Thunder punches back with RussBus at L.A.
GAME RECAP | GAME STORY | TEAM STATS
Player of the Game: Russell Westbrook (47 PTS, 5 REB, 13 AST, 4 STL and 1 BLK)
Thunder Down Under: Serge Ibaka (12 PTS, 11 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL and 2 BLK)
Thunder Protector: Kevin Durant (30 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL and 2 BLK)
STAPLES CENTER - After the Thunder fell to the Lakers on home, Oklahoma City got rejuvenated and wanted revenge. Through a 38-point performance during the fourth, the Thunder were able to come out on top. And it was because of Russell Westbrook. RussBus shouldered the entire Thunder offense and gave all he could do to make the Thunder win.
A different Thunder this is though, Kevin Durant was mostly non-existent for the night even though he scored 30 and grabbed 9 rebounds. Kendrick Perkins reached a season-high 13 rebounds in this contest and did a great job of covering Dwight Howard. Serge Ibaka scored and was cleaning the glass. But we really missed KD.Photos:
Durant's 62 boosts Thunder in L.A., 130-128
GAME RECAP | GAME STORY | TEAM STATS
Player of the Game: Kevin Durant (62 PTS, 12 REB, and 7 AST)
Thunder Down Under: Russell Westbrook (34 PTS, 12 REB, 8 AST and 3 STL)
Thunder Protector: Thabo Sefolosha (3 PTS, 2 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL and 3 BLK)
With a scoring machine on the opposing team, your pretty much done if you don't lock him up. Then you let the other one score, and you're pretty fudged up. With his 62, the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Lakers again. During the last minute, the Thunder quickly put on a run, scoring 11 points while limiting the Lakers to 5, and were able to come out with the win. They now lead the series 3-1.
Kevin Durant hit 25 of his 34 shots, a playoff career-high in field goals made, and points scored for the Sixth Year Forward. His outburst is very special to this team. He also hit 6 of his 9 three-pointers and grabbed 2 offensive rebounds while having no fouls. An incredible night it has been. Serge Ibaka got a 6x6 by posting up 6 points, 6 rebounds and playoff-high 6 assists. The earlier two are mediore performances from the NBA's top shot blocker though.
Perk locked up Dwight, making him only shoot 9 and make 6 en route for 13 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Kobe had 31 points, but on 13-24 shooting. Steve Nash had a double-double by having 15 points and 11 assists. The Thunder made 50% of their shots, and they only got blocked 2 times.Photos:
Thunder finish Lakers, 127-124
GAME RECAP | GAME STORY | TEAM STATS
Player of the Game: Kevin Durant (47 PTS, 16 REB, 6 AST and 1 BLK)
Thunder Down Under: Russell Westbrook (40 PTS, 6 REB, 13 AST and 2 STL)
Thunder Protector: Serge Ibaka (9 PTS, 11 REB - 3 OFF, 2 AST and 1 STL)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - History repeats itself. Despite a star-studded lineup, the Lakers fell to the Thunder again. The young Oklahoma City squad came back from a 15-point deficit during the fourth and won. It was definitely a thrilling game, tied at 121, Kobe milked the clock and hit a deep three. A Kobe Clutch moment. But it was time for replacement, Westbrook hit a pull-up jumper and-1, then Kevin Durant hit a three from Russell Westbrook that iced the game at 4.6 seconds left.
127-124. Lakers had no foul to give. Thunder with two. Nash inbounded the ball to the running Kobe, who was on the half-court. As the ball flew, Kobe caught it and fired up a trey. Clang, clang. The ball bounces off, and goes outside. The Thunder wins. They are again Western Conference Champs and will advance to the NBA Finals in a rematch against the defending champions, Miami Heat.Photos:
v.s.
- A season ago, the Thunder were sent home after they dominated in Game 1. The Heat went on to win four consecutive times en route to their coveted NBA Championship Trophy. Would we be seeing the same result? Or can Kevin Durant and the Thunder finally dethrone the Heat and take over the league? LeBron surely won't accept that, and neither the others. The Thunder lost James Harden and the others, but were still able to post up the league's best record, whilst the Heat added Ray Allen and notable three-point threat Rashard Lewis. Let's find out.
Match-ups:
PG: Russell Westbrook v.s. Mario Chalmers
- Clearly, we can see that Russell Westbrook has the advantage. He has more bulk, strength and emotion than the smaller Mario. He has also upped his FG% from 51% to 55%, whereas Chalmers is just a mere three-point threat. But don't forget that these threes rained on us last year. If Westbrook makes sure he guards him enough, it would be absolutely devastating against the Heat.
SG: Kevin Martin v.s. Dwyane Wade
- Kevin Martin, another scoring machine and the reigning sixth man of the year, but what about D-Wade? This tough fella led his team in scoring and field goal percentage at 52%. He also has more explosiveness than Martin, which would become a key to this match-up.
SF/PF: Kevin Durant v.s. LeBron James
- This is where it gets interesting. Both players easily match well against the other. LeBron is an all-around player, whilst Kevin Durant can easily score. Add more bulk to that body and you've got LeBron. Add more shooting abilities to the King and you've got Durant. These two are surefire contradictions to each other. A trivia through, these two trained together in the off-season and are pals. Oh, is that Skip Bayless I'm hearing?
