when you’re out there. Credit them. They outplayed us tonight.”

The coach acknowledged Oklahoma City was missing offensive creators, but said the Thunder still failed to execute at the necessary level.

“The group we had can play a lot better than we played tonight as well,” Daigneault said.

Rather than dismissing the performance as a one-game anomaly, the Thunder coach described the balancing act of evaluating playoff losses.

“We’ve played 12 playoff games. They’re not all going to be masterpieces,” Daigneault said. “As much as you want to win there’s nights where you just don’t have it for whatever reason.”

Still, he stressed that the loss cannot simply be ignored.

“You have to look at the process in a clear-eyed manner and see what corrections you can make,” Daigneault said. “Some of the turnovers and some of the shooting was a result of the way we played and a result of the way they defended.”

The Spurs, led by Victor Wembanyama’s 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks, controlled the game with defense, rebounding and transition play. San Antonio also held Oklahoma City to 18% shooting from deep and won despite shooting only 27% from 3-point range itself.

Daigneault said playoff basketball often becomes a battle of force and physicality, and in his view, the Spurs won that battle decisively.

“A lot of these playoff games when they get to this point in the series come down to physicality and force,” he said. “I thought their physicality was way beyond our force in most of the game.”

He also highlighted how San Antonio manufactured offense despite poor perimeter shooting.

“The game was won at the free throw line, on the glass, in transition,” Daigneault said. “Their execution in the half court was better on both ends.”

Despite the lopsided loss, the Thunder coach made clear his focus has already shifted to Tuesday’s Game 5 in Oklahoma City.

“There’s a reason we talk about getting to zero every game,” Daigneault said. “Nothing from tonight will carry over in game five. We have the same exact opportunity that they do to go get that game.”

He added: “We got to get recovered, get ourselves mentally back to zero, learn the lessons from tonight that we can apply forward and get ourselves ready to go.”