Thunder at Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs annihilated Oklahoma City in the series opener and
attempt to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals when
they host the Thunder on Monday. San Antonio held a 23-point lead after
the opening quarter of Game 1 and All-Star power forward LaMarcus
Aldridge had a huge game with 38 points as the Spurs blitzed the Thunder
from the outset.
San Antonio led 73-40 at halftime while establishing supremacy over the Thunder but shooting guard Danny Green isn't expecting things to be so easy in Game 2. "We know that they're going to come out super-aggressive next game, they're gonna make adjustments, and we're not gonna shoot as well as we did," Green told reporters. "It’s one game. It’s not a momentum thing. Each game is different. Every game is its own playoff series. So it's not like it's going to carry over to next game." Oklahoma City stars Kevin Durant (16 points on 6-of-15 shooting) and Russell Westbrook (14 points, 5-of-19) both had woeful games as Spurs' two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard took turns defending each player. "Me personally, I never look at the guy in front of me," Westbrook told reporters. "I look at the help to see what's the next move. Not a big problem, just got to find ways to read the help a little bit better and make better decisions."
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE THUNDER: Durant has scored less than 20 points in two of Oklahoma City's six playoff games and wasn't the least bit interested to share his feelings after the horrendous loss. "I'm not telling you," Durant said in a response to a question about his emotions. "Because it's over with. Move on. We just move past it and figure out what we have to do better. No crazy emotions. It's not like we were upset and screaming at each other in the locker room after the game. That's not going to make things better." Westbrook's 14 points and 26.3 field-goal percentage were his lowest figures in six games this postseason.
ABOUT THE SPURS: Aldridge was a force by going 18-of-23 from the field and even knocked down a 3-point basket for the first time this season. "It was just one of those nights," Aldridge told reporters. "I can't take credit for it. I was just trying to play confident and ended up making some plays that I probably won't make the next game. It was enough for me." Leonard also shot superbly by making 10-of-13 from the field - the Spurs shot 60.7 percent as a team - and scored 20 of his 25 points in the first half.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Spurs were 18-of-22 from the field in the first quarter of Game 1 when they set a postseason franchise record with 43 points.
2. PF Serge Ibaka had a team-high 19 points in the opener and has scored in double digits in five of Oklahoma City's six postseason games.
3. San Antonio PG Tony Parker had 12 assists after averaging just 4.8 during the first-round series sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies.