San Antonio Spurs pull away in 4th quarter to win game 1 of Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder
After trailing by 9 with one quarter to go, San Antonio Spurs came alive in the final period to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 101-98 in a nail biting matchup.
The Spurs extended their winning streak to 19 with the win, the longest streak that stretches from regular season to playoffs, since the Los Angeles Lakers won 19 games from the end of the regular season to the playoffs in 2001.
The Spurs are yet to lose in this year’s playoffs.
Manu Ginobili had 26 points on the night, 11 of which came in the final period. He went 3 of 3 from the field and 5 of 5 from the foul line in that frame.
Oklahoma City now trail in a series for the first time in this year’s playoffs. Kevin Durant had 27 points on the night but managed to get only two field goal attempts in the fourth quarter.
Ginobili had 5 straight points to close the first quarter as the Spurs led the Thunder 24-18. OKC scored 5 straight points in the final minute of the half to take a 47-44 lead, but the Spurs got one final shot in before half time
to trail 46-47.
The third period belonged to the Thunder, who played strong and outscored the Spurs. Leading 61-59 with 3:15 left in the period, the Thunder went on a 10-3 run through the remaining period of the third quarter to lead 71-62 going
into the final period.
Gregg Popovich told his team to show “some nasty” in the interval before the final quarter and his team responded to their coach, starting the period to go on a 15-3 run and taking a 77-74 lead.
A three pointer by Gary Neal with 5:05 remaining extended the Spurs lead to 82-76. The Thunder tried to remain in the game, trailing by 4 points with two free throws by Kevin Durant, but another three pointer, this time by Stephen
Jackson, gave the Spurs a decisive 91-84 lead with 3:02 remaining in the game.
Harden scored two three pointers in the final three seconds of the game to reduce the winning margin but the Spurs had clinched the game by then, winning 101-98 at the end.
"The heat of the game, stuff comes up (like the comment about 'some nasty'). I thought we were playing a bit unconfidently, kind of on our heels, a little bit unsure of ourselves, on the dribble too much. So I talked to them about
getting a little bit uglier, get a little more nasty, play with more fiber and take it to those guys. We got that way in the fourth quarter” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich after the game.
Ginobili had 26 points and 5 rebounds for the night, going 9 of 14 from the field and 5 of 5 from the foul line. He was also 3 of 5 from the distance. Tony Parker had 18 points, 8 rebounds and six assists, but was 6 of 15 from
the field. Tim Duncan finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds and Gary Neal came off the bench to score 12 points, going 2 of 4 from beyond the arc.
Kevin Durant led the Thunder scoring with 27 points and 10 rebounds. He was 11-12 from the foul line. Russell Westbrook had 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the night. He was 5 of 19 from the field, but connected on his
last two attempts to finish 7 of 21. James Harden had 19 points and 6 rebounds, but he also struggled from the field, going 7 of 17 from the night. He started 1 of 9 but went 6 of 8 after that. Derek Fisher was hot for the night, going 6 of 8 from the field
to score 13 points.
The Spurs were 17 of 25 from the foul line, while the Thunder went 19 of 23. They outrebounded the Thunder 50-43 but were outnumbered by OKC 11-5 in steals and 9-2 in blocks. Both teams seemed quite balanced on paper, but the Spurs
had the advantage in the final minutes of the game that helped them seal the victory.
Game 2 will be played on Tuesday night in San Antonio, where the Thunder will look to even out the series before heading back to Oklahoma City for two home games.
Tags: