Oklahoma City Thunder defeat San Antonio Spurs 102-82 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals
On Thursday night at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City Thunder got the ball rolling in their Western Conference Finals series against the San Antonio Spurs with a 102-82 win in Game 3. The loss for the Spurs also ended
their winning streak of 20 games which they had achieved by winning the last 10 games of the season and opening 10 matches of the playoffs.
OKC had led the way for the entire game and the fourth quarter was no different as they started the period with an 8-2 run. Thunder held their lead above the 20 point mark for most part of the period and the lowest they allowed
the lead to get was 15 before eventually winning by an ample margin of 20 points.
Kevin Durant did not score in the final period of the game and his team did not need him to do much as they led comfortable in the ball game. He finished the game with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
Serge Ibaka was instrumental in the game with 14 points and 3 blocks while the other big man for the Thunder, Kendrick Perkins had 8 rebounds and 3 blocks in the game to go along with 4 points.
Russell Westbrook had 10 points, 9 assists and 4 steals on the night. He also had 2 blocked shots in the game.
After not getting much playing time in the final stages of the first two games of the series, Thunder coach, Scott Brooks trusted Thabo Sefolosha in this one. He responded well to contribute 19 points and 6 rebounds but his main
contributions came on the defensive end as he stole the ball 6 times in the game. James Harden also chipped in with 15 points, off the bench.
The 18 point lead which the Thunder held after three quarters sent the message loud and clear to the Spurs team who did not offer much competition in the game. They pulled out their star players like Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker
and Tim Duncan allowing the bench to close out the proceedings.
Tim Duncan finished with 11 points, 5 blocks and 2 rebounds whereas Parker and Ginobili signed off on the night with 16 and 8 points respectively. Stephen Jackson led the scoring off the bench with 16 points which included a 4
of 5 shooting performance from beyond the arc.
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