Thunder Even Series With Game 2 Stunner

Oklahoma City Thunder 98 — San Antonio Spurs 97

This is the beauty of NBA playoff basketball. Only one game removed from one of the worst performances in Oklahoma City Thunder post season history, the Thunder fought the Spurs, their own inner demons, and perhaps even the basketball gods to win a heart stopping 98-97 thriller in Game 2 to even the Western Conference Semi-Finals at one game apiece.

It was in no way a piece of art, but this one wreaked of pathos, humanity, dysfunction, and just plain survival as the final seconds ticked off at the AT&T Center. It had everything every Thunder fan has come to expect this season. Dysfunction, bad decisions, emotional torture, another apparent gut punching  defeat. Then there at the end laying on the floor with the ball cradled on his stomach as time expired was Serge Ibaka as the Thunder escaped Game 2 to even a series in which Oklahoma City amidst all of this now has home court advantage in what is now a best three out of five series.

Go figure.

I don’t want to spend too much on the final scene because no one who’s a fan of the Spurs has a right to bitch about the obvious elbow Dion Waiters used to clear Ginobli on the last inbounds pass with thirteen seconds left on the clock.

Me being a Prestette homer? Don’t think so. Sure he threw the elbow. Everyone saw it. But only while three other violations weren’t called on the play as well… 1 Ginobli stepping on the sidelines boundary line, 2 Kawhi Leonard clutching Westbrook’s jersey, and 3 Danny Green fouling Kevin Durant at mid-court. The zebras let everyone play and something finally went OKC’s way in these last two seasons of heart break basketball.

San Antonio didn’t lose this game because of this no call, they lost the game because they came out soft in the first period and allowed the Thunder to believe they could win this game. Keep this in mind, in the previous four Thunder-Spurs post seasons games played in San Antonio—the Spurs won the last four by an average of 28 points.

OKC led early and for the most part led the entire game. Russell Westbrook led the way with 29 points and 10 assists. Kevin Durant came out of his coma and chipped in with 28 points and 7 rebounds.

For good measure…Westbrook and Durant added to their diva drama soap opera during a second half argument on the OKC bench during a timeout.

Whatever.

But my No. 1 Star of the Game is Steven Adams. Steven Adams was a hoss in Game 2. He double doubled with 17 boards and 12 points. He was physical. He was daunting. He brought his usual lunchpail work ethic and then some. He flat out competed from the opening tip and set the tone along with Russell Westbrook that this would not be another night of sleepwalking indifference in what was basically a must win Game 2 for the Thunder.

Steven Adams was everything and then some on this night when Billy Donovan needed something special from a player not named Westbrook or Durant.

Westbrook was clearly OKC’s MVP on this night, but there was something special about the way Adams competed. His will was contagious.

LaMarcus Aldridge was once again superb scoring 41 points, but the rest of the Spurs looked like a team suffering from a Game 1 victory hangover.

The playoff math is now remarkably in the hands of the Thunder as they suddenly have home court advantage in the series.

If OKC somehow wins this series, then somehow wins two more series while the Thunder somehow win an NBA championship–this will be the night we all look back on and say ‘this is where it changed.’

But not just because Westbrook and Durant led as they should, but because Steven Adams took a very large step forward and gave the team a nudge in the right direction.

Game 3 — Friday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena, 8:30pm.

 

Mike Jackson