Sunday, May 8, 2016

Spurs-Thunder Preview

By CHRIS ALTRUDA
Posted May 08 2016 2:06PM

Russell Westbrook is willing to find out if less means more to help the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The star guard is thinking shooting less and passing more as the Thunder try to knot their Western Conference semifinal series at two games apiece Sunday in Oklahoma City.

While Westbrook had 31 points in Friday night's 100-96 defeat to the Spurs, he needed 31 field-goal attempts to get there. He admitted that contributed to the Thunder lacking an offensive rhythm for most of the contest despite erasing a 15-point halftime deficit.

"Too many shots," said Westbrook, who ranked ninth in the NBA with 18.1 shots per game. "I've got to do a better job getting guys shots. I've got to get other guys involved, especially to beat this team. Even though I had some shots I (usually) make, I've got to read and find ways to get guys shots. I take the blame."

Twenty-five shots may be the cutoff where the Thunder sink or swim. Including the playoffs, the Thunder are 7-8 when Westbrook takes at least 24 shots, but that record changes to 1-5 when he puts up 27 or more. In those 15 games, he's also a better facilitator for his teammates on the lower end of that range of shots - Westbrook has a 2.33 assist-to-turnover ratio taking 24 or 25 shots but a 1.81 mark with 27 or more attempts.

"We know he's going to be very aggressive," Spurs guard Tony Parker said. "They go down, we know he's going to be extra aggressive, so we just make sure that everybody's paying attention to weak side defense. He's coming at us. That's who he is. He's got a lot of energy, and he's just going to keep attacking."

Westbrook was 11 of 25 in Oklahoma City's Game 2 victory.

That doesn't mean the Spurs can slack off Kevin Durant, who has been effective when he's gotten the ball. He's gone 19 for 30 inside the arc over the last two games - 21 for 37 overall - and made all five of his shots in the paint Friday night.

The Spurs likely will keep attacking through LaMarcus Aldridge. He finished with 24 points on 8-of-21 shooting, but that was an improvement for the Thunder after Aldridge torched them for 79 points on 75 percent shooting in the first two games. While he was slightly out of sync, the forward also appears prepared to make adjustments to what made the Thunder relatively more successful.

"They pick their spots when they double," said Aldridge, whose eight baskets came from 13 feet out or further Friday. "When I tried to go quick to the baseline, they doubled early and I think that's their scheme - if I try to go baseline, then they're going to double team me. Other than that they played me straight up."

San Antonio was held to 20 points in the paint - the only other time it scored that few dating to the 2000-01 postseason came in 2004 against the Los Angeles Lakers - after racking up 90 in the first two games. But proving their versatility, the Spurs connected on 10 of 19 from 3-point range in the Game 3 victory as they continued to be ruthless from deep.

"They made tough 2s, they made 3s," Durant said. "We did a good job of making them shoot tough shots, but they made them."

The Spurs have connected at a 45.8 percent clip from beyond the arc in the postseason, well above their 37.5 percent mark for the season.

The series returns to San Antonio for Game 5 on Tuesday.

Copyright 2016 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Durant scores 41 points, Thunder beat Spurs to tie series

By CLIFF BRUNT
Posted May 09 2016 9:33AM

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Kevin Durant went on a scoring spree that was spectacular, even by his standards.

The four-time NBA scoring champion matched his career playoff high with 41 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 111-97 on Sunday night to tie the Western Conference semifinal series 2-2.

Durant had 29 points on 10-for-13 shooting in the second half. He scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, one more than the Spurs, and did it on 6-for-6 shooting.

"When you have a deep team, those 40-point nights - they don't come a lot," he said. "I'm just trying to be consistent in what I do, and I know in any given moment, I can go off and get a few shots."

Durant had plenty of help.

"My teammates did a great job of sticking with me and finding me and getting me easy baskets and screening for me and sacrificing their bodies, and I'm definitely grateful for it," he said. "After they do all that, it's on me to finish the shot and just stick to the fundamentals I've been practicing since I was a kid."

Russell Westbrook finished with 14 points and 15 assists, Dion Waiters added 17 points, and Steven Adams had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Oklahoma City. The Thunder shot 50.6 percent overall and 57 percent in the second half to avoid going back to San Antonio down 3-1 for Game 5 on Tuesday night.

"Durant got away from us," San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard said. "Westbrook did a great job getting his teammates involved. But (they) got those offensive rebounds when we'd get him to miss."

Tony Parker led San Antonio with 22 points, Leonard had 21, and LaMarcus Aldridge 20.

San Antonio led by 11 early in the second quarter, but the Thunder rallied and took a 45-44 lead on a 3-pointer by Durant with 1:47 left in the first half. The Spurs closed the quarter on a 9-0 run, with all the points coming from Leonard and Aldridge, to take a 53-45 lead at the break. Durant and Westbrook were a combined 6 for 21 from the field in the first half.

Boris Diaw's 3-pointer from the corner in the closing seconds of the third quarter gave the Spurs an 81-77 lead heading into the fourth.

Durant took over early in the final quarter. His back-to-back 3s gave the Thunder a 93-87 lead. Enes Kanter's fast-break dunk pushed the lead to 100-93.

San Antonio hung tough, but a baseline floater, a layup and a corner 3 by Durant made it 108-97.

"They just outplayed us," Aldridge said of the Thunder's dominant fourth quarter. "They made more plays than us. They got to the ball faster. They crashed the boards harder. We took tough shots. We had open shots, too. We didn't make shots. They played better than we did down the stretch."

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STAT LINES

The Spurs had shot 43.9 percent from 3-point range in the series, but made just 2 of 12 from deep on Sunday. The Spurs also had just 12 assists.

"Guys wanted the ball and just didn't make shots," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. "We never really got into a good offensive rhythm tonight but we kept making runs. Guys kept making plays at certain times but we had a lot of open looks that we didn't make. If you don't make shots, the assists don't come."

QUOTABLE

Coach Gregg Popovich, on Durant's performance: "You've got to give him credit. He was great. He was great. I don't know what else to say, he was fantastic."

TIP-INS

Spurs: Shot 52.2 percent in the first quarter to take a 27-17 lead. ... David West was called for a technical in the second quarter. ... Tim Duncan went scoreless and committed four fouls. Danny Green went scoreless and had five fouls.

Thunder: Westbrook was called for a technical with 2:22 left in the first quarter, and assistant coach Maurice Cheeks had to hold him back as he complained to official Danny Crawford. ... Durant's mother, Wanda Pratt, attended the game. She was the subject of a Lifetime movie about raising Durant that premiered Saturday.

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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP

Copyright 2016 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited