Apr 27, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) drives the ball around Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) in the first quarter during game three in the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Phew. Can I breathe now?

Wait. Give me a second.

Ok. I’m good now. Well, I’ll just give you a run down of how this game went real quick. The Thunder looked dominate in the first half leading by as much as 26, blew the lead, were down, and somehow came out on top to take a 3-0 series lead. And, yeah, Kevin Durant was something else. He finished with 41 points, and 14 rebounds. Someone said something about him stepping up without #0?..

The first half could not of gone any better for the Thunder. To open the game, the Thunder went down 7-1 in early going. However, after the slow start, the Thunder responded to take a lead 16-9 with 6:18 to go in the first as they went on 13-0 run. Durant’s slam over Asik was the talk of the first quarter. At the end of one, the Thunder led the Rockets, 39-19. Durant was the high scorer with 17.  Oklahoma opened the second quarter on fire as they led 46-22 with 9:36 to go in the quarter. At the time, Houston was shooting 1-11 from deep. The Rockets showed spurts of life with big production from Francisco Gracia. Houston went a 14-6 run to end the half, but the Thunder still had a demanding lead going into the locker room, 66-49. Durant had 27 points at the half.

In the third quarter, the Rockets rallied themselves right back into the game. The Thunder led by 17, 73-56 halfway through the quarter. However, the Rockets went on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 13. Then, all things went South as the Rockets cut the lead to 9 with a Chandler Parsons three.  Francisco Garcia’s three made it an 11-0 run for the Rockets, but Durant’s three ending that run (his only points in the quarter). Heading into the fourth quarter, Oklahoma City led 80-76. In the fourth, the Rockets stayed in the game in the early going. The Thunder led by 2 with 7:49 to go in the game. The Rockets took a one point lead with 3:30 to go for the first time since the 9-6 lead in the first. Durant’s three with 20 or so seconds to go gave the Thunder the lead back by 1, and Derek Fischer’s two free throws gave the Thunder a three-point lead with 12.5 seconds to go. Harden responded with a quick two, but Reggie Jackson’s two free throws sealed the deal as the thunder survived, 104-101.

When Durant was asked what adjustments he had to make without Westbrook, he said, “Well, I gotta do whatever Coach needs me to do.”

Like I said, a win is a win, and the Thunder are up 3-0 in the series. See you Monday night for Game 4 as the Thunder try to bring out the broom and sweep the Rockets.

World Peace of course elbowed Harden at the end of the regular season in what was one of the dirtiest plays in the NBA this season. He never really apologized for the act claiming it was an accident.

During Game 3 of the NBA Finals last night, World Peace Tweeted this about Harden.

No brain All beard

— Metta WorldPeace (@MettaWorldPeace) June 18, 2012

It was right after Harden tried to draw an offensive foul on LeBron James late in the fourth quarter.

World Peace has been critical of Harden as a flopper ever since the elbowing incident. He even suggested that Harden may have flopped some from his elbow.

So we know World Peace is crazy and has something against Harden but saying “no brain” is a little mean. It’s probably harmless because in the end that’s who World Peace is but he just comes off as stupid Tweeting something like that.

Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder lost Game 3 of the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat 91-85 Sunday night to fall behind 2-1 in the series.

The Thunder continue to leave a lot on the table in this series and have yet to play their best basketball.

Kevin Durant scored 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting in 39 minutes but for the second straight game found himself in foul trouble.

Durant left the game with 5:41 to play in the fourth quarter and OKC leading 60-54. The Thunder would be outscored 15-7 the rest of the quarter.

“Not foul,” Durant said when asked about getting into foul trouble. “I mean, I don’t know. I’m just trying to play aggressive on both ends, and unfortunately I’m getting some fouls called on me, but I’ve got to play through it. Two games in a row, man, so I’ve just got to play smarter next game, and hopefully I don’t get no fouls called.”

Durant came back to start the fourth and would only score four points in the final 12 minutes. He clearly had lost any rhythm he found up to that point.

The referees aren’t totally to blame for the Thunder losing the last two games of this series but it’s hard not to notice them, and that is never a good thing.

In Game 2, Durant had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds when a blatant shooting foul by LeBron James was ignored. In Game 3, Durant did not deserve all four of the fouls called on him.

Durant doesn’t totally help his case though for picking up four fouls. He was actually pretty out of this game in the first half. He wasn’t giving enough effort on defense rotating or boxing out and picked up another stupid foul reaching at LeBron James in transition.

It’s not the whole series but the calls have definitely been an advantage for the Heat thus far.

Scott Brooks did not help his team in Game 3 when Durant got into foul trouble. He took Durant out after his fourth and then took Russell Westbrook out shortly later claiming that is when Westbrook normally gets his rest and he had a few bad possessions.

This was unacceptable. The Thunder were playing without Westbrook and Durant for over four minutes to end the third while the Heat had LeBron and Dwyane Wade on the floor during most of that time.

Westbrook had to be in during that stretch especially with James Harden struggling for most of the night (9 points, 2-for-10 from the field).

It’s the NBA Finals and Brooks is still stuck on trusting “what they’ve done all year” when there’s no time for little mistakes like this. It’s the same thing with him continuing to start Kendrick Perkins.

Perkins played better in Game 3 but it’s still an issue having him in the starting lineup. It eventually was probably a bad thing too that he played so well because it caused Brooks to play him over Serge Ibaka in the fourth quarter.

How is it possible that we are watching a team in the NBA Finals and thinking that two of the five players on the court shouldn’t be there? Shouldn’t this be clear enough already?

That’s what we have with the Thunder. Perkins and Derek Fisher are in the game midway through the fourth quarter while Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha are sitting on the bench. There is no excuse for this. There is no time for rest.

The Thunder have a good enough team to beat the Heat. They could very easily be up 3-0 in this series right now. Instead they’re down 2-1 and the chances of them winning suddenly seem very bleak.

One thing the Thunder have done in every playoff series so far this year is improve the further they have gone on. The Thunder will have to continue this trend to come back and beat the Heat and did show some signs of that in Game 3.

The home team for Games 3, 4 and 5 has won all three of those games just twice since 1985. The Heat would have to become the third team to do so to avoid going back to Oklahoma City.

The Heat were up 2-1 in the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks last year before losing the next three games of the series.

All hope is far from lost for the Thunder.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a decision to make, or at least they should. Their starting lineup has not gotten off to good starts in the first two games of the NBA Finals.

The Thunder fell behind 20-10 in the first quarter of Game 1 and 18-2 in the first quarter of Game 2.

Should the Thunder change their starting lineup? Absolutely. Will they? Nope.

“My mind is not racing that I’m going to throw everything out that we’ve worked on all year that we’ve got to this point with,” head coach Scott Brooks said. “I just want to do things better, and I think that’s always been our battle cry. Every time we have a tough stretch of the season, just get back to what we do and let’s just do it better, and I think that’s what we’re going to do into (Sunday) night’s game.”

Kendrick Perkins is the problem with their starting lineup. He has basically done nothing for the Thunder so far in this series. It’s just not a good matchup for him.

Perkins does three things well on a basketball court: defend the post, set screens and be annoyingly physical. That’s it. He’s been unable make an impact doing those things so far against the Heat and instead has been exploited by the Miami starting five.

Many are calling for the Thunder to change their starting lineup to a smaller one to match the Heat. This would mean inserting James Harden for Perkins and sliding Kevin Durant down to the four.

Starting Harden would not be the answer either. It might help at the beginning of the game but bringing Harden off the bench is one of the Thunder’s greatest strengths.

Nick Collison would make a much better option starting for the Thunder. Collison has the best plus-minus of any Thunder player so far in this series while playing less than 20 minutes per game.

Collison is versatile enough too to match up with Shane Battier spotting up or defend Chris Bosh in the pick-and-roll. He and Serge Ibaka are also the Thunder’s two best offensive rebounders so they’d still be able to hopefully take advantage of that as well.

“When we don’t play well, we usually don’t point to lineups, play-calling, things like that,” Collison said. “Usually it’s because of our effort or our focus. We just watched film of the first quarter (in Game 2), and the mistakes we made had nothing to do with lineups or anything else. It was between our ears and how mentally focused we need to play better. Those are the things we worry about more.”

Starting Collison is an extremely necessary move for the Thunder. If they don’t, and they probably won’t, they will continue to struggle at the start of games which isn’t ok at all.

It almost feels like it would be better for the Thunder to get out to another horrible start in Game 3 just so that Brooks has no choice but to change the starters for the rest of the series.

Championship chances don’t come around every year, even for a team as young as the Thunder you never know when you’ll be back. The time is now to adjust and if the Thunder don’t, they will be wasting a prime chance at a title.

The Thunder took Game 1 then fell in too big a hole in Game 2 to complete the comeback. Slow starts have been a big issue for the Thunder so far in this series and Miami’s small starting lineups are a big reason why they’ve jumped out to early leads.

The Thunder have actually been pretty impressive in that they’ve even been able to come back against the Heat who are such a good team playing with the lead. Being at home aided in that ability and the Thunder will not have that luxury for the next three games.

The winner of Game 3 in 1-1 NBA Finals series go on to win the series 85 percent of the time. So this is an important game and both teams know it.

Let’s start with …

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant – 34.0 PPG, 2.5 APG, 5.5 RPG, .571 FG%, .444 3PT%, .800 FT%

Durant has played great so far for the Thunder, especially in the fourth quarters. He scored 17 then 16 points in each fourth quarter which is the most by any player in the first two games of the Finals since the merger.

Durant was great all-around in Game 1 defending LeBron well also but in Game 2 took a step back in that department. Too often he and the Thunder defense gave LeBron space in semi-transition looks basically enticing LeBron to drive.

Durant will likely continue to still guard LeBron a lot and will have to be more locked in than he was in Game 2 if he’s going to do a good job.

