After that disastrous performance in Game 1, the Thunder was locked in for the vast majority of the remaining five games of the series, often making San Antonio – a team that won a franchise record 67 games this season – look lost offensively.
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Kevin Durant is the top scorer in the postseason averaging 27.4 points per game, and Russell Westbrook averages 25.5 points per game.
“But last night the Thunder made their greatest case for why KD should and will be back in Oklahoma City next season”.
Even if Westbrook misses shots, the Thunder aren’t concerned.
“We had that game, and we left it behind us”, he said. We were mixing different lineups, so that helped out as well. Both are bonafide superstars (sorry Mark Cuban, we disagree with you) who are capable of going for 40-plus points on any given night. Both have been through their up and downs, and as they decide whether or not to return to the team, they are once again in the same boat.
The Warriors would have preferred the Spurs to win because they were an easier matchup for them.
Steven Adams had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Andre Roberson added 14 points for the Thunder. He has been named Finals MVP three times while twice being named league MVP.
“Timmy was playing really well so he we played him as much as we possibly could because he earned the minutes”, Popovich said. With Conley in tow, the Spurs would have a new big 3 to build with for the foreseeable future. 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 didn’t play in the fourth quarter. On a pick-and-roll, Duncan had a clear path to the basket, but as he tried to go up for the dunk, he was blocked by Serge Ibaka and knocked to the floor. He has a player option for next season.
Every time the Thunder have played the Warriors this season they led the game at some point in the fourth quarter.
And after trailing heading into the fourth quarters of Games 4 and 5, the Thunder came back and won each contest, simply by executing better than the Spurs. He hit his first three shots from the field, and the Spurs had a quick 12-8 lead. He totaled 26 points and 10 assists and had a game-high 17 assist opportunities. Don’t let anyone fool you: this was a stunning development and one that could keep Durant in Oklahoma City long term. This won’t be the play that defines Duncan, but it will be the one everyone points to when they say the greatest power forward of all time should retire. “Hopefully we can put this injury behind him by the time we start this next series”. San Antonio played much better offensively in the second half, but it was a case of too little, too late.
The Thunder dominated the boards in the series, winning the rebounding battle in five of the six games.
San Antonio also will look at shoring up its depth, which has always been a strength for the team, but didn’t work out very well against Oklahoma City. “We just wanted to try to match their intensity”.
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Tristan Thompson, F, Cleveland Cavaliers: Thompson has seen just eight games of action as the Cavs are steamrolling the competition in the Eastern Conference playoffs. He only averaged seven points and seven rebounds a night.
