Oklahoma City Thunder get some payback with 102 – 82 rout of San Antonio Spurs – NBA Recap
The Oklahoma City Thunder came back into the Western Conference Finals with a game 3 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. The Thunder took the game to the Spurs after being dominated in the first two games, picking up on their defence to hand the Spurs a
102-82 loss and stop their surge in the playoffs.
This was the first loss of the playoffs for the Spurs and broke their 20 game winning streak, dating back to the regular season. The Thunder now trail 1-2 in the series.
Kevin Durant led the Thunder scoring with 22 points but instead of any one player having a big night to lead the team, OKC played incredible defence and picked up the tempo of the game to dismantle the Spurs offense. Feeding off the energy from a roaring
crowd inside the Chesapeake Energy Arena, the Thunder outplayed the Spurs on both ends of the floor.
"We played great defence from the start, we had active hands, we challenged every possession. That's as good as you can play against the best team in basketball. They played better than us in the first two games and we played better than them tonight” said
Thunder coach Scott Brooks.
The Thunder started the game with an 8-0 run including a dunk by Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka. That got the crowd going and filled the arena with energy and excitement. The Spurs were caught off guard by the energy of the Thunder, as they missed their first
4 field goal attempts.
Thabo Sefolosha was started by coach Brooks and made good use of the opportunity provided to him by having an incredible night on offense as well as defence. He had 4 steals before the Spurs had a basket on the board. San Antonio gradually got into their
rhythm and were leading 24-22 at the end of the first period.
The Thunder took control of the offense in the second quarter, going on a 24-8 run to open the period and take a 46-32 commanding lead with 4:15 left in the half. The Thunder finished the half leading 54-41. They scored 32 points in the 2nd quarter
while holding the Spurs to only 17.
OKC had the momentum on their side in game 3, and were the ones playing aggressive, driving into the paint to get easy shots. They had a 28-8 advantage in points scored in the paint in the first half and a 12-1 advantage in fast break points in the first
two periods. The Spurs, on the other hand, had 13 turnovers in the 1st half alone.
Oklahoma City kept their aggressive mindset alive in the 2nd half as well, going on an 11-2 run early in the third period to extend their lead to 68-48. They led 78-60 going into the final period, in complete control of the game.
The Thunder scored 8 straight points to open their scoring for the final period and extended their lead to 86-63. Serge Ibaka scored 2 free throws followed by a jump shot, followed by James Harden and Sefolosha with a two and three pointer respectively to
cap off another 8-0 run that put the Thunder up 95-68 and gave them their largest lead of the night at 27. Most of the Spurs starters had gone to the bench for the night by that time, and after compiling such a huge lead, Brooks also emptied his benches for
the rest of the game.
The Thunder went on to win 102-82.
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