The Spurs built a 23-point lead in the first quarter – when they connected on 81.8 percent of their shots – and the rout was on in game one of the Western Conference semi-finals in San Antonio. After San Antonio won the opening tip off, Leonard breezed past Kevin Durant and the rest of the OKC defense and finished off the drive with an emphatic slam for the game’s first points.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder had a tough series with the Dallas Mavericks.
At Saturday morning’s shootaround before Game 1, a reporter asked Durant what defines the Spurs after two decades of sustained success. Westbrook scored a game-high 36 points with 12 rebounds, nine assists, three three-point shots and one assist and there really is no doubt about his status as one of the best players in the National Basketball Association.
IRVING, Texas (AP) – The Dallas Cowboys finally addressed their pass rush early in the fourth round of the National Football League draft, taking Oklahoma defensive end Charles Tapper with the 101st overall pick Saturday. And the Spurs, thanks to LaMarcus Aldridge, made more mid-range field goals than any non-Knicks team this season, which will be key to drawing Serge Ibaka and Steven Adams out of the paint.
“It was just one of those nights”, Aldridge said. I guesses Singler rather than Collison would play regularly, which lowered Oklahoma City’s adjusted net rating by a few points per 100 possessions when projecting using only players in the playoff rotation. Tonight, I was able to do so. They had 39 assists and just seven turnovers. Within five minutes, San Antonio had a 10-point lead. The Spurs had 53 points less than 15 minutes into the game, and they followed up a record-setting first quarter by winning the second frame 30-20. As disciplined on the court as they are off, San Antonio’s message was clear: Game 1 is just one game. Leonard added 25 of his own, and Green netted 18 points behind his 5-6 performance on 3 pointers.
“I think the guys in that locker room are pretty competitive, and they’re going to want to come back and respond”, Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “They’ve got great players, but they also have a great coach to put them in positions that utilizes all their strengths as individuals and make it come together as a team”. They obviously didn’t get a rhythm. But they were definitely better than all of the other teams in the Western Conference.
San Antonio ripped off a 26-to-8 run in the middle of the opening frame as they went on to take a 43-20 lead after one quarter.
You know it’s the playoffs when Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are sitting next to each other, with Westbrook blinding everyone with his fashion choice, both of them wanting to be anywhere but in front of the press, giving short, gloomy answers while looking like it’s the end of the world. “Not a big problem, just got to find ways to read the help a little bit better, and make better decisions”.
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LaMarcus Aldridge led San Antonio with 38 points, on 18-of-23 shooting. The Spurs also blocked six shots, collapsing and surrounding the Thunder with multiple defenders whenever they drove into the lane. It was an entire post-graduate course on ball-movement and shot making, an exhibition of choreography so precise and attractive that the court basically became a stage, with the San Antonio Spurs providing the exhibition.
