Game 3: San Antonio at Oklahoma City
Didn’t expect that to happen. By the 4th quarter, the Spurs had emptied their bench and so had the Thunder. At the beginning of the game, the Thunder scored the first 8 points, but the Spurs methodically came back and after a mini-surge to close out the quarter (a sign of a champion) they went into the second quarter up 24-22. Same ol’ same ol’ and I was already debating the merits of Miami-San Antonio Finals. But I was premature in writing the Thunder off. They ain’t done yet.
Manu hit a 3 to start the second quarter and I let out an audible giggle at the Spurs’ emotionless efficiency and dead-eye shooting. Fortunately for most of the media (whose indifference towards the Spurs’ franchise is only matched by their engorged interest in the Heat and Thunder), this is the playoffs and the Thunder didn’t get here by luck. The youngsters went on a 29-5 run before a Gary Neal 3-pointer with 3:55 in the quarter stopped the Spurs’ hemorrhaging. This impenetrable San Antonio squad had finally met their match. They scored just 17 points in the second period to the Thunder’s 32. The 3rd was some more of the same with the Thunder out-scoring the Spurs 24-19 and extending their lead to 18 entering the final quarter.
When the Spurs and Thunder rested their starters to start the 4th, Steve Kerr pointed out that Popovich might not bring Manu, Tony or Timmy back again. He was right. The Thunder kept right on rolling, and Popovich rested his guys for game 4. It was an anti-climax the casual fan loathes and the die-hard Thunder fan loves. There was no queasy feeling at the end of the game as Parker or Manu lines up a 3 that recent history says will almost assuredly go in and crush the Thunder’s pysche. Nope, not tonight.
Not a single Spur played more than 30 minutes as Popovich’s 10 deep squad played even more guys in defeat, giving all 13 guys on the Spurs bench some playing time. We even got to watch DeJuan Blair tear it up for the team late in the 4th. So how did the Spurs, a team so commanding through the first 10 games of the playoffs and over the last month of the regular season the games seemed cursory at best, lose so badly to the Thunder?
Well the Thunder played really really hard. Their backs were to the wall and they played that way, with a vengeance on defense the Spurs’ meticulously crafted hi-low and screen and roll game couldn’t handle. Arms and hands were flying everywhere as the Thunder stuck with the game-plan and created havoc on the defensive end by constantly switching on screens helping each other out when the mismatch was created. It was a team defensive effort more than anything. But it wasn’t just their defense. The Thunder role players came alive in front of their home crowd.
Thabo Sefolosha scored a career playoff high 19 points and Serge Ibaka hit some jumpers on his way to 14. Durant scored a team-high 22, but Westbrook was held to just 10 points, so he handed out 9 assists and all 12 Thunder players scored. It was a team effort Scott Brooks and the rest of his staff was looking for, shit, it was an effort the Thunder was gonna need if they had any hope against the Dark Lord Spurs. The Chesapeake Energy Solutions arena lifted the team past a juggernaut that looked so unbeatable I had given up hope for the young Thunder after only one quarter tonight. I was wrong; this Oklahoma City Thunder team has guts and a backbone they’ve developed after last year’s loss to Dallas in the same round.
But, and this is a strong enough but to start a separate graf with, I’d caution Thunder fans and pundits (who will invariably dissect this game more than necessary) to hold off on the talk of evening the series. You know Popovich will add some wrinkles for game 4, and the Spurs will be less lethargic since they’ve finally lost and need to get up for this game. A whole lot of winning can breed some bad traits, and I’m sure Popovich will be chewing up his team in the film room tomorrow. This series is a long, long way from being back on equal ground, but it’s a series now, not just a showcase for Popovich quips, Duncan’s emotionless countenance of contempt and Parker’s improved mid-range jumper.
Now lets just hope Boston can get one at home tomorrow and we’ll have two Conference Finals that make us whoop with delight and scream in the middle of the night. It’s the motherfucking playoffs and if you’re not excited yet, then you might want to move right along to something else. This is it. This is what makes all the sleepless nights and loss of freelance gigs worth it. This, right here.
I’ve said this a thousand times and written it a few hundred more, but it always bears repeating: I fuckin’ love this game.
Final: OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 102 - San Antonio Spurs 82
The Spurs lead the series 2-1
PHOTOS VIA
BallisLife.
Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best
- Tim Duncan
![fuckyeanba:
Friday evening links to read this weekend as you’re safely indulging in whatever stems the tide of reality’s cold waters.
