It was only the second quarter in Game 6 of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Western Conference semi-final match-up on Thursday between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs.
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But keep in mind that the Thunder took down the Spurs, who defeated the Warriors once during the regular season which means that Oklahoma is in a better shape now, which would hopefully carry them to the 2016 NBA Finals. His Spurs were flushed out of the NBA Playoffs by a hungry Thunder team on Thursday night, 113-99, despite a throwback 19-point performance from the future Hall of Famer.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming off an impressive six-game series against the San Antonio Spurs.
San Antonio responded with consecutive 34-point quarters following the main interval but Oklahoma City were not to be denied. It was even simpler at the end of last season, when the old man played 35 minutes a night against the Clippers in the first round, slapping them with 17 points and 11 rebounds per game.
Kawhi Leonard scored a team-high 22 points.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was surprised when asked whether Duncan had played his last game.
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We’ve seen him play the game. “And you root for the disappointment and horror of all the little Oklahoma kids who love their Thunder, ‘oh, they’re going to win.’ No, we’re going to root for destruction, terror, and mayhem to be rained down upon them”. It was just the sixth time all year that he scored more than 15 points in a game. They’ve been winning for 10-plus years, same pace. “We’re just excited to get this opportunity”. Or for the 40-year-old to say he’s returning next season and remains wildly optimistic about getting the San Antonio Spurs another title? He finished with nine points.
When we examine the match ups, the only guy who has bothered Golden State has been Durant. In fact, OKC probably should have won one or two of those games. Andre Roberson, the Thunder’s defensive specialist, added 14 points to another stellar defensive job on the Spurs’ wing players. Westbrook has tried to outplay Curry instead of playing his own game. I know for both teams, it was a grind all series.
A wild stat for you: the Warriors and Blazers played a total of 245 minutes in their five game series and Portland led for 158 of the minutes compared to Golden State’s 87.
“Control the boards”, Spurs guard Tony Parker said. “We just wanted to try to match their intensity”. With the Spurs being outscored 25-19 in the first quarter, Popovich told ESPN’s Doris Burke that everything “went to crap” once he made substitutions.
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During the regular season, the Warriors defeated the Thunder in all their three meetings, 116-108, 121-118 and 121-106.