In the first half of Game 2, Durant got into foul trouble and only scored six points. The Thunder are going to need a lot more from him on the road if they’re going to win any more games. The Thunder starting lineup has been atrocious on offense and if they don’t change it, Durant is the only one who can cure it on his own.

Durant is getting his 34 points per game on 21 shots per game. A lot of people would like to see him shoot more.

The real key would be if Durant could get to the line a little more and put more pressure on the Heat defense. He is attempting just 7.5 free throws per game and only averaging 2.5 assists per game. If both of those numbers go up, the Thunder will start winning with more ease.

Jim Young/Pool Photo via US PRESSWIRE

LeBron James – 31.0 PPG, 4.5 APG, 8.5 RPG, .457 FG%, .200 3PT%, .905 FT%

LeBron has quietly gotten his so far in these Finals and maybe that is a good thing. The spotlight is coming off him some and more towards the Thunder for their struggles.

Meanwhile, LeBron is getting his 31-9-5 and the Heat successfully stole a game on the road already in this series. What more do you want? Maybe we don’t need to want more but the Heat might need more at some point and LeBron will have to be ready to step up.

It does feel like LeBron could explode a little more in this matchup. It would come by getting to the line a ton kind of like what he did in Game 2 going 12-for-12 from the stripe.

The Heat have gotten great production from their role players so far on the road in this series, something that usually is reserved for home games. If that production drops at all, eyes will shift to LeBron to pick up the slack.

The Heat are at their best right now with LeBron doing everything for them and he’s been able to stick to his all-around attack so far in the series. He hasn’t had to completely focus on a one-on-one matchup with Durant and that is a good thing.

The Heat would like to avoid that and let LeBron keep doing his thing where he does a little bit of everything. That will require players like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to play like they did in Game 2 though.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Russell Westbrook – 27.0 PPG, 9.0 APG, 8.0 RPG, .400 FG%, .200 FT%, .750 FT%

So the Thunder lose a game and guess who gets the heat? Of course it’s Westbrook.

While looking at his 27-9-8 line is extremely impressive, Westbrook does have some areas where he can improve and that’s part of being as talented as he is. We’re not comparing your numbers against NBA history. We’re looking at them within the series you are playing in.

Westbrook can and may need to have a gigantic series for the Thunder to win. We have pretty much seen that the Heat can’t matchup with his athleticism so now it’s just up to Westbrook to figure out the best way to hurt the Heat. Two days off from Game 2 should help him.

He is attempting four more shots per game than Durant so far and has even taken more free throws. It would be nice if the Thunder could find a balance where Durant gets more shots but that’s not what this team has been about all year.

Westbrook will continue in this matchup to get a lot of shot attempts and he just needs to start making a few more of them. After two games, he should have a better feel for what works and what doesn’t. The Heat will always be on their heels when covering him and in the long run, that has to be a good thing for the Thunder.

Best case scenario for the Thunder would actually be Westbrook going off while Durant remains an efficient scorer. Westbrook really has the potential for a 40-point game or two in this series and he’s the kind of guy with an attitude made for an “Eff-you” road game.

As long as he starts being more efficient than 40-20-75, the Thunder should be in good shape.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Dwyane Wade – 21.5 PPG, 6.5 APG, 5.0 RPG, .436 FG%, .000 3PT%, .818 FT%

Wade was bad in Game 1 then much better in Game 2. His great start was integral for the Heat winning.

The good news for the Thunder is that they’ve contained him pretty well in the first two games. The bad news is that if he has one of those Wade games where he really goes off, the Thunder might not be able to overcome it.

Like a lot of players, when Wade is hitting his jump shot, he becomes really tough to defend. It feels like he can get his jumper any time too so it’s kind of up to him.

The Thunder really just need to play disciplined defense against him and not go for his shot fakes. This is a focus thing that is harder on the road and the whistles are more likely to go Wade’s way in South Beach.

LeBron asked for Wade’s help in Game 2 and got it. If he’s expecting it for the rest of the series and the Thunder can contain him, they can win a game or two in Miami.

Once again, LeBron-Durant is the key matchup for headlines but the winner of Wade-Westbrook has won each game so far this series.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

James Harden – 13.0 PPG, 2.5 APG, 2.0 RPG, .529 FG%, .600 3PT%, .714 FT%

Harden has been pretty quiet so far in this series. His 5-point Game 1 where he got in foul trouble was avoided because of a great effort from Thabo Sefolosha.

Harden came in Game 2 and brought the Thunder back but disappeared some in the second half.

Harden is always the key for the Thunder becoming great and he is the one player of their Big Three with the biggest room for improvement from his current Finals numbers to his usual averages.

We knew the Heat would defend him better than anyone yet, but Harden improved in Game 2 and that is a good sign. The same thing happened for him in the San Antonio series, having a bad Game 1 then figuring them out and bouncing back.

Harden needs to do the same against the Heat. The role players will fade away even more than they have on the road and the Thunder Big Three will have to carry the load even more than usual.

