Thunder End Spurs Season, Win The West
The Short of It: The Spurs played their best half of the playoffs to open Game 6, but the second half was all Thunder as they systematically erased an 18-point lead on their way to a 107-99 series clinching win. Tony Parker dominated the first two quarters scoring 21 points and dishing out 10 assists, but he struggled to keep up the pace in the last two periods only netting 8 points after the break as the Spurs got outscored 59-36.
Where The Game Was Won: Second half offensive efficiency. The Thunder (33) took less shots in the second half than the Spurs (40), but yet made six more buckets (OKC - 19, SA - 13). They shot 57.6% from the field while the Spurs managed to hit just 32.5% of their shots. SA’s cold streak was never more apparent than during a sequence with 50 seconds left in the game where they had three offensive possesions in a row, but came away with no points. Duncan missed a lay up then Stephen Jackson and Tony Parker both missed three point attempts. It was Jackson’s only missed shot of the night. When the Thunder finally got the ball back all they needed was a Kendrick Perkins dunk via an assist from Kevin Durant to seal the game at 150-99 with 25 seconds left on the clock.
Players of the Game:
Spurs: Tony Parker - 29 points, 12 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Thunder: Kevin Durant - 34 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks
Unsung Hero: Derek Fisher - 9 points
Fisher’s five points on two buckets in the fourth quarter came at critical times in the game. The first was a three pointer that happened at the 4:35 mark that pushed a two-point OKC lead up to five at 96-91 and the second was a two-point bank shot at the 1:55 mark with the shot clock winding down that bumped the lead to six at 103-97. His shots provided breathing room for the Thunder in the final stretch of the game.
Quote of the Game: “The third quarter, it was like playing in mud. So, that was our downfall as much as anything.” - Spurs coach Gregg Popovich
Stat of the Game: 7 - The Spurs only hit 7 of their 22 shots in the third quarter on their way to being outscored 32-18 in the period and giving up all but one point of their 15-point halftime lead.
Hidden Stat of the Game: 48 - Kevin Durant did not come off the court in Game 6, playing all 48 minutes in the final game of the Western Conference Finals.
What’s Next: The offseason for the Spurs and Game 1 of the NBA Finals for the Thunder.
