(AP Photo/Eric Gay). Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) celebrates with teammate Enes Kanter (11) after he scored against the San Antonio Spurs during the final seconds of Game 5 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series, Tuesday, . However, the refs missed the contact – stunningly, since everyone in the building knew Leonard would attempt a foul there – as Westbrook broke free for a layup, drew a foul from LaMarcus Aldridge and converted the free throw, putting the game out of reach at 95-91.
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Trail Blazers at Warriors, Game 5, 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT (Golden State leads 3-1): The Warriors can advance to the Western Conference finals with a win on Wednesday, the same night Stephen Curry will be presented with his second consecutive MVP award.
“We got stops and Russ was a maniac tonight”, Durant said afterward.
The San Antonio Spurs will have their playoff lives on the line as small Game 6 betting favorites on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“I hope we respond by being a little angry and with a chip on our shoulder”, he said. Westbrook roared and the Thunder escaped, again, with a thrilling and gutsy win.
And he’s definitely showing his age.In the Spurs’ nine playoff games this season, the 19-year veteran is averaging 4.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in 20.4 minutes per game, and is shooting 39.5 percent from the field.Duncan’s highest scoring playoff game is eight points.
Westbrook only narrowly missed out on yet another triple double, finishing with 11 rebounds and nine assists in addition to his 35-point haul.
Kevin Durant backed up Westbrook’s attack with 23 points. This performance came two days after they held the Spurs to 16 fourth-quarter points in the Game 4 victory. We have to control the boards. But he’s getting good shots.
“We did a good job of making them shoot mid-range shots and keeping them out of the paint”, he added. “We just kinda cruised and didn’t panic late in the game”.
Thunder coach Billy Donovan said Kanter and Adams have put in the time to make the experiment a success.
On the other side, the Spurs must find the strengths they had during the regular season and even the first game of this series in order to stay alive. Up until now, the Thunder have failed to turn their talent into winning, and this may be the last time we see the Thunder with this lineup, and Kevin Durant in this uniform.
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Spurs: Tim Duncan’s dunk with 2:58 left in the first half were his first points since a layup 31 seconds into the second half in Game 3.