PF/SF: Thabo Sefolosha v.s. Shane Battier
- Perimeter-killer and Perimeter-killer. These are what these two are. What's more, is that both players are premier defenders in their position. Battier can just walk around behind the three-point land and simply pull the trigger. Likewise, Thabo has developed his three-pointer and is another guard who can lock up the league's best players.
C: Serge Ibaka v.s. Chris Bosh
- Another alike pair of players. Both thrive in the low-post area and spotting up in terms of offense. But the advantage over these two would be seen in defense. Bosh, a finesse big, can step up while Ibaka is already a premier defender.
Bench: Thunder v.s. Heat
- Miami's bench, led by the injured Ray Allen, can be non-existent at some times, but can really kill you if you do not put in the works on the perimeter. On the other hand, the Thunder's bench have been consistent, but can rarely impact a game. Nick Collison is the only consistent player who can.
Prediction: Heat in seven.
KD goes off for 50 in Game 1, 140-135
GAME RECAP | GAME STORY | TEAM STATS
Player of the Game: Kevin Durant (50 PTS, 12 REB, 9 AST, 2 STL and 1 BLK)
Thunder Down Under: Russell Westbrook (41 PTS, 11 REB, 12 AST and 4 STL)
Thunder Protector: Serge Ibaka (18 PTS, 13 REB, 1 STL and 10 BLK)
And here it comes. Can you hear it? It's hungry, it's quietly noisy, it's rumbling...
IT'S THE THUNDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kidding aside, the Oklahoma City Thunder really did dominate the first game of the NBA Finals, much like they did one post-season ago. This also marks as the second time in NBA history for three players score 50, then 40, and another guy with a triple-double, and first time during the playoffs. Despite Wade's 41, the Thunder managed to pull through and effectively seal the win.
28 of KD's 50 points came in the second half, where he completely ate LeBron during the final minutes of the game. Westbrook was the guy the Thunder needed in order to catch up and pull through. Ibaka did a great job of locking down the paint, and locking down Chris Bosh, who finished with only 15 points on 3-14 shooting, while playing 34 minutes.
The Thunder also exposed a flaw in the Heat's system, as they out-rebounded them on the offensive glass, 12:4, which led to 18 second chance points compared to the Heat's 4 points. But the Heat also made us realize that going small against them can make them score easily in the paint. Nevertheless, Perk isn't as much as reliable like his Boston days.Photos:
Phil89 wrote:I always hate it when you only notice the triple-double chance late in the game and can't quite get there.
Didn't this happen in real life against Denver last season? (50, 40, triple-double) Same players too I think
Thunder falter late to Heat, 95-86
GAME RECAP | GAME STORY | TEAM STATS
Player of the Game: LeBron James (16 PTS, 7 REB, 7 AST)
Thunder Down Under: Kevin Durant (29 PTS, 9 REB, 1 STL and 1 BLK)
Thunder Plunderer: Dwyane Wade (20 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST and 2 TOS)
CHESAPEAKE ENERGY ARENA - The Thunder ran out of gas. It was definitely like last year though, Durant got into early foul trouble, and they were getting no foul calls. Kevin Durant got locked up by the bulkier and stronger LeBron, and got pushed around despite his 29-point, 9 rebound performance. He attempted 25 shots, and only made 14. Westbrook was clearly not mentally in the game, missing 11 of his 15 shots and scoring 12 points.
If the Oklahoma City Thunder continues to play like this, they might as well pack their bags and let Miami win the next four again. Kevin Martin, the X-Factor off the bench for the Thunder, shot poorly from the field. He's on par with Westbrook, making 4 of his 15 shots and scored 10 points. "I know. I gotta be more aggressive next time." Martin stated.
"We can't afford to fall on the road. We've been in this place before and won't definitely repeat last year." said Thunder Captain Kevin Durant. Russell Westbrook stormed out of the locker room as he became hot-headed after a flagrant two and got ejected with 5 minutes left in the game. "I swear it was an accident, but the refs are kinda too emotional about it." said the Thunder Guard. He accidentally hit D-Wade while driving, and it knocked the opposing player to the ground. It greatly caused a more heated up rivalry between the two teams.
UPDATE: Westbrook has been fined by the NBA ($50,000) for saying negative things about the Referees.Photos:
Thunder bounce back hard, 130-123
GAME RECAP | GAME STORY | TEAM STATS
Player of the Game: Russell Westbrook (38 PTS, 7 REB, 18 AST and 2 STL)
Thunder Down Under: Kevin Durant (44 PTS, 12 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL and 2 BLK)
Thunder Protector: Serge Ibaka (18 PTS, 18 REB - 5 OFF, 2 AST and 3 BLK)
AMERICAN AIRLINES ARENA - This is where it ended last year. The Thunder's painful memories are back. Question is, are they gonna let it happen again? Game 3, 85-91. Then the Heat went on and won the last two. But the Thunder didn't let things go the Heat's way. Durant scored 44, Westbrook dished out a career-high 18 assists and Ibaka exploded for and 18x18, two shy from tying his career-high in rebounds.
It's unbelievable that the Thunder dug themselves out of their hole. After trailing for so long, they were able to take the lead with 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter. With a minute and thirty left, the Thunder gained a 5-point lead over the Heat, 126-121. Then it went on as a shootout between the two teams, but alas, the Heat made one and their final bucket.
They had no choice but to foul and give away free throws in favor of the time. Without the fouled-out LeBron, the Heat went to D-Wade, and failed to convert his three-pointer. Whistle, another foul by the Heat. The Thunder then effortlessly sealed the game, 130-123.Photos:
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