When Harden gets it rolling, he’s like a snowball rolling down a hill. Not even the Heat will be able to stop him. The two games off to watch film are something that Harden can really benefit from.

He has been shooting the ball well and that is great, but it’s when he’s getting to the line that he makes the Thunder the best possible team they can be. He’s averaging just 3.5 free throw attempts per game in the series and he’s capable of going double-digits any night.

He has to attack earlier to hurt this Heat defense. When they are set up, it’s very hard to get into the lane against them. But if Harden can get going early in the shot clock and get into the paint easier, his game could really explode especially because the Heat don’t have any great shot blockers.

Jeff Robertson/Pool Photo via US PRESSWIRE

Chris Bosh – 13.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG, .417 FG%, .250 3PT%, .714 FT%

Bosh came off the bench in Game 1 then started Game 2. Consider the Thunder lucky he didn’t start both.

The Heat are obviously better when he starts and he had a pretty big Game 2 with 16 points and 15 rebounds. The big rebound total was more from the Thunder missing a ton than him being dominant but nonetheless, he is by far the Heat’s best big man and played well.

The Thunder shouldn’t have to worry too much about Bosh going off or anything. They can defend him well enough but they just can’t allow him anything easy. If he stays on the perimeter shooting jump shots and isn’t getting to the line, the Thunder have to live with that.

Whoever gets the better of Harden-Bosh, might start to really become a big difference maker here in Miami. The Thunder desperately need Harden to play much better than Bosh to win games. If Bosh is putting up better numbers than Harden, the Thunder probably won’t be winning.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

The Bigs

The Heat have done a great job making “The Bigs” become less of a factor in this series. If they weren’t playing so many small lineups and starting Joel Anthony or Ronny Turiaf alongside Bosh, the Thunder would probably be up 2-0 in this series.

The lineup with Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins for OKC is not working out. The floor spacing isn’t good enough and they aren’t capitalizing on their ability to get offensive rebounds.

Scott Brooks will likely not change his starting lineup unless it becomes extremely obvious that he must after Game 3, which means the Thunder will have to survive when their starters are out there. That doesn’t sound good does it?

This puts more pressure on Ibaka making his jump shot. That is really the only thing that is consistently open against the Heat when the starters are in. He needs to either be making that shot or attacking the glass on offense, he can’t be doing neither.

Nick Collison is one of the keys for Oklahoma City. The more minutes he gets, the better for them. He played 21 minutes in Game 1, scored eight points to go with 10 rebounds (5 offensive). In Game 2, he played just 15 minutes, didn’t score and had just three rebounds.

If Collison and Perkins switched their minutes, the Thunder won’t lose any more in this series. It’s that simple.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

Spot-up shooters

Shane Battier is averaging 17 points per game in this series and shooting .692 percent from the 3-point line. Those numbers have to go down somewhat but it’s not as if he hasn’t earned those points by spacing the floor great and getting wide open looks.

The problem is it was supposed to be in Miami when Battier had those games, not in Oklahoma City. Even if he’s not 17 PPG for the rest of this series, he could still be a big factor for the Heat if he keeps playing this way.

The more the Thunder have to think about Battier, the worse. Taking him out of the game starts on offense, making more shots and not giving up so many transition opportunities for the Heat where they can take advantage of switches on defense.

The Thunder could also use more from Thabo Sefolosha and Derek Fisher in terms of making some shots. They were 2-for-10 and 1-for-7 from three combined in Game 2. That’s no help.

Anything they give the Thunder is icing especially on the road and the Thunder may need them to win one or two of these next three.

Prediction

If there was ever a game to pick against the Thunder in this series, this one kind of seems like it. The Heat did their job winning one of the first two and now get to go back home where they should play a little better and the Thunder could be worse.

The Thunder have been one of the most resilient teams in the NBA this season and it’s not easy to beat them twice in a row. They are the more talented team too and if they correct a few of the things they did wrong, should be able to win no matter where the game is played.

The one thing that isn’t happening tonight is the Thunder aren’t blowing the Heat out. You could see the Heat maybe running away with this game or it will be a very close one. If the Thunder keep it close, they have the best fourth quarter player in the league and they won’t be disappointed having to live with what he does late.

The game will tip at 8 p.m. EST on ABC. The Miami fans will show up at 9 p.m. EST.

Lil Wayne tweeted before Game 3 how he was not allowed into the game. The reason was because he did not have a ticket.

“That’s not the point, though,” he told The Associated Press in an interview Friday night. “It’s the players stepping up but of course the players aren’t white. I don’t want to be sitting there on behalf of you and I’m sitting next to a (person) that’s like `I don’t want this (guy) sitting next to me.’ (Forget) you … I’m in Forbes.”

The Thunder organization said that Lil Wayne was requesting “front row tickets only” for Game 3.

Lil Wayne sent a text message to ESPN saying: “They denied me the tix. Didnt want me in their arena. They also said if I do come, I can only sit behind the bench, not on the floor & that I wouldn’t be able to get any special escort nor entrance. They said its the ‘Oklahoma way’.”

