The Thunder shocked the Spurs 95-91 in San Antonio, winning Game 5 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals and taking the series lead. They now lead 3-2 and can close out back in Oklahoma on Thursday (Friday, NZT). San Antonio was prioritizing defending passing lanes over all else and forcing Westbrook to shoot.
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Down one with nine seconds left, Westbrook got past an intentional foul attempt from Kawhi Leonard and attacked the hoop, ending the game with an and-one layup over and through LaMarcus Aldridge.
The Thunder’s position is remarkable, considering that San Antonio was 67-15 during the regular season and defeated OKC by 32 points in Game 1 of this series. “We didn’t panic late in the game – it was a good win for us. Sometimes the refs see, sometimes they don’t, but he gives a little extra”. “We just kept fighting”.
For those of you counting at home, Oklahoma City’s final five points of the evening all came from misguided whistles, bringing the grand total of blown calls in Games 2 and 5 to seven.
Tony Parker missed the second of two free throws to keep Oklahoma City ahead by a point. For the third time in four nail-biting games, the Thunder played as if their game was air-conditioned and the Spurs were the ones left sucking on their thumbs with regret.
Kevin Durant added 23 points as the Thunder won for the second time in San Antonio in the series. Kanter collected two blocks and four of his 13 rebounds in the fourth quarter.
The Thunder outrebounded San Antonio 54-36, outshot the Spurs 43-6-39.8 percent and held the San Antonio bench scoreless in the second half. “The ball just didn’t fall for us”. We’ve given ourselves a chance the past few games because we’ve defended down the stretch. “We know we have to control the boards”.
But the Silver & Black pull away again as Kawhi Leonard throws down, en route to 26 points. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. If the Spurs win that game, Game 7 will be back in San Antonio on Sunday.
San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich acknowledged both situations but was more upset about the foul called on Green, per Pandian: “He [Leonard] fouled him”. Just like Game 2. He finished with 35 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and two steals, seemingly getting to every loose ball in the second half.
Westbrook settled in after an erratic first half in which he committed six of the Thunder’s 13 turnovers. For the Thunder, with the rumors of Kevin Durant’s free agency, this could very well be the last shot for he and Westbrook to make a deep run in the Playoffs as a dynamic duo.
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“There’s no individuals in this game, there’s no individual matchups”, Durant said.
