San Antonio Spurs pull away in third quarter; Put Oklahoma City Thunder in a 16 digit hole
The third quarter of Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals was a high scoring affair for both teams, the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
San Antonio however still held the upper hand by managing 37 points in the period while holding the Thunder to only 32 points and getting a 92-76 lead after three.
Tim Duncan only scored 2 points in the entire period; however the Spurs did not need him to score much as Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and the bench got going again.
Along with the precise distribution of the ball, Ginobili and Parker continued to do their work in the scoring department. Parker upped his scoring outcome to 9 points in the third quarter to take his tally to
27 points whereas Ginobili added 5 more points to his name.
Kawhi Leonard hit the opening triple for San Antonio to start the second half to lay the foundation of another dominant Spurs period, which Danny Green finished with 10 points and Boris Diaw with 7.
From the Thunder side, Kevin Durant started the second half much like the way he started the game. After just scoring 2 points in the second quarter, he managed to get 13 points in the third to take his total
to 27 points.
James Harden however failed to continue his scoring rhythm. He could only manage 2 points in the third quarter after dropping 8 in the second. Russell Westbrook recorded 8 more points in the period, but the poor
shooting continued for him highlighted by the two missed three point attempts in the final minute.
Kendrick Perkins (3) and Thabo Sefolosha (2) also opened their scoring accounts in the period.
The Spurs erupted after the break and were leading by as many as 22 points with 4:47 remaining in the period. Things started getting a little physical at that point and tempers were flying all over.
Thunder coach Scott Brooks decided to apply an interesting strategy and in the next few minutes, Thunder sent Tiago Splitter to the free throw line on 5 occasions. The move seemed to work as he missed 5 free
throws in that span and was eventually replaced by Tim Duncan deep into the frame.
However the Spurs remained resilient and were able to hold their lead at 16 before heading into the final quarter of the game.
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