Oklahoma City wins first Western Conference Finals game in Ibaka’s shocking return | San Antonio Leads Series 2-1
Much like the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat series, San Antonio and Oklahoma City were on a lengthy break between game’s 2 and 3. The Thunder would look to finally win a game in their challenging series against the Spurs with some line-up changes made at game-time.
The first two games however were complete blowout victories from San Antonio, seeing their way to the rim with no paint protection from the OKC big men without Serge Ibaka. He had previously been ruled out to miss the entire playoffs, but after receiving a second opinion and his calves getting 10 days off, the defensive anchorman and block leader was ready to suit up on Sunday evening.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook needed the third piece to their puzzle to win this game. Head coach Scotty Brooks also made an interesting move, inserting Reggie Jackson into the starting lineup for the fist time all post-season.
San Antonio had a hard time adjusting to the speedy small lineup OKC used in comparison to the first two games, where they went big for rim protection. With their force on the block back, the team’s only focus was to score. The Chesapeake Energy Arena was energized more than ever and in their first Western Conference Finals home game in over two years, Ibaka made his presence felt from tipoff, putting a hindrance on the Spurs that was visibly seen in their faces. Manu Ginobili was virtually the only player for San Antonio that had a good game, as their team struggled from the floor while watching Ibaka pull his best Willis Reed impersonation.
Kawhi Leonard tells Kevin Durant to get the fuck out of my way!
Many thought the Spurs had a legitimate chance at sweeping the Thunder, but now we’re seeing this series go longer than expected; something San Antonio didn’t want 72 hours ago. With each of the three games being a blowout (we’re not counting garbage buckets tonight for San Antonio to make the score look respectable), the balance has shifted to OKC heading into Game 4. Once again, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will be playing for their season’s on Tuesday night, as Gregg Popovich will be looking to make significant changes and try to figure out how they got outplayed in small ball.
Russell Westbrook shows us how deep his range is right before halftime.