Oklahoma City Thunder (39-29) beat San Antonio Spurs (37-29) with 104:94 (BOXSCORE) after a fairly even match. The strong Russell Westbrook gets unusual support from the bank. Meanwhile, the Spurs’ negative trend continues – and a more than 20 year old series ends!
After Pau Gasol was missing the spurs in the last match due to a Schluter injury, the Spaniard was back in the starting five this evening. On the other hand, Corey Brewer was allowed to start from the beginning for the second time in a row – and the 32-year-old immediately sold a small fragrance.
The Shooting Guard started the game with 5 quick points, but then the first quarter turned out to be very balanced. It was only in the second round that the Thunders set themselves apart somewhat, meanwhile the hosts were in front with 14 points. This was due above all to the strong bank, which acted aggressively and extremely efficiently. Although the Spurs were shortened again shortly before the break, another Brewer’s three-way trio secured OKC’s 9-point lead at halftime (52:43).
The third quarter began with a shock moment for the Thunder. When defending his own basket, Steven Adams landed strangely and bent over with his left ankle. The New Zealander left the parquet floor immediately with a painful distorted face – and with the fourth foul on his hump – and was treated in the cabin.
Adams shouldn’t be able to return in the further course of the game, but the reserves of the Thunders jumped strongly into the breach. After a balanced third round Patrick Patterson (10 points), Alex Abrines (11), Jerami Grant (15) and even Nick Collison (7) made the difference in the final section.
Thanks to their own bank, the Thunder extended their lead to 19 points, which was too much for San Antonio. Thanks to good performances of Rudy Gay (14 points, 6 rebounds) or Davis Bertans (14 points, 5 fouls) the guests came up to 7 points again, but a small 5:0-run of the Thunder provided clear conditions 80 seconds before the end again.
In addition to the reservists, Russell Westbrook was particularly convincing, scoring 21 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Paul George (11 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 4/16 FG) and Carmelo Anthony (2 points, 1/8 FG) were a bit reserved in scoring.
On the other hand, LaMarcus Aldridge was particularly disappointed. The Big Man of the Spurs only scored 11 points and 7 rebounds, but only 5 of his 16 throwing attempts made their way through the Reuse. The remainder of the spurs also remained largely pale, with San Antonio suffering their tenth defeat in the past 13 games.
Oklahoma City Thunder (39-29) vs. San Antonio Spurs (37-29)104:94 (BOXSCORE)
Russell Westbrook. Admittedly, the reservists of the Thunder all did an excellent job. Nevertheless, it was Westbrook who set the tone in the offense with his aggressive drives. Either he scanned himself or he served his fellow players, who thanked him. In the end, the 29-year-old even played his next triple double.
LaMarcus Aldridge. LMA was not allowed to complain about enough touches that night. The Spurs served their Big Man again and again in the mail, hoping that he would finally find his rhythm. However, this was never the case for the complete 48 minutes.
LaMarcus Aldridge was not a factor in almost the entire game. On the one hand, this was due to the fact that the 32-year-old put some layups or other good possibilities next to it. On the other hand, the Thunder’s defensive concept deserves much praise. OKC presented Aldridge with a lot of double-teams, good auxiliary rotations and strong one-on-one defense. Even when the Spurs continued to serve their Big Man in the post office at the beginning of the third quarter, Aldridge couldn’t flip the switch.