Oklahoma City Thunder crowned Western Conference Champions: Come from 18 down to knock out the San Antonio Spurs in the Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals
The Oklahoma City Thunder became only the 15th team in NBA history to come back from a 0-2 deficit and win the series when they defeated the San Antonio Spurs 107-99 in game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.
The win secured an NBA Finals appearance for the Thunder, their first since 1996 when the franchise was based in Seattle. The Thunder were also crowned Western Conference Champions in front of a roaring home crowd that did not
disappoint with their presence and energy.
Kevin Durant scored a game high 34 points and lifted his hand up in victory as he took the final rebound of the game. He was the MVP of the series and led his team as they snapped a 20 game winning streak of the Spurs and won four
straight games against the top seeded Spurs.
Tony Parker had a team high 29 points as he showed signs of the brilliance we have witnessed from him all season and have now grown accustomed to. However, his effort was not enough to halt the roaring Thunder as they came back
from a 18 point deficit to win the game.
"Even when we were 3-29 (in the 2008-09 season) our ownership group and our fans treated us like champions. We were down 18 and we could have said, 'okay we gotta suck it up and win Game 7,' but they didn't do that. They had a
never quit attitude,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks.
The Spurs came out firing on all cylinders in the opening quarter, and took the Thunder defense by surprise. Leading 15-12, the Spurs went on a 19-4 run, led by their leader and play maker Tony Parker, to grab a 34-16 lead with
1:27 remaining in the period.
Parker got into his rhythm early in the game as he scored 7 of the first 12 baskets of the Spurs, and assisted in the remaining five. He set the tempo for the game early on.
The Thunder tried to rally in the 2nd period but the Spurs were hot from the field, particularly from the 3 point line. Manu Ginobili scored on a three point attempt with 7:14 left in the 1st half to put the
Spurs back up by 18 points.
A clutch three pointer by Kevin Durant with time winding down in the 1st half cut the Spurs lead to 15 as they led 63-48 going into halftime. The Spurs were 9 of 15 from beyond the arc in the first half and seemed to
be back on their game plan of spreading the defense and finding open shots with the extra pass.
Their perimeter shooters also looked in rhythm, with Stephen Jackson leading the way. The Spurs shot nearly 55% from the field till the half, showing why they went 20 games without a loss.
The Thunder, looking to finish the series in front of home crowd, came out charged in the third period and were led by Durant. He opened the scoring for the quarter with a layup and started a 14-4 run by the Thunder, capped off
by a three pointer by him to cut the deficit to only 5 points.
The Spurs were 2 of 7 from the field during this run, while the Thunder went 5 of 8. Then, a three pointer late in the third period by Durant gave the Thunder their first lead of the night at 79-77. The Spurs scored the next 4
points before Durant went 1 of 2 from the foul line to have the Thunder trailing 80-81 at the end of the third period, after trailing by as many as 18 at one point in the game.
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