Oklahoma City Thunder get some payback with 102-82 rout of San Antonio Spurs (Part 2) – NBA Recap
Kevin Durant had 22 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists for the game and went 8 of 17 from the field. Russell Westbrook had 10 points off a 5 of 15 shooting performance, but he made up for it with 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks, while reducing
his turnovers to only 2. James Harden had 15 points, going 5 of 10 from the field.
But the performance of the match for the Thunder was Thabo Sefolosha. Averaging 4.8 points in the regular season and 4 in the playoffs, he was started in the game for his defensive capabilities. He stayed true to that reputation. Sefolosha finished with
19 points, including 4 of 10 from the distance. He had 6 rebounds, 6 steals and 1 blocked shot. Serge Ibaka also got into the scoring mood in game 3, adding 14 points for the team and blocking 3 shots.
The Spurs struggled on their offense, with Tony Parker going 6 of 12 from the field for his 16 points and Manu Ginobili having a 1 of 5 shooting night for 8 points and 1 assist. Both were guarded by Sefolosha, who stayed on their tail the entire night and
made it difficult for them to have easy looks.
Tim Duncan was 5 of 15 for 11 points and had 2 rebounds for the night. Kawhi Leonard had 2 points and 6 rebounds. Stephen Jackson was the pick of the scorers for the Spurs, going 6 of 7 from the field including 4 of 5 from the distance for 16 points. DeJuan
Blair added 10 points off the bench when he played in the final quarter.
“They played very well; they played like it was a close-out game. They beat us good. We played much more poorly than we have and they played fantastically. I thought they played smarter than we did and harder than we did” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich
after the game.
The Spurs were held to 39.5% shooting for the night, a rarity for them in the playoffs. They committed 21 turnovers and were restricted to 18 assists. Oklahoma City went 45.5% from the field and 16 of 17 from the foul line. They had 23 assists and only 7
turnovers for the night. They outscored the Spurs 14-2 in steals and 44-41 in rebounds.
The Thunder also beat them in fast break points and points within the paint. They took the game to the Spurs and played with aggression, intensity and confidence, believing in their abilities and playing without fear of their two losses at the hands of the
Spurs in the opening two games.
"We did a good job on defence, everyone was really locked in. It was great to get a win in front of our home crowd. I think we showed tonight it's gonna be a long series” said Sefolosha after the game.
Oklahoma City have certainly made this an interesting series with their win. The way the Spurs were walking over opponents in the playoffs, it seemed like it would be a walk in the park for the Spurs, right to the NBA championship. The Thunder have shown
that the Spurs also have weaknesses and can be defeated. They will play game 4 in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder have been amazing all through the playoffs, and hope to carry the momentum from game 3 forward.
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