Game Recap from the Thunder website.
On one second half possession a solitary fingertip was all that Andre Roberson needed to wreak complete havoc against the San Antonio Spurs. That fingertip jostled the ball away from Kawhi Leonard, and then the duo were off to the races in the backcourt, diving on the ground for the ball.
The spry Roberson jumped off the hardwood first, scooped up the ball and finished at the rim to ignite an already blazing hot Chesapeake Energy Arena crowd. It was that type of defense-to-offense effort that fueled the Thunder in a monster first half, and it resulted in a series-clinching 113-99 victory over the Spurs on Thursday night in front of its Oklahoma City faithful.
“I just tried to do anything I can to get my hand on and deflect it a little bit,” said Roberson, who also finished with a Playoff career-high 14 points. “I got my hand on it and it’s a race to the ball.”
After falling behind 2-1 in this Round 2 series, the Thunder rattled off three straight victories against a 67-win Spurs team that had the best margin of victory in the NBA and a historically good defense. Each Thunder win in the series was more impressive than the next, capped off by what was mostly a blowout in Game 6.
It wasn't a completely perfect night, which was expected against a savvy Spurs team. After building a 28-point lead in the third quarter, the Thunder got off to a rough start to the fourth, allowing the Spurs to outscore it 23-8 to pull the game back to within 99-88 with just under four minutes remaining. Tim Duncan rose to the rim but that’s where Serge Ibaka met him, swatting a shot that led to a Russell Westbrook to Kevin Durant transition dunk.
“He was huge, that block was the game saver,” Durant said of Ibaka. “That was like a clutch basket. We were able to gain the momentum back after that one. Coach has been talking to us all season about momentum-changing plays and that was one of them.”
When Westbrook swished a jab-stepping 3-pointer and Durant sealed off a defensive possession with a rebound, the fans knew it was over and gave a raucous ovation-slash-sigh of relief.
Even though the Spurs threw a massive late punch in the fourth, the Thunder settled down and was able to execute enough down the stretch to preserve a double-digit lead.
“We just had to relax,” Durant said. “We got this lead for a reason and we got it by playing good basketball. We can do that again. I just tried to tell my guys that. We were able to get some stops and huge buckets.”
As the second most prolific offense all season long, the Thunder knows it can score in droves. The key in tonight’s game, and throughout the series, has been that the defense has been cranked up to its highest gear.
In the first half, the Thunder allowed the Spurs to score just 31 points, the lowest in the Playoffs for an opponent in the Oklahoma City era. In fact, the Spurs shot just 31.1 percent from the field, went 0-for-8 from 3, and turned the ball over six times compared to just five assists. What resulted was 12 fast break points for the Thunder and none for San Antonio, thanks to just three first half turnovers for OKC.
“We did a great job of being disciplined,” Westbrook said. “They’re a great team. They make you move around a lot but we did a great job of using our size, being very physical and led to us getting out on the break and getting easy buckets.”
After building a 19-13 lead, the Spurs seemed to be in control, but the Thunder’s second unit completely dominated the final four minutes of the quarter, sparking a 12-0 run to build a 25-19 edge heading into the second period. The next 12 minutes for the Thunder were an absolute rout, as it outscored the Spurs 30-12, extending its run to 42-12 over the final 16 minutes of the first half.
The crescendo built throughout the quarter, as the Thunder kept piecing together scoring bursts that were more often than not predicated on the way the team was defending as a unit. The Thunder scored the final eight points of the half on five free throws, then a pull-up Durant 3-pointer before the buzzer to send both teams in the locker room with the advantage at 55-31.
The Thunder came out of halftime and traded baskets with the Spurs for most of the third quarter, perhaps a bit drained from the massive amount of energy it expended in the first half. That left the door open for the Spurs run to start the fourth, but the Thunder was able to slam the door, behind its veteran leaders Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka.
“Our guys weathered it and we got through it and we found a way to close the game out,” Donovan said. “I’m excited for all of our players. Those guys have done a tremendous job and have worked really hard getting prepared to play each game. I’m just happy that we get a chance to advance and continue to play."
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