Kevin Durant scored 37 points, and Oklahoma City earned the coveted spot with a 113-99 victory Thursday in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder entered their Western Conference semi-finals series against San Antonio Spurs as the underdogs. But after winning the series opener by 32 points, the Spurs suddenly looked old and thin in comparison to the Thunder’s size inside and athleticism on the wings.
Pride they had. The Spurs trailed by 26 points after three quarters but didn’t give up.
The do-everything point guard still expects more from himself, saying he can improve his consistency over the course of 48 minutes which will be needed against Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and the aggressive, hard-nosed rebounding Thunder. Steven Adams was solid once again with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
Kawhi Leonard paced the Spurs with 22 points on 9-of-23 shooting. The Warriors play the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Wes.
NOTES: When the Thunder returned home after defeating San Antonio in Game 5, they were greeted by more than 500 fans after midnight at the airport.
Everything you need to know about the Warriors vs. Thunder. Both are bonafide superstars (sorry Mark Cuban, we disagree with you) who are capable of going for 40-plus points on any given night.
“Game one they just outplayed us”, Durant said of the Spurs, who won the series opener by 32 points.
“You can do everything perfectly, and they can still score”, Kerr said.
As Golden State just finished the greatest regular season in National Basketball Association history, we have to ask: Do the Thunder have a shot? “I figured that he’d find his stroke and make a few shots, but I mean, that was insane”, said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. The 6-foot-7 forward also won Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first non-center to win the award in consecutive seasons since Dennis Rodman in 1989-91. The Thunder ramped up their defensive efforts to close out the Spurs, but the Warriors ranked higher defensively during the regular season.
So the question is can Oklahoma City get over this hump now or will they have to reload and regroup for future scraps with the Warriors? As the Spurs were making a run in the 4th quarter on Thursday, Duncan was not going to sit, even if it were his last game.
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“We came out and actually tried”, he said. “We’ve relied on our bench nearly every year as long as I can remember because you need to do it”. That’s how good the Warriors have been all season long: if everyone’s healthy, even if their superstars are off night, you can not do much against them. “They’re just going to come in and say, ‘Pop, this is what I’m doing.’ And whatever they say, that’s what I’ll do”.
