The Thunder won a close game in San Antonio before dominating the Spurs at home for a Game 6 win. What stood out from their strong finish to the series?
Game 5: If Game 4 was Kevin Durant’s game, Game 5 belonged to Russell Westbrook. He came within a whisker of yet another triple double, ending with 35 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists in a 95-91 Oklahoma City win. Dion Waiters again thrived in his atypical role as “glue guy,” eschewing shot-taking to provide strong defense en route to a game-high plus/minus +18. Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Danny Green all broke 20 points for the Spurs in the losing effort. San Antonio closed to within one on a Tony Parker free throw, but Kawhi Leonard’s attempt at fouling Westbrook was not called. LaMarcus Aldridge, expecting the call, was out of position and weakly fouled Westbrook in the act of shooting, initiating an “and-1” that sealed the game.
Game 6: The Spurs came out hot, leaping out to a 19-13 lead behind the inside games of Tim Duncan and LaMarcus Aldridge. The next 2.5 quarters belonged to the Thunder, who outscored San Antonio 12-0 to close out the first quarter and 78-36 by the end of the third quarter, when Oklahoma City was up by 26. Gregg Popovich leveraged his AARP membership in the fourth, putting in Andre Miller alongside Duncan and Manu Ginobili, and the Spurs cut the lead to as few as 11. But Durant (37 points) and Westbrook (28) scored enough to keep them at bay, and Steven Adams (15 points, 11 rebounds) and unexpected hero Andre Roberson (14 points, seven rebounds, two blocks) held them off on defense to secure the win. Tim Duncan finished a team-high plus/minus +12 on the night, scoring 19 points in what may be the last game of his career.
The Good: Oklahoma City’s role players have stepped up in big ways as the series has progressed. Steven Adams has been the revelation of the playoffs, ripping down double doubles and aggressively sealing off the paint. Dion Waiters has stepped up on defense, guarding MVP runner-up Kawhi Leonard with more than a little success and prompting endless hours of discussion with a well-placed elbow to Ginobili’s chest. Randy Foye hit shots at times, and Andre Roberson drained three big triples and came up with a number of defensive highlights down the stretch of Game 6. Finally, super-sub Enes Kanter became the secret weapon for coach Billy Donovan, closing games alongside Adams in a “Twin Towers” look that San Antonio struggled to adjust to.
The Bad: When an underdog wins three straight games to close out a series against a 67-win team, there isn’t much bad. However, Oklahoma City saw a 26-point lead dissolve to 11 points in the 4th quarter of Game 6, and to a lineup featuring two forty-year-olds. The Golden State Warriors are the best crunch-time team in the league, while that’s been the Thunder’s Achilles heel all season. They admirably closed out a number of games in this series, but if that fragility is lurking just beneath the surface, Draymond Green and the Warriors will take a hammer and shatter it.
Looking Ahead: For the Thunder, Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors will be Monday in Oakland. They have a few days to rest and ponder how they’re going to beat a 73-win team four times in seven tries. For the Spurs, they are waiting on the decisions of Duncan and Ginobili – if one or either retires, it will be a sad say for NBA fans. Then they can move on to their offseason, which may include a run at a star such as Mike Conley or (keep this quiet) Kevin Durant.
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