The OKC Thunder experienced their own medicine Friday night, dropping a big lead to the San Antonio Spurs.
Russell Westbrook had the magic touch this week with how he single-handedly took two games away from the clutches in defeat. Along with that touch came a flurry of MVP endorsements and praise. So the anticipation for the matchup against the Spurs and their own MVP candidate in Kawhi Leonard was especially deserving.
With that in mind, the Thunder took the floor and completely showed up against the second-placed Spurs. San Antonio was held to 16 points in the first quarter on 35% shooting. The aggressiveness was display with the Thunder being a +11 on the boards, grabbing 18 of them.
Oklahoma City was all over the place defensively. There were clean quick rotations with busy hands in the passing lanes forcing 11 first half Spurs turnovers. The shots were falling for OKC also, especially for the backcourt.
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Victor Oladipo poured in 12 with Westbrook adding 19 in the half. Oladipo’s 113 offensive rating showed that he was ready for this game – everything he did on the court in that half proved that as such.
All-defensive team candidate Andre Roberson, on a national stage, proved why he deserves that consideration. He held Leonard to eight points in the half and an efg% of 37, which was nothing short of impressive.
So what happened that the Thunder didn’t come out with the win?
It’s best to start with the offense. In the second half the Thunder were outscored 59-41. The team just wasn’t able to manufacture anything on the offensive end; Oklahoma City’s leading scorers on shot a dismal 25% in the second half and never found a comfortable rhythm. The Spurs defense definitely had a say in the matter as well, taking OKC out of what they wanted to do offensively.
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Another factor was Roberson picking up his fourth foul with six minutes to go in the third quarter. That’s when the game began for Leonard. Scoring 13 points in the period, Kawhi found a rhythm that the OKC Thunder were never able to break. By the end of the third quarter, the Spurs had outscored the Thunder 14-9 from the time Roberson exited the game.
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The fourth quarter became a war of attrition for the Spurs – bit by bit taking away OKC’s offensive actions and playing efficient offense. The game began to slip away when a Manu Ginobli-assisted jumper tied the game. With under a minute left, two Lamarcus Aldridge free throws gave the Spurs their first lead of the game.
Down one with 10 seconds left, Westbrook attempted to do what he had done for two straight games. But it was Leonard who played the role of hero tonight. After recovering the rebound of Westbrook’s blocked layup, Kawhi raced up the floor meeting a waiting Doug McDermott. McDermott attempted to foul Leonard, but only contributed to his and-one.
Stunned and defeated, the Thunder got to feel the feeling it relished in so often this week. Surely, it couldn’t have been a good one.