Boris Diaw is now a San Antonio Spur. That means they’ve picked up Stephen Jackson, Patty Mills and Boris Diaw, while only losing Richard Jefferson (who isn’t the high-flyer he once was). [Yahoo! Sports]
Ben Gordon was 9/9 from 3-point land when the Pistons faced the Nuggets the other night, but JaVale ruined his perfect evening from beyond the arc. Steve McPherson takes a look at NBA player’s and their hot hand not from a statistical perspective, which has been done ad nauseum, but from the perspective of a creative endeavor, like writing a novel. [Hardwood Paroxysm]
Both Ian Thomsen at Sports Illustrated and Zache Lowe at The Point Forward on the struggling Los Angeles Clippers, I already mentioned. Thomsen looks at Paul’s inauspicious homecoming in New Orleans, and Lowe concludes, as I did, that the Clippers aren’t title contenders just yet. [Sports Illustrated; The Point Forward]
Ramon Sessions has replaced Steve Blake as the Lakers starting point guard. I’m sure there are Maryland Laker fans that are upset, but they’re probably the only ones. [Laker Nation]
Ahmad Rashad interviewed Jeremy Lin about his overnight path to worldwide stardom. [NBA.com]
The NBA suspended New Orleans Hornets forward, Jason Smith, two games for his bodycheck on Blake Griffin last night. The New Orleans crowd actually cheered Smith’s hard foul. [ESPN]
Sam Amick on the Sacramento Kings long-term plans for Jimmer Fredette. [Sports Illustrated]
A couple days ago Henry Abbott called for the end to flopping, and Basketball Prospectus’ Kevin Peralta tweeted a solution called: “the boy who cried flop.” Beckley Mason of HoopSpeak and ESPN wrote about the boy who cried flop, and just what the hell that means. I think the NBA already has a solution to flopping, and they’re called referees, but that’s just my opinion. [True Hoop]
Mason also wrote about LeBron’s Trayvon Martin tweet, and Bohami Jones had an excellent reaction to the whole awful affair. Ira Winderman, of the Sun-Sentinel, wrote about the ‘Bron’s tweet for Pro Basketball Talk too. Thoughts and prayers for Trayvon’s family during this nightmare. [HoopSpeak]
The Minnesota Timberwolves sing Britney Spears during karaoke. [Pro Basketball Talk]
Earlier today, the New York Post reported Larry Bird will not return as the Indiana Pacers as GM next year, but Bird says “‘No decision made.’” [Slam]
Who has the best floater in the league? Listen to NBA players tell you their answer (my vote is for Tony Parker). [Hooped Up Online]
Pic Via](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1cyfr4JLI1qbcs46o1_400.jpg)
Friday evening links to read this weekend as you’re safely indulging in whatever stems the tide of reality’s cold waters.
Boris Diaw is now a San Antonio Spur. That means they’ve picked up Stephen Jackson, Patty Mills and Boris Diaw, while only losing Richard Jefferson (who isn’t the high-flyer he once was). [Yahoo! Sports]
Ben Gordon was 9/9 from 3-point land when the Pistons faced the Nuggets the other night, but JaVale ruined his perfect evening from beyond the arc. Steve McPherson takes a look at NBA player’s and their hot hand not from a statistical perspective, which has been done ad nauseum, but from the perspective of a creative endeavor, like writing a novel. [Hardwood Paroxysm]
Both Ian Thomsen at Sports Illustrated and Zache Lowe at The Point Forward on the struggling Los Angeles Clippers, I already mentioned. Thomsen looks at Paul’s inauspicious homecoming in New Orleans, and Lowe concludes, as I did, that the Clippers aren’t title contenders just yet. [Sports Illustrated; The Point Forward]
Ramon Sessions has replaced Steve Blake as the Lakers starting point guard. I’m sure there are Maryland Laker fans that are upset, but they’re probably the only ones. [Laker Nation]
Ahmad Rashad interviewed Jeremy Lin about his overnight path to worldwide stardom. [NBA.com]
The NBA suspended New Orleans Hornets forward, Jason Smith, two games for his bodycheck on Blake Griffin last night. The New Orleans crowd actually cheered Smith’s hard foul. [ESPN]
Sam Amick on the Sacramento Kings long-term plans for Jimmer Fredette. [Sports Illustrated]
A couple days ago Henry Abbott called for the end to flopping, and Basketball Prospectus’ Kevin Peralta tweeted a solution called: “the boy who cried flop.” Beckley Mason of HoopSpeak and ESPN wrote about the boy who cried flop, and just what the hell that means. I think the NBA already has a solution to flopping, and they’re called referees, but that’s just my opinion. [True Hoop]
Mason also wrote about LeBron’s Trayvon Martin tweet, and Bohami Jones had an excellent reaction to the whole awful affair. Ira Winderman, of the Sun-Sentinel, wrote about the ‘Bron’s tweet for Pro Basketball Talk too. Thoughts and prayers for Trayvon’s family during this nightmare. [HoopSpeak]
The Minnesota Timberwolves sing Britney Spears during karaoke. [Pro Basketball Talk]
Earlier today, the New York Post reported Larry Bird will not return as the Indiana Pacers as GM next year, but Bird says “‘No decision made.’” [Slam]
Who has the best floater in the league? Listen to NBA players tell you their answer (my vote is for Tony Parker). [Hooped Up Online]
Pic Via
(via giliamid)
(via missnicolepacheco)