The team responded: “We are completely sold out, had nothing available at all. We would love to have him at our game, but he needs a ticket.”

Kevin Durant and James Harden reached out to Lil Wayne after Game 3 and offered him tickets for Game 4.

Lil Wayne said he always feels welcome in other arenas. He said that he likes to think he energizes the players since most are fans of his music.

“That’s like me going on stage and … seeing LeBron (James) in the crowd with his hand up,” Lil Wayne said. “I’m going to perform a little bit harder.”

It seems there was a lot of poor communication by everyone regarding Lil Wayne’s hopes of attending the Western Conference Finals in Oklahoma City.

Bosh is making progress though and participated in a walkthrough Friday before Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals and was seen wearing basketball clothes.

Chris Bosh back in basketball clothes. Participated in walkthrough this morning but still not allowed contact twitter.com/Rachel__Nichol…

— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) June 1, 2012

The Heat have not needed Bosh to keep winning and are up 2-0 in their series with Boston.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have both stepped up in Bosh’s absence but the team isn’t the same without him.

The Heat will go into Boston tonight for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals again without Bosh. Only 14 teams in NBA history have come back from a 0-2 deficit and won a playoff series which is what Boston would have to do against Miami.

The Heat are still not putting a specific timetable on when Bosh will return to the floor.

While the Heat haven’t had the toughest competition in the Eastern Conference so far in the playoffs, if they do make it to the NBA Finals that will change.

The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder have both been playing great basketball in the playoffs and would be favored against Miami even if Bosh returns.

Lil Wayne didn’t have a ticket.

The reason was at first unknown why he couldn’t get into the game but for it to be something as simple as not being able to get a ticket is pretty funny.

Lil Wayne’s tweet made it seem like it could have been something else and he finished the tweet saying “Go Spurs.”

Thunder spokesman Dan Mahoney said: “We’d love to have him at a game, but like anyone else, he needs a ticket.”

“Lil Wayne, that’s my guy,” Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. “I took a picture with him at All-Star break.”

Westbrook is going for hipster but might be closer to nerd with some of his looks.

Here is what he wore after Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals Thursday night.

Yes, he killed it again.

Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder weren’t going to get swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. You knew they’d be better at home and they were Thursday night in Game 3 as they impressively won 102-82.

The Spurs looked unbeatable in the first two games which lengthened their winning streak to 20 games in the process. It would be understandable for them to lose a game to the Thunder who are an extremely talented team.

But they lost by 20. The Thunder made significant adjustments and they worked. That’s a bigger deal.

The Thunder changed their rotation from Games 1 and 2. They played Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha much more than they had been and it changed everything.

Sefolosha really took advantage having one of his best games of the year scoring 19 points, making six steals and making four threes.

It was on the defensive side that the Thunder really improved. The Spurs torched the Thunder in Game 2 and in the fourth quarter of Game 1 and it led to Scott Brooks changing the way the Thunder defended the Spurs’ pick-and-roll.

The Thunder went with a small lineup more often in Game 3 and in the fourth quarter of Game 2. They started switching everything and playing with a sense of desperation that was absent before.

Sefolosha took on the task of guarding Tony Parker in Game 3. Parker scored 34 points on 16-of-21 shooting in Game 2 but was held much more intact in Game 3 with just 16 points.

Sefolosha is one of the best defenders in the league and clearly relished the challenge of defending Parker but the rest of the Thunder defense stepped up as well.

Russell Westbrook seemed much more comfortable playing defense off the ball more rather than chasing Parker around pick-and-rolls. He could more freely roam and disrupt passing lanes and later in the game swarmed Manu Ginobili so much on a possession, the Spurs couldn’t even pass him the ball.

Kendrick Perkins, who was somewhat called out for his inability to defend the pick-and-roll, looked like a different player last night. His activity and movement in general was much better and he even stopped Parker and Ginobili from scoring when he switched out on them in one-on-one situations.

A loss might be just one loss but the Thunder team that lost the first two games of this series in San Antonio is no more. The Thunder team we saw in Game 3 is closer to the one we will see for the rest of this series.

The Spurs know what they are and who they are. They will play that way every night. The Thunder are still growing and after losing the first two games had a sort of luxury to adjust and improve.

The Spurs will get that chance for Game 4 too Saturday night in Oklahoma City at 8:30 p.m. EST.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder were in a must-win situation. They came though.

The Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 102-82 to win Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals and make the series 2-1.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 22 points, five assists and six rebounds.

Thabo Sefolosha was the difference in this game as he was the second-leading scorer for the Thunder with 19 points. He also had six steals and held Tony Parker to just 16 points.

The Thunder trailed by two after the first quarter but really turned it up in the second quarter to take control of the game. The Thunder made adjustments by playing Sefolosha and Serge Ibaka more against the second unit of San Antonio and it worked great.

James Harden scored 15 points off the bench for the Thunder while Manu Ginobili scored just eight points.

