Thunder crush the Spurs in a must win game 3

The Oklahoma City Thunder demolished the Spurs 102-82 Thursday night in game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, snapping a 20 game win streak by the Spurs and cutting the Spurs' lead in the series to 2-1.  The Thunder played desperately and were energized by their home fans in limiting the Spurs' offensive juggernaut to the fewest points they have scored since January 27th.  The Spurs committed an uncharacteristic 21 turnovers leading to countless dunks and easy fast break points by the young and athletic Thunder.  Thunder head coach Scott Brooks adjusted from OKC's two previous defeats by more often using a smaller lineup, with Kevin Durant at the power forward position, which allowed the Thunder to match up better with San Antonio.  Thabo Sefolosha, a product of Switzerland, coming off a game in which he played for only 15 minutes, was the difference in the game.  Sefolosha finished with 19 points, a franchise record tying 6 steals, spread the floor by making 4 3-pointers, and played relentless defense in preventing Tony Parker from exploding offensively.  Durant led the Thunder with 22 points in a game they had to win in order to have a fighting chance of winning the series.  Tim Duncan's 5 blocks in the game made him the NBA's all time leader in career playoff blocks with 477, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar by one blocked shot.

Spurs win 20th straight game to take 2-0 series lead over the Thunder

The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-111 Tuesday night to take a 2-0 series lead in the Western Conference Finals.  Lead by Tony Parker who scored 34 points on an incredible 76% shooting from the field, the Spurs never trailed the Thunder, and at one point lead OKC by 22. Until 2:30 remained in the 3rd quarter, San Antonio executed brilliantly offensively off of pick and roll penetration by Tony Parker, who seemed to effortlessly weave through the Thunder's defenders creating open shots for both himself and his teammates.  At that point, the Thunder unconventionally employed what became known as the Hack-a-Splitter strategy to disrupt San Antonio's offensive flow.  On five consecutive possessions the Thunder intentionally fouled Thiago Splitter, sending him to the free throw line where he converted on 6 of 12 shots in the game.  In the 4th quarter the Thunder were able to cut the Spurs' lead down to 6 points after head coach Scott Brooks decided to use a smaller lineup by removing starting center Kendrick Perkins, who was ineffective in assisting Russell Westbrook in guarding Parker on the pick and roll.  With a smaller, more athletic lineup on the floor Oklahoma City was able to make the proper defensive rotations to prevent the Spurs from having wide open shots on the perimeter.  Brooks also made an adjustment which proved to be crucial in the final minutes of the game by switching on every Parker pick and roll.  The Thunder was ultimately unable to pull through, despite monster games from its big three of Kevin Durant (31 points), Russell Westbrook (27 points) and James Harden (30 points off the bench.)  In order to win the next game, OKC is going to have to receive better performances from the rest of team, which combined for only 23 points.  The Spurs on the other hand were given a boost by role players like Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard who finished with 10 and 18 points respectively.