Spurs rout Thunder to take 3-2 lead in West finals
San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard grabs a defensive rebound against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoff series, Thursday, May 29, 2014, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SAN ANTONIO—Tim Duncan had 22 points and 12 rebounds and Manu Ginobili scored 19 points as the San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 117-89 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green each had 14 points while Boris Diaw added 13 and Tony Parker scored 12 for the Spurs, who are a win away from returning to the NBA Finals after losing in seven games to Miami last year.
Article continues after this advertisementKevin Durant scored 25 points, but Russell Westbrook had only 21 points and seven assists after finishing with 40 points and 10 assists in Game 4.
Oklahoma City Thunder’s Steven Adams (12) flips over as he vies against San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobili, back left, and Kawhi Leonard, back right, for a loose ball during the second half of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoff series, Thursday, May 29, 2014, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Game 6 is Saturday in Oklahoma City.
The up-and-down series continued between the past two Western Conference champions, as the road team has been thumped in every game so far.
Article continues after this advertisement“We played so much harder, sharper, smarter, everything we talked about,” Ginobili said. “It was a fun-to-play and fun-to-watch game. So when we play like this it’s a completely different story.”
San Antonio outscored Oklahoma City by 10 points in both the second and third quarters, allowing both teams to sit their starters for much of the fourth.
Serge Ibaka, who dominated the interior in Oklahoma City, was held to six points and two rebounds.
“We have to regroup and come back better in a few days,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.
The Spurs started Matt Bonner in place of Tiago Splitter to draw Ibaka out of the paint and it worked early. It also helped defensively, as Ibaka attacked Bonner but missed his first five shots on a series of running hooks. Duncan was also able to help defensively, rolling over to block a layup attempt by Ibaka.
San Antonio’s crowd was raucous from the start, booing Westbrook heavily during pregame introductions and erupting joyously when Green scored the team’s first points on a 3-pointer 1 ½ minutes into the game
Oklahoma City withstood the early barrage, going on an 11-2 run for its largest lead of the game.
San Antonio kept Westbrook out of the paint early, but that only opened up the lanes for Jackson, who made his first five shots. He had four straight layups and then drained a 3-pointer with Parker closely defending.
Three-point shooting got San Antonio back into the game, as Patty Mills and Green closed the first with consecutive 3s to tie the game at 32-all.
Diaw’s 3 gave San Antonio a 42-37 lead with 6:12 left in the first half and resulted in an Oklahoma City timeout.
Ginobili’s 3 gave a 65-52 lead with 6.9 seconds left in the first half.
Ginobili’s third 3 gave San Antonio an 87-70 lead with 3 minutes remaining in the third.
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