Leonard outduels Westbrook, Spurs beat Thunder
SAN ANTONIO -- Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs shrugged off a ragged stretch of the third quarter to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-94 on Tuesday at the AT&T Center.
The Spurs' bench helped turn the tide at the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth quarters after San Antonio (37-11) squandered an 18-point lead over a horrid seven-minute stretch. The Spurs' reserves responded by outscoring Oklahoma City 15-2 and, once the starters returned the Thunder had no answer.
Leonard, who scored 30 or more points for the 15th time this season, outplayed the Thunder's Russell Westbrook, but the Spurs' bench was the real difference, racking up 32 points to 22 for Oklahoma City's reserves.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 23 points and was the only other San Antonio player in double-figure scoring.
Westbrook, who is the only player in the NBA averaging a triple-double, scored 27 points and dished out 14 assists but had just six rebounds; he has still has never had a triple-double against San Antonio.
Stephen Adams added 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Thunder (28-21). Victor Oladipo scored 15 points, Domantas Sabonis hit for 13 and pulled down 10 rebounds and Anthony Morrow tallied 11 points for Oklahoma City.
A 3-pointer by Patty Mills and a Leonard dunk after a Mills steal on the following possession staked the Spurs to a 27-17 lead with 1:28 to play in the first quarter. Ginobili's 3-pointer after a defensive 3-seconds technical on the Thunder expanded the advantage to 31-17 at end of the period. Oklahoma City shot just 5 of 19 (26.3 percent) in the first quarter, was scoreless the final 2:49 of the period and went the final 3:43 without a field goal.
The Thunder's scoreless drought stretched 2:15 into the second quarter, but San Antonio was only able to stretch its lead to 33-17 in that swoon. A Westbrook 3-pointer at the 2:10 mark and then a Morrow three off a Westbrook assist cut the Spurs' lead to 48-40 and San Antonio took a 52-42 lead into intermission.
Leonard led all scorers with 17 points at the break while Aldridge had 10 for the Spurs.
Westbrook was just 3 of 7 from the floor in the first half but still led the Thunder with 13 points. San Antonio outshot Oklahoma City 39.1 percent to 30.8 percent in the first two quarters and forced 13 turnovers from the Thunder that led to 11 points.
The Spurs' focus early in the third quarter was to get shots for Aldridge and he responded by hitting nine of San Antonio's first 12 points in the period and expanding the lead to 64-46.
But Westbrook poured in back-to-back 3s to keep the Thunder within striking distance at 66-52 that was the impetus for a 23-4 run over a stretch of almost seven minutes that saw the game flip-flop in favor of Oklahoma City, turning an 18-point Spurs advantage into a 3-point lead for the Thunder.
A Mills 3-pointer followed by a 3-point play by Leonard in the final 30 seconds righted the ship for the Spurs and garnered them a 79-75 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
San Antonio's reserves kept the momentum going, outscoring the Thunder's bench players 9-2 in the first three-and-a-half minutes as the Spurs pushed their advantage to 88-77.
NOTES: Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti was a member of the Spurs' front office from 2000-07, ascending to assistant general manager. ... The Thunder (known then as the Seattle SuperSonics) were the first road team to score 100-plus points in the Alamodome when they defeated the Spurs 109-107 on Dec. 8, 1993. It was also the first overtime game in that building, San Antonio's former home. ... San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili became the all-time winningest trio in NBA playoff history with 111 wins after a 112-77 victory over the Thunder in Game 2 of the 2014 Western Conference Finals. ... The Spurs played without C Pau Gasol, who is out indefinitely with a fracture of his left fourth metacarpal. Oklahoma City C Enes Kanter (fractured right ulna) was also out of the game. ... Next up for San Antonio is a home game Thursday versus Philadelphia while the Thunder return home to face Chicago.