Thunder at Spurs
Oklahoma City got Serge Ibaka back and suddenly won consecutive games to get back into the Western Conference finals. Now the Thunder look to see if they can keep the momentum going when they visit the San Antonio Spurs in Thursday’s Game 5. San Antonio crushed Oklahoma City by an average of 26 points in the opening two games on its home floor before Ibaka returned from a calf injury and the Thunder turned the tide.
San Antonio let a 2-0 lead get away against Oklahoma City in the 2012 conference finals and is hoping to keep a similar thing from happening this time around. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich waved the white flag in the middle of the third quarter with his team down 27 in hopes of getting veterans Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker enough rest to make a Game 5 turnaround. Thunder forward Kevin Durant can’t explain his team’s sudden switch in fortunes but is aware the task will be tougher in San Antonio. “We’re going to have to ramp it up a little bit more going into San Antonio, but we just focus on game by game,” Durant told reporters on Wednesday. “That’s all we think about.”
TV: 9 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE THUNDER: Durant may be the league MVP but running mate Russell Westbrook was easily the best player on the floor in Game 4. Westbrook had 40 points – three shy of his postseason high set against Miami in the 2012 NBA Finals – to go with 10 assists and five steals in a scintillating performance. “I’m not surprised at all,” Durant told reporters. “I almost expect him to go out there and play at a high level every time he goes out on the floor.” Westbrook played 45 minutes and committed just three turnovers – the Thunder had seven as a team – and helped Oklahoma City to a 21-0 edge in fast-break points.
ABOUT THE SPURS: Popovich was highly disappointed in his club’s Game 4 showing and the effort was so alarming that even soft-spoken forward Kawhi Leonard spoke out. “We were just not focused coming out,” Leonard told reporters. “We’re not playing consistently throughout the whole game. We’re playing in spurts or increments. We’ve just got to play the whole game.” The presence of Ibaka has negated the inside edge San Antonio enjoyed in the first two games but that is far from being the only drop off for the Spurs. “I don’t know what it is,” Duncan said after the defeat, “but we need to fix it quick and go home and try to turn it around.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Durant had 31 points in Game 4 for his first 30-point effort of this series and his 10th of the postseason.
2. Spurs G Danny Green was 4-of-16 shooting in the two games in Oklahoma City after making 13-of-18 shots over the first two games.
3. Thunder G Reggie Jackson (ankle) was getting a heavy dose of treatment on Wednesday and expects to be available for Game 5.