Welcome to the grindhouse
For sheer ferocity, it’s hard to beat a Thunder-Spurs game. This one didn’t start out that way, though: San Antonio ran up a 35-18 lead after the first quarter, was still up 12 at the half, and then Oklahoma City clamped down, holding the Spurs to 13 points in the third. It was 99-all at the end of regulation, and with nine seconds left in overtime, Richard Jefferson landed the 12-footer that put the Spurs up 109-108; the Thunder got one last look, but it was not to be.
And the Spurs produced all that offense with Tim Duncan resting on the bench. In his place, rookie DeJuan Blair generated numbers even Duncan could envy: 28 points, 21 rebounds, before fouling out early in overtime. Tony Parker, who never shoots treys, shot three of them while scoring 28. The sharpest of the sharpshooters, though, was George Hill, who earned the wrath of Harry Kim by hitting seven of nine for 16 points.
The Thunder, of course, had nearly as much offense of their own, led by Kevin Durant with 35; Russell Westbrook logged a double-double (25 points, 13 assists, and only three turnovers), as did Jeff Green (16 points, 10 rebounds). OKC barely outshot San Antonio, 46.1 to 45.3 percent; the Spurs won the rebounding battle, 50-45. I have to wonder, though, if things would had been different if Duncan hadn’t been given the night off.
And so begins another hairy segment of the schedule: coming up, the Mavericks (Friday at Dallas), the Heat (Saturday at the Ford), and the Hawks (Monday afternoon at Atlanta).
