If you’re unsure of what a gentleman’s sweep means in an NBA context, please know that it’s happening now.
The 2014 Western Conference Finals continued Wednesday with the San Antonio Spurs’ 112-77 domination of the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2.
Danny Green tied a career playoff-high with seven three-pointers and Oklahoma City matched its worse playoff loss in franchise history.
Green and Co. made quick overall work of the Serge Ibaka-less Thunder, who now find themselves behind 0-2 and in danger of dropping the series in five games, if not being swept altogether.
But for a game that was effectively over at halftime, it’s fairly shocking that the losing squad actually led until halfway through the second quarter.
The one-two punch of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook capitalized off the Spurs’ first two misses. Westbrook assisted on Durant’s 17-footer, while the league MVP did the same on the blistering point guard’s three-pointer for a 5-0 early lead.
Durant then scored the next seven points for Oklahoma City. But the inside dominance of Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and Tiago Splitter helped put the Spurs up 18-12. Leonard assisted, while the latter two went to work in the paint.
However, the Thunder’s reserve unit made a notable stand at the end of the first.
Reggie Jackson drove in with two layups, Steven Adams dunked one home and Caron Butler scored from inside and out. Their combined 14-point flurry generated a 26-24 advantage heading into the second.
Following Green’s second three-pointer, the defensive frontline of Nick Collison and Kendrick Perkins made their only baskets of the game. Still, their four points and another four from Butler and Westbrook created a 36-35 Thunder lead with 6:18 left in the half.
Unfortunately, that’s also when the viewing world could feel the impending doom descending upon the visiting squad.
The original Big Three of Tim Duncan, Parker and Manu Ginobili dropped in the next 12 points for San Antonio. Their six free throws erased the six-point wizardry by Westbrook that kept the Thunder within striking distance.
Two more three’s from Green, a Boris Diaw jumper and a 27-foot bomb from Ginobili (following his own rebound, mind you) put the Spurs up by 14. The halftime buzzer went off shortly thereafter and Oklahoma City was summarily dismissed.
Durant did show some life by ending a three-minute scoring drought early in the third. Yet Duncan, Parker and Green quickly extended the already insurmountable deficit to 23 points.
When Westbrook halted another three-minute vacuum with a driving layup, Green quickly pushed the lead back to 24. Diaw and Ginobili did the same over the next two possessions.
With the Spurs up by 29 at the end of three, all but one of the starters for both clubs sat for the final quarter. Green’s seventh flush from downtown and assist on Aron Baynes short jumper with 9:27 left officially turned it into a mop-up assignment for the reserves.
The usually dynamic duo of Durant and Westbrook each netted just 15 points. They were an unsightly 1-of-9 from distance, 13-of-40 overall and a combined negative-40 while on the floor.
The seldom-used Jeremy Lamb added 13 in garbage time, while the starting trio of Collison, Perkins and Thabo Sefolosha once again scored fewer than six points.
Oklahoma City shot a paltry 2-of-20 from three-point range and 39.3 percent from the field. The Thunder got to the line only 10 times (making just five) and struggled mightily on the boards (minus-15) and in generating any kind of consistent ball movement (minus-nine in assists).
San Antonio, meanwhile, produced five scorers in double digits. Parker went for 22 PTS and 5 AST, Green added 21 PTS and 3 STL and Duncan dropped in 14 PTS and 12 REB.
Four-plus assists from four different Spurs added to their game-high 27 on 41 made shots.
Gregg Popovich’s bunch shot 50 percent from the floor, made 21-of-23 from the line, racked up 53 rebounds and compiled a plus-12 inside the paint (54-42).
Scott Brooks will return to the drawing board in hopes of formulating a winning game plan for Oklahoma City when the series resumes Sunday night at 8:30 PM ET.
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