The Oklahoma City Thunder are now one game away from the Western Conference Finals and a possible date with the Golden State Warriors thanks to Westbrook and a missed call by the officials.
Advertisement
The San Antonio Spurs had a historically great regular season, whipped the life out of the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals, but somehow they’re just one game from elimination after the Thunder beat them 95-91 thanks to a rugged performance from Russell Westbrook and, of course, some late officiating drama. In Game 3, the 15-time All-Star, five-time National Basketball Association champion and three-time Finals MVP went scoreless in 12 minutes, committed four fouls in the first half and did not play in the fourth quarter.
We made a lot of stops tonight, but we just can’t get the boards, and it’s killing us in the end. They now lead 3-2 and can close out back in Oklahoma on Thursday (Friday, NZT).
“I hope we respond a little angry with a chip on our shoulder”, Spurs guard Danny Green said. “You can’t expect to have a team go 10 of 18 in the last six minutes and win”.
The victory was the Thunder’s second in a row at the AT&T Center, where the Spurs lost just one game during the regular season.
Besides scoring at least 28 points for the fourth time in the series, the electrifying point guard had four offensive rebounds and two steals in 39 minutes.
After not scoring in Game 4, Duncan was better this time around.
Westbrook drained a long jumper, and then after the Spurs thought they’d been called for a shot-clock violation on the other end, Westbrook sprinted past the snoozing defense for a layup that brought OKC within two points. “You are going to have nights that the ball doesn’t go in, but the times we’ve locked up and played defense allow us to overcome that”.
If this really is Kevin Durant’s last go-round with Russell Westbrook, they’re making it one to remember.
He also once again made some huge plays down the stretch to get his team over the line.
With 13 seconds left in Game 2, Oklahoma City’s Dion Waiters committed a turnover during an inbounds play. “My job is to keep in attack mode, and they didn’t blow the whistle”, Westbrook said. Two of those losses came at the hands of the boys from OKC. Oklahoma City out rebounded San Antonio by an average of seven rebounds over the first five games, and has won that battle in each of the past four games.
Advertisement
Green’s fifth 3-pointer of the game with 8:55 to play in the fourth quarter was countered on ensuing possessions by consecutive treys by Westbrook and Durant that tied the game at 78 and set the stage for the furious finish.
