San Antonio Spanking: Spurs Throttle Thunder To Take 1-0 Series Lead

After an embarrassing defensive showing to open up the Western Conference Semifinals, the Oklahoma City Thunder now find itself staring at a 1-0 series deficit after a 124-92 drubbing by the Spurs on Saturday night.

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In a game that was never close, the Spurs shot 69 percent from the field in the first half as they built up a 33 point lead at intermission and barely slowed down the rest of the way as they led by as many as 43. 

Throughout the week there was a ton of hype heading into the game, but Spurs’ superstar Kawhi Leonard let us know fairly quickly how this game would go. After San Antonio won the opening tip off, Leonard breezed past Kevin Durant and the rest of the OKC defense and finished off the drive with an emphatic slam for the game’s first points.

Durant hit a jumper on the Thunder’s ensuing possession to give the game its only tie, but San Antonio’s other star clocked in and went to work. LaMarcus Aldridge hit a jumper and swished a fade away on back-to-back Spurs’ possessions, and then before OKC could even realize what was going on, Leonard drained a mid-range shot and Tim Duncan finished off an and-1 layup to put the Spurs up 10-4 early.

While the Spurs were hitting stride, the Thunder was doing anything but.

Russell Westbrook struggled to get going early in the game, and the defensive matchup of Leonard may have had something to do with it. Without the production from Westbrook, the OKC offense suffered severely.

San Antonio ripped off a 26-to-8 run in the middle of the opening frame as they went on to take a 43-20 lead after one quarter. The Spurs’ 43 points tie an all-time NBA playoff record for most points in a quarter.  

Things didn’t get much better for the Thunder in the second quarter, as the Spurs were doing just about anything they wanted out on the court. San Antonio’s pick-and-roll offense was literally unstoppable with Aldridge doing most of the damage. Oklahoma City did a horrid job in defending such an ordinary basketball play, as the screen setter had nearly five feet of freedom to set his feet and nail the jumper over and over again.

Just like in the first quarter, OKC had no response on offense as its deficit continued to grow by the second. By the time halftime arrived, the duo of Aldridge and Leonard had outscored the entire Thunder team 45-40.

San Antonio continued to build on its monumental lead after the break, as both coaches pulled out their key players in the third quarter due to the lack of a competitive ballgame.

Aldridge led the Spurs with 38 points on 18-for-23 shooting while Leonard added 25 points in only 22 minutes of game action. Danny Green also had a monster game with 18 points while making 5-of-6 three-point attempts. All 13 members of the Spurs' roster scored in the game.

Serge Ibaka scored 19 points, while Kevin Durant added 16 points on 15 shots. Westbrook had a brutal night on both offense and defense, and finished with 14 points on 19 shots. 

The Thunder will look to regroup before Game 2 on Monday night at 8:30.