“The series is 2-2 and basically zero-zero and it’s first to two games now,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
“I mean, it’s not at the front of our mind, but it is a fact and it is the reality of where we are.”
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault dismissed the relevance of past game outcomes, emphasizing the need for his team to reset mentally.
“Nothing from (Sunday) will carry over in Game 5,” Daigneault said. “That’s a blank slate.
We have the same exact opportunity that they do to go get that game. So, we’ve got to win the gaps between the game right now.
We’ve got to get recovered, get ourselves mentally back to zero, learn the lessons from (Game 5) that we can apply forward and get ourselves ready to go.”
The Spurs also received motivation from team president Gregg Popovich, who made a rare postgame locker room appearance following the team's Game 3 defeat.
“Pop’s been around throughout the course of the season, but that was the first time he walked into the locker room and was like, ‘Nah, that’s BS.
That’s not how we play basketball,’” said Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox.
“And obviously, he had some choice words for it, but that was the first time all season that he came into the locker room right after a game and told us how he felt.
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And everybody felt it.”
