Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 71 points (the second highest by teammates in this season’s playoffs) as the Oklahoma City Thunder tied up the Western Conference finals 2-2 with a 105-92 win over the San Antonio Spurs.<\/p>\n
It was the ninth straight victory for the Thunder over the Spurs in Oklahoma City and their 12th win overall against the Spurs in their last 14 games.<\/p>\n
Westbrook had a game-high 40 points on 12-for-24 shooting (14-for-14 at the free throw line) plus 10 assists, five steals and five rebounds. Durant added 31 on 11-for-22 shooting. He also pulled down five rebounds and added five assists. The pair were the only Thunder players in double figures. Serge Ibakacame close with nine points and eight rebounds. He also blocked three shots.<\/p>\n
The Spurs had four players get into double digits but only one of their Big Three. Tony Parker scored 14 points but handed out just four assists while turning the ball over four times. Boris Diaw came off the bench to also put in 14, while grabbing 10 rebounds. Tim Duncan had nine points on 3-for-8 shooting and Manu Ginobili, who had 23 points in Game 3, managed just five on Tuesday on 2-for-8 shooting.<\/p>\n
The Spurs, however, did turn a 27-point blowout in the third quarter into a 12-point nail biter in the fourth thanks to the work of their second unit. But the Spurs’ starters remained on the bench instead of being sent back in and the Thunder were able to stabilize things in the last minutes. The Spurs averaged 60 points in the paint in the first two games of the series in San Antonio and they managed just 36 Tuesday night on 18-for-40 shooting. The Thunder also dominated in transition, outscoring San Antonio 21-0 on the fast break.<\/p>\n
The Thunder led by 15 at halftime then started the third quarter with an 18-6 run to extend the lead to 27. That gave them enough cushion to withstand a stout San Antonio run later in the game.<\/p>\n
Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook had a career playoff-high five steals Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 71 points (the second highest by teammates in this season’s playoffs) as the Oklahoma City Thunder tied up the Western Conference finals 2-2 with a 105-92 win over the San Antonio Spurs.<\/p>\n
It was the ninth straight victory for the Thunder over the Spurs in Oklahoma City and their 12th win overall against the Spurs in their last 14 games.<\/p>\n
Westbrook had a game-high 40 points on 12-for-24 shooting (14-for-14 at the free throw line) plus 10 assists, five steals and five rebounds. Durant added 31 on 11-for-22 shooting. He also pulled down five rebounds and added five assists. The pair were the only Thunder players in double figures. Serge Ibakacame close with nine points and eight rebounds. He also blocked three shots.<\/p>\n
The Spurs had four players get into double digits but only one of their Big Three. Tony Parker scored 14 points but handed out just four assists while turning the ball over four times. Boris Diaw came off the bench to also put in 14, while grabbing 10 rebounds. Tim Duncan had nine points on 3-for-8 shooting and Manu Ginobili, who had 23 points in Game 3, managed just five on Tuesday on 2-for-8 shooting.<\/p>\n
The Spurs, however, did turn a 27-point blowout in the third quarter into a 12-point nail biter in the fourth thanks to the work of their second unit. But the Spurs’ starters remained on the bench instead of being sent back in and the Thunder were able to stabilize things in the last minutes. The Spurs averaged 60 points in the paint in the first two games of the series in San Antonio and they managed just 36 Tuesday night on 18-for-40 shooting. The Thunder also dominated in transition, outscoring San Antonio 21-0 on the fast break.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-basketball-news"],"yoast_head":"\n