Russell Westbrook became a point guard for a night dishing out nine assists to go with 10 points and was plus-29 in 33 minutes.

In the first two games of this series, the Thunder played the wrong lineups and the Spurs took advantage winning both at home. The Thunder changed that in Game 3 and may have changed the series.

The Thunder are the more talented team in this series and when they play to their potential, they won’t be beat.

It wasn’t just that the Thunder made adjustments tonight. It’s that the adjustments they made worked. That changes a series. They didn’t simply finally win a game.

This game felt different than the first two because the Thunder adjusted. The Spurs will have the chance to do that in Game 4.

The Thunder will host the Spurs for Game 4 Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. EST on TNT.

The Oklahoma City Thunder lead the San Antonio Spurs 54-41 at the half of Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.

Kevin Durant leads the Thunder with 16 points.

James Harden has scored 11 points off the bench and Russell Westbrook has eight points.

Tony Parker leads the Spurs with 11 points.

The Thunder have held the Spurs to 40.0 percent shooting from the field and have forced 13 turnovers so far.

The Thunder look better in Game 3 and the rotation Scott Brooks is using has worked better.

Lil Wayne is often seen courtside for NBA games usually in Miami or Los Angeles.

Was going to go to the Thunder game tonight but was denied by the team to be in their arena. Wow. Smh. Go Spurs!

— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) May 31, 2012

It should be mentioned that James Harden dates Lil Wayne’s ex-girlfriend, Trina. Maybe this is why.

Did The Beard deny Lil Wayne access to Chesapeake Arena?

Brendan Maloney-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder are in a do or die situation tonight for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs.

The Thunder are down 0-2 in the series and only 14 teams in the history of the NBA have come back from that deficit to win a playoff series. Zero teams have come back from down 0-3.

Durant is ready to “pull a Rondo” tonight if that’s what it’s going to take for the Thunder to win.

“I could play two games in one day,” Durant said.

That won’t be necessary but Durant will certainly play big minutes tonight. He is averaging 41.5 minutes per game so far in this series and 29.0 points.

The Thunder seem to struggle whenever Manu Ginobili and the Spurs’ second unit comes in. The Thunder reserves just can’t match them and keeping Durant or Russell Westbrook on the court at all times might be a good idea.

Durant played the entire second half in Game 1 and it seemed to wear him down. He was fouled a lot in the fourth quarter too and forced to go one-on-one a lot of times which didn’t help either.

Durant shouldn’t need to play the whole game. The Thunder just need to maximize him as much as possible when he is out there. Letting him isolate doesn’t accomplish this. Running Durant off screens and posting him up would.

The Thunder were down 0-2 two years ago against the Lakers in the first round and went on to win the next two at home and even up the series. They will play better and with more energy with their home crowd behind them but they will need more help than just that to beat the Spurs.

Brendan Maloney-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder are down 0-2 to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals but get a chance to bounce back in the series at home tonight for Game 3.

The Thunder have always played much better at home than on the road and that has a lot to do with how great their fans and home crowd always is.

The Thunder can use all the help they can get as they are up against the hottest team in the NBA right now. The Spurs haven’t lost since April 11 and have won 20 straight games, tied for the third longest streak in NBA history.

The Spurs traditionally made their championship runs behind a great defense but this year it’s their offense that is leading the way, especially in this series. The Spurs have shot 60.2 percent in the last five quarters of this series and the Thunder haven’t had an answer for them.

OKC showed a small glimpse of how to stop the Spurs’ offense as they furiously tried to come back in the fourth quarter of Game 2. The Thunder played a small lineup switching every pick-and-roll and forced a lot of deflections and tougher shots than the Spurs were used to.

The Thunder will have to bottle up that energy for most of a game if they want to slow down the Spurs’ offense.

But Scott Brooks elected to play Derek Fisher with that small lineup instead of Thabo Sefolosha and it really held the Thunder back. If Fisher continues to get bigger minutes than Sefolosha, the Thunder will continue to not reach their potential in this series.

The other worry is that the Thunder big three played pretty well in Game 2 and they still lost. Kevin Durant scored 31, Russell Westbrook scored 27 and James Harden scored 30. It wasn’t enough.

Durant has put up huge overall numbers but has been quiet in the fourth quarter scoring just a total of 10 points so far in the two games. He’s not LeBron so it’s not that big of a deal though.

Westbrook will be the key in Game 3 though as Durant and Harden have figured out how to be efficient, Westbrook has yet to.

Westbrook will need to be aggressive taking his midrange pull-up jump shot. He hasn’t been hitting it so far in this series and it has turned him into the reckless rim attacker that OKC doesn’t want to see.

The Spurs are defending the pick-and-roll in a way to allow for the midrange pull-up to be available too. Harden adjusted in Game 2 and it resulted in a big game for him. Westbrook needs to do the same to help the Thunder turn the tide in this series.

The Thunder will continue to play small and do so with Serge Ibaka. That was an adjustment in Game 2 that was obvious and worked better than when the Thunder went small in Game 1 with Kendrick Perkins instead of Ibaka.

