San Antonio beat Oklahoma City 103-82 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday evening at the Frost Bank Center, evening the series at 2-2. Victor Wembanyama scored 33 points on 11-of-22 shooting with 8 rebounds, the highlight a half-court buzzer-beating three at the end of the second quarter that pushed the Spurs' halftime lead to 12 with three Thunder defenders contesting the shot. [1] De'Aaron Fox added 12 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 19 points and 7 assists; Isaiah Joe added 11. The series is now tied with Game 5 in Oklahoma City on Tuesday night. [2]

The half-court heave answered the bench-depth question Saturday's preview framed. Wembanyama played the ball at midcourt with under one second on the clock and three Thunder defenders converging; the shot was a designed final-possession heave he had called for in the backcourt. The ball went in. The Spurs led 50-38 at the break. The second half was the third quarter. San Antonio extended the lead to 22 by the end of the third and never let it back inside ten in the fourth. The bench differential the Spurs had been carrying through three games — minus-42 with Wembanyama off the floor — was neutralized in Game 4 by sustained Wembanyama minutes through the second half and a Fox-Vassell secondary creation that produced 22 points across the two combined.

Series-defining read for Tuesday's Game 5: home court is back to the regular-season verdict the Spurs ran with all year. Game 5 is in Oklahoma City; Game 6 is back in San Antonio; Game 7, if necessary, is in Oklahoma City on Saturday May 30. The series went from "Spurs in 1-3 trouble" to "best-of-three series at home court advantage neutral" in one Sunday night. The MVP-vs-Runner-Up architecture the rights deal sold remains the operating broadcast frame. The bench math is no longer the bench math.

-- MAYA CALLOWAY, New York