Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pointed to Oklahoma City’s early struggles and San Antonio’s pressure after the Spurs’ 103-82 Game 4 win that tied the Western Conference finals at 2-2 on Sunday at Frost Bank Center. “They just punched us in our face early. It’s two games in a row. They’ve come out the aggressors.”

Oklahoma City briefly adjusted in Game 3, but could not replicate that response. “Last game we were able to course correct. Tonight we just didn’t do so. We just got to do a better job of starting the games.”

The Thunder star emphasized how the tone of the game shifted from the opening possessions, especially on the road. “Never really found a rhythm or consistent rhythm tonight.”

San Antonio’s physical defensive approach disrupted Oklahoma City’s offensive flow and created turnovers that fueled transition points. “They just did a good job of being the aggressors. They were in us forcing turnovers, being physical and I don’t think we applied the pressure back.”

Gilgeous-Alexander also described how that pressure shaped the rest of the possession battle. “Then they’re playing fast getting easy buckets, they get their defense set and I don’t care who you play it’s always harder to score against a set defense. So it just like it’s a snowball effect but it always starts with the aggression that you play with and they just brought it on a way higher level than we did for most of the game.”

Despite the loss, the Thunder guard framed the series reset clearly after the 2-2 split. “It’s a fact. The series is 2-2 and basically 0-0 and it’s first to two games now. It’s not at the front of our mind but it is a fact and it is the reality of where we are.”

Oklahoma City continues to adjust its offensive structure without key ball handlers, with Gilgeous-Alexander carrying much of the creation load. “It changes things. Play through the bigs a little bit more. Guys have different strengths out there and two of our handler creators are out.”

The MVP candidate also spoke about Chet Holmgren’s role and how the Thunder can better position him offensively. “Chet’s an easy target to find so probably just find him more in the dunker when he’s spacing. Just put him in better positions to use his strengths as an offensive talent.”

He also backed Holmgren’s response to adversity within the series. “Chet doesn’t care about anything besides winning and he’s going to do what it takes to win. That’s his biggest skill and his biggest strength.”

San Antonio’s defensive structure, anchored by multiple disruptive defenders, continued to be a central theme in Oklahoma City’s breakdown. “They have multiple guys that are tenacious. They get into the ball and then they have Wemby behind them and they know that and they use that to their strength.”

Looking ahead to Game 5 in Oklahoma City, Gilgeous-Alexander emphasized the starting point for correction. “It starts with our focus, our attention to detail and just how hard we play. Those two things. If we do that, we’ll give ourselves the best shot.”