Perkins is not made for this series. The Thunder traded for him last year to get by the Lakers. Against the Spurs, the Thunder would be better off with Jeff Green since they are playing small ball.

Perkins is the Thunder’s best post defender but the Spurs aren’t even posting up. They’ve taken just seven shots on post-ups so far in this series and made only two.

The Spurs are doing almost nothing but pick-and-rolls and that’s where Perkins struggles because he doesn’t move well laterally. The Spurs have made 23-of-37 shots in the pick-and-roll in the first two games. Ibaka and Nick Collison do a much better job than Perkins defending those plays.

Tony Parker torched the Thunder in the pick-and-roll in Game 2 scoring 34 points on 16-for-21 shooting.

The Thunder have too slowly been making adjustments in this series and that’s part of why they are down 0-2. Coming back home should help but they need a complete game every night to comeback in this series.

The Thunder can’t afford to take a step back on offense and need to play better defensively. It wasn’t going to be easy to beat the Spurs but now it feels closer to impossible.

The Spurs trailed the Clippers 33-11 after the first quarter and it looked as if they would finally lose in these playoffs.

The Spurs went on a 24-0 run in the third quarter and outscored Los Angeles 26-8 in the third quarter to get back in the game, take the lead and eventually win the game.

San Antonio is now up 3-0 in their series with the Clippers and still yet to lose in the playoffs.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 23 points and 10 assists while Tim Duncan also had a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Chris Paul was very quiet again scoring just 12 points with 11 assists and was 5-for-17 from the field. Paul is averaging 9.3 points, 8.7 assists and shooting .308 percent from the field in the series.

The Spurs haven’t lost a game since April 11 and continue to look and play like the best team in the NBA.

Up 3-0 in this series they are almost certainly advancing to the Western Conference Finals where they will play either Oklahoma City or the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Thunder and Lakers will play Game 4 tonight at 10:30 p.m. EST with the Thunder up 2-1 in that series.

Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Lakers made 41 free throws as they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 99-96 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals.

Kobe Bryant scored 36 points, went 9-for-25 from the field and 18-of-18 at the line to lead the Lakers.

Kevin Durant had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds but did not get the roll as he was forced into a tough 28-footer over two defenders. Durant finished the game with 31 points to lead the Thunder.

The game was called close from the start. Like Game 2, the referees were not letting the players play too much and it resulted in a ton of foul calls and a lot of them off the ball.

James Harden picked up three fouls in the first half for the second straight game after providing the Thunder with a much needed lift in the first half to get them back in the game. Harden scored 21 points in the game and made 11-of-12 free throws himself.

Russell Westbrook stripped Kobe and went in for a fast break dunk with 2:54 left to put the Thunder ahead 92-87. The Lakers would made 10 more free throws after that play to come back and win.

Westbrook found himself switched onto Kobe after an offensive rebound by Los Angeles and bit on a Kobe baseline ball fake that resulted in a huge trip to the charity stripe where Kobe put LA back up 95-94.

The Thunder ran Durant in a pick-and-roll on the following possession and he ended up passing to Serge Ibaka in the corner for a contested jump shot. Durant got the offensive board but was then stripped by Metta World Peace with 12 seconds left.

Oklahoma City could have won this game and had opportunities to close it out. The bounces and calls didn’t go their way down the stretch though and that can be all it takes sometimes.

The loss if the first this postseason for the Thunder. The Thunder get a chance to act some revenge on this loss tomorrow night. The tip will again be at 10:30 p.m. EST.

Metta World Peace and Russell Westbrook got into it a little in the first half of Game 3 between the Thunder and Lakers.

Westbrook hit the floor for a loose ball and didn’t take kindly to World Peace hovering over him trying to tie him up.

Westbrook overreacted to the contact from World Peace and it resulted in double technicals with Westbrook being more deserving of one.

The Thunder trail the Lakers 50-47 at halftime.

Westbrook leads the Thunder with 14 points and Kevin Durant has 13. James Harden provided a much needed lift off the bench and scored 12 points before coming out of the game after picking up his third foul.

The Thunder got down early and did a nice job to get back in the game. The game has the feel to it that it will go down to the wire.

The Thunder showed part of why they are such a great team in the first two games of this series. They won both games and did so in two completely different types of games.

The Thunder took Game 1 in blowout fashion winning 119-90 and running the Lakers off the floor. Then in Game 2, the Lakers were winning for most of the game and it was terribly low-scoring before the Thunder scored the final nine points of the game to steal the victory.

Winning Game 2 like that is a sign that this Thunder team is growing up. They didn’t win those types of games a year ago and here they are now 6-0 in the Playoffs and having won three games that they weren’t supposed to.

The Lakers should be better at home these next two nights but it won’t be easy for them to win two games in two nights against the young legs of the Thunder.

In Game 1 everything went right for the Thunder and they were making their jump shots at a very high rate. That went away some in Game 2 as the Thunder just didn’t look to have much rhythm for the game in general.

