Tuesday, June 5, 2012

6/5: Thunder/Spurs

Greetings all... Only have time to cover one thing this morning so we're going hard on Thunder/Spurs...

  • I was wrong. Flat-out wrong. OKC outlasted San Antonio 108-103 last night to take a 3-2 series lead with game 6 at home in Oklahoma. Kevin Durant had 27 points including 22 in the 2nd half, while Russ Westbrook netted 23 points and 12 assists, and James Harden finished with 20 points including the 2 biggest shots of the game. When Harden's 4-point play gave OKC a 13-point lead with 5 minutes to play, the game looked all but over, but San Antonio scored the next 11 points to climb back in it. The back-and-forth was on from there until Harden hit another giant triple to give OKC a 5-point lead with 30 seconds left and seal the victory. On the Spurs side, Manu Ginobili was pretty incredible, scoring 34 points including 5 threes, but the potential game-tying three glanced off  the rim at the gun, and they fell short. The x-factors in the loss for San Antonio were turnovers, and the play of Tony Parker, and the two aren't mutually exclusive. The normally ultra-efficient Spurs finished with 21 turnovers (to just 23 assists) and the lack of quality possessions was pretty alarming. As for Parker, he looked to be playing out-of-control for much of the night, turning it over 5 times, shooting just 5-of-14, and falling down on nearly every play. You'll be reading a lot about OKC growing up before our eyes, and their under-23 core being ready for primetime, but where do we go from here? I don't think the series is over. At least not with a Tim Duncan/Greg Popovich-led Spurs team on the other side. I'd certainly pick OKC to win the series with Game 6 at home, but let's not close the book just yet. 
Enjoy...

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