More so than ever, the  has become a master of illusions.

See a window for a pass, watch it disappear like a cloud of smoke. Float a push shot toward a wide-open rim, watch it be swallowed whole. Throw what looks like a harmless bounce pass, watch it bounce into OKC’s possession.

Your possession is theirs. This team won’t ever commit to the idea that it intends to turn teams over — in part because it’s a fickle identity and this team surely would argue it has more to offer — but it’s done it well enough for that to become the name of the game.

By the end of its  it forced 22 turnovers. Eighteen of those were steals. Everyone got a piece.

had a couple interceptions, coupled with some sneaky pokes from Spurs center  grasp.  plucked lobs from the atmosphere. Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso mirrored each other.

OKC hardly got to the free throw line. It only took four more shots than San Antonio. But with all the possessions the Thunder stole from the Spurs, the ones it convinced San Antonio it could play safely, it kept its distance even with obvious absences in the box score.

Wednesday missed  typical contributions. Despite appearing to be a relatively complete player after an MVP-caliber season a year ago, SGA is going through growing pains. Along with the league, he’ll expand his range, trying to go from a midrange master to an all-out cheat code. It might look as smooth as the rest of his game, but Wednesday was as great of an indicator as any: it’ll take time.

He went just 7 for 20 from the field, making 2 of his 10 3-point attempts for 18 points. Those 10 attempts were the fourth most in any game of his career. Gilgeous-Alexander never quite got in a rhythm. After as strong a first half as OKC has had all season — it connected on 13 of its 26 first-half 3s — its offensive processing wasn’t as clean through the final 24 minutes.

It’s rare that SGA even dips a toe below his averages. It’s rare for OKC’s offense to lose character as often as it has early this season at the hands of shotmaking.

Neither has mattered through four games. Defense still trumps all in a league fixated on whether the Dow Jones says 3s are up. The early returns show the Thunder has intercepted and shoved its way to appearing like a historic defensive group.

“Disruption, as a broader part, would be something we lean into a little more than the outcome of turnovers,” coach said. “We want to be a disruptive defense. We want to be difficult to play against.”

Maybe the Thunder doesn’t have to turn teams over 20 times each game to win. It could pressure the ball, poke its head in lanes and stretch its limbs only to watch passes swing past them. It could unleash a squad of outside shooters seemingly returning to its groove. It could unravel one of the league’s greatest isolation scorers, letting him do the things he does best.

Or it could be what it’s dancing around. The Thunder has turned Ocean’s 11 into 15. Through four games, and really for the better part of the past year, this is who the Thunder is at its best.

This is how they win.

Wemby versus Chet: Season 2, Vol. 1

Move over Dominic Terreto. There’s another series at the forefront, yet also somehow in the background, stretching between Oklahoma City and San Antonio. The battle of Wembanyama versus Holmgren will be pushed to the surface by the media and yanked down by the players’ bony fingers.

Not unlike the Fast and the Furious series, this one will have plenty of installments, some surely unnecessary and overblown. It’ll explore outer space and alien-like creatures, which Terreto’s crew feels just a short film away from. And in some installments, like Wednesday’s, the plot might ever thicken.

Holmgren’s earliest sequence portended the night’s outlook.

Just seconds into Wednesday’s game, a lob was tossed Wembanyama’s way. Holmgren disrupted it, tossing it back into the paint. Once recovered, Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan left the launching pad with the intention of dragging Holmgren down with him. Holmgren, who miraculously leapt back into the play, denied the shot with both hands.

Holmgren wasn’t going for it. Not then, or throughout the night.

He finished with 19 points, making 7 of his 10 shots and all three of his 3-pointers — a pivot from his 0 for 10 start to the season from beyond the arc.

On the other side, Wembanyama was limited to just five shots. He made just one, finishing with six points.

The Frenchman’s team context, even after adding a pair of stabilizers in Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes, isn’t what Holmgren’s is. The difference between the conversations a year ago? Holmgren has been an even larger reason for OKC’s start than he was as a rookie.

Holmgren has been one of the NBA’s best big men through a handful of games. Wembanyama, as talented as any, is still navigating life as a first option and anchor.

Still, neither cares to name the other. Wembanyama only wishes to improve his situation, to fulfill his prophecy. Holmgren only wants to revel in the situation he’s helped create.

“I enjoy every single day, being able to wake up, come play basketball, take care of my family doing it,” Holmgren said, asked what he enjoys about the matchup. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. It’s what I always want to do, as long as I’m able to do it. That doesn’t change game from game, but no matter what it’s always going to be Thunder versus our opponent.”