Kevin Durant only took 15 shots in Game 2 and Russell Westbrook went 5-for-17. James Harden got into foul trouble in the first half which also contributed to the loss of good rhythm for the team.

Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol looked better but it is still clear that the Thunder bigs can handle the two Lakers bigs. Serge Ibaka in particular played a great Game 2 blocking seven shots.

Kobe Bryant has continued to not shoot the ball well from the field against the Thunder. He shot 30 percent against them in the regular season and went 9-for-25 in Game 2.

More will have to go right for the Lakers than for the Thunder for them to win, no matter home or away.

There were some good signs for the Lakers in Game 2 but nothing that says they will now comeback to win the series.

We will see tonight at 10:30 p.m. EST as the teams will tip in Staples Center.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks 95-79 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 31 points in the game and got off to a great start with 15 in the first quarter.

The Thunder led 50-41 at halftime and started the third quarter off great.

Russell Westbrook led the charge knocking down three straight jumpers in the first five minutes of the third. Westbrook after a slow start finished with 20 points in the game.

Westbrook and Thabo Sefolosha made back-to-back 3-pointers with 5:53 left in the third to put Oklahoma City up 66-50. The Thunder led 75-57 after three.

Derek Fisher and Daequan Cook gave the Thunder a solid lift off the bench combining for 19 points and five three pointers.

Fisher made a driving layup with 10:41 left in the game to cap a 15-1 run and give the Thunder an 83-58 lead.

Dirk Nowitzki struggled all night going 6-for-15 from the field for 17 points and also picked up a technical foul in the first quarter.

The game felt like a changing of the guard in the West. The Thunder have improved greatly this year and getting by Dallas while they are not the same team as last year is a big step for them.

Now up 3-0 the series seems a lock but you never know. This Dallas team however never seemed to totally have it this season and trying to fight back from down 3-0 seems very unlikely.

Game 4 will be Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EST.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant leads the way with 21 first half points as the Oklahoma City Thunder lead the Dallas Mavericks 50-41 at halftime of Game 3.

Durant came out hot scoring 15 in the first and making three 3-pointers.

Russell Westbrook has reversed roles with Durant tonight struggling from the field going 3-for-11 with eight points.

The Thunder got out to a great start and an again frustrated Mavericks team picked up two technical fouls on Dirk Nowitzki and then head coach Rick Carlisle arguing calls.

Oklahoma City led 32-26 after one and would lead 48-33 with 3:51 to go in the second quarter.

Dallas has played a matchup zone with some decent success so far in this game. It’s not really a traditional zone as they do a lot of switching and matching up but it gave the Thunder some trouble early in the second as Oklahoma City settled for too many 3-pointers early in the shot clock.

The Thunder settled down and figured it out some and were able to increase their lead.

Dirk and Jason Kidd lead Dallas with 10 points apiece.

Dallas is shooting 36.8 percent from the field and has attempted four more free throws than the Thunder so far. The Thunder didn’t attempt a free throw in the second quarter.

The Thunder will need to get back to the line some more in the second half to make sure they win. This would obviously be a huge win and probably mean that the series is over. The Thunder have come out strong and really shouldn’t waste what’s already been a good shooting night from Durant.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder will go into Dallas tonight with a chance to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. They did well surviving the first two games and coming away with victories.

Kevin Durant struggled mightily shooting in the first two games with a 10-of-27 showing in Game 1 and 5-for-17 mark in Game 2.

One would thing Durant has to improve a lot on those numbers tonight. He has gotten a lot of looks and taken mostly jump shots. His teammates did a good job of playing well to help the Thunder win despite his low shooting nights but now on the road Durant will have to start knocking down those looks.

Russell Westbrook has been great so far leading the Thunder in scoring. He really has his midrange pull-up working which is always the test for how well he is playing. As long as he can keep that going tonight his entire game will continue to click.

Dirk Nowitzki has averaged 28 per game so far in this series but he just doesn’t seem as dominant as last year. It is still a journey to figure out who will guard him in the post. Dirk seems to have Serge Ibaka’s number and Kendrick Perkins has had some success.

Nick Collison seems to do the best job against Dirk but he does give up a lot of height. The best lineup for the Thunder when it comes to defending Dirk might be Collison and Ibaka on the floor together which seems to never happen.

James Harden has played very well in the first two games of the series and is leading the Thunder in assists. But Harden always tails off some on the road so we will see if he can continue to be aggressive with the ball tonight or if his game seems more subdued.

A key for Dallas will be making three-point shots. Dallas has the personnel to convert open threes so it will be on the Thunder’s watch to play hard defense for the entire shot clock and hustle hard to get out and contest ever shot. The Thunder have done well in this department in the last six quarters of this series.

The Thunder obviously don’t have to win tonight being up 2-0 but it is quite the opportunity to go up 3-0 against the defending champs. A loss wouldn’t be devastating but we’ve seen how Dallas can take over control of a series after winning a game and the Thunder need to avoid that at all costs.