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Thunder try to climb back in West Finals Sunday
By: Freddy Wander - StatFox
Published: 5/25/2014  at  5:39:00 AM
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SAN ANTONIO SPURS (72-24)

at OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (67-30)

NBA Playoffs – Western Conference Finals
Game 3 – San Antonio leads series 2-0
Tip-off: Sunday, 8:30 p.m. ET
Line: Oklahoma City -2, Total: 208

The Spurs look to take a decisive 3-0 series lead over the Thunder when the series shifts to Chesapeake Energy Arena on Sunday night.

Game 2's script was similar to that of Game 1, as San Antonio put up a second straight huge effort against struggling Oklahoma City, destroying them 112-77 as five-point favorites. The injury to Thunder PF Serge Ibaka is certainly looking like a big factor in this series as his team has lost the first two contests by an average of 26.0 PPG. In Wednesday’s blowout, the Spurs shot an impressive 50% from the field while going 21-for-23 from the charity stripe. PG Tony Parker put up a game-high 22 points as SG Danny Green went 7-for-10 from behind the arc and finished with 21 points of his own. Oklahoma City could not figure anything out offensively with their superstars, SF Kevin Durant and PG Russell Westbrook, each scoring just 15 points and combining to go 13-for-40 (33%) from the field. Hitting the road for San Antonio has not been too much of an issue this season, as the club is 32-14 SU (26-20 ATS) in away games. As for the Thunder, they have gone 38-10 SU in their home games and are 26-21-1 ATS. The two teams have now met up six times this season with Oklahoma City sweeping the four regular season games (both SU and ATS) by a sizable margin of 9.3 PPG, only to be crushed in the first two games of this series. But the Spurs have lost seven straight games (SU and ATS) on the road in this series by an average of 11.1 PPG, and over the past three seasons, the Thunder hold an 11-8 SU edge (12-7 ATS) in this matchup. PF Serge Ibaka (calf) is the only injury in this game and he will likely miss the rest of the postseason for Oklahoma City.

The Spurs have shot lights-out during their past eight postseason games where they are 7-1 with 112.1 PPG on 50.9% FG, 41.3% threes and 77.3% free throws. They have not allowed more than 105 points in any of those games, limiting their opponents to 94.4 PPG on 41.9% FG and 32.0% threes. PG Tony Parker (18.0 PPG, 8.5 APG, 1.5 SPG in series) was more of a distributor in Game 1 with 12 assists, but decided to assert himself more on offense in Game 2, scoring a game-high 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting with five assists and four turnovers. Parker also added two steals in the contest and has at least one steal in six of the past seven games. PF Tim Duncan (20.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG in series) was a force on Wednesday night with 14 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks while matching Parker with a +30 rating. He has been great when getting to the line over the past five games as well, hitting 16-of-19 from the charity stripe in that time. SF Kawhi Leonard (10.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.0 APG, 2.0 SPG in series) had just four points and four assists in Game 2 while being on the court for only 16 minutes in the blowout. But in the nine games prior to Wednesday's blowout, Leonard had averaged 15.9 PPG (53% FG, 43% threes) and 7.1 RPG during nine straight games of posting at least 11 points and five rebounds. He has also averaged 2.6 SPG over his past seven contests. SG Manu Ginobili (14.5 PPG, 3.5 APG, 2.5 RPG in series) shot horribly in the playoff series versus Portland with 29% FG and 14% threes (2-of-14), but he has been red-hot in the Western Conference Finals with 56% FG and 67% threes (4-of-6). C Tiago Splitter (7.5 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.0 BPG in series) also had a productive Game 2 with nine points (5-of-5 FT), 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in just 24 minutes of action.

The Thunder have certainly missed the presence of PF Serge Ibaka (12.2 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 2.2 BPG in playoffs) in their lineup not only as a defender, but also as their third option in the scoring department. After averaging 107.2 PPG on 48% FG (34% threes) in the six-game series versus the Clippers, Oklahoma City's offense has dipped to 91.0 PPG on 43% FG (30% threes) in the two defeats this series. SF Kevin Durant (21.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 3.5 APG in series) has failed to top 30 points in each of the games against the Spurs and went for just 15 points (6-of-16 FG, 0-for-4 threes) with three rebounds and two assists in Wednesday’s loss. Durant's numbers pale in comparison to the 33.2 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 5.3 APG he averaged in the previous series versus the Clippers. PG Russell Westbrook (20.0 PPG, 6.0 APG, 5.0 RPG in series) also really struggled to score on Wednesday with only 15 points on 7-of-24 shooting (1-of-5 threes) and has now shot 33% from the floor over his past three games. He did have two steals in the contest and now has at least two takeaways in five of his past seven games. But Westbrook is happy to return home where he has put up unbelievable numbers this postseason with 29.6 PPG (47% FG), 8.9 APG and 8.0 RPG in seven games at Chesapeake Energy Arena. PG Reggie Jackson (10.5 PPG, 3.0 APG in series) needs to be more assertive offensively with Ibaka out, but Jackson has been effective this series though, making 10-of-18 FG (56%). C Steven Adams (6.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG in series) is now playing a bigger role for the team, and was on the court for 30 minutes in Game 2, scoring nine points to go with eight rebounds and a block. After logging only 14.2 MPG in his first 11 playoff games, Adams has played 30.1 MPG over the past three contests where he has 7.7 PPG on 73% FG (11-of-15) with 7.0 RPG.


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