The Spurs started the game out hot and never cooled down. The result was a dominant win to start the Western conference semifinals.
The Thunder are going to feel that one for a while
Good morning. Let’s basketball.
BEAT ‘EM DOWN: This season has seen a seemingly inordinate number of highly anticipated games turn into straight-up beatdowns. Game 1 of Thunder-Spurs was no exception. San Antonio put 43 up on OKC in the first quarter as Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Danny Green couldn’t miss. On the other end, Kawhi shadowed Russell Westbrook, Green locked down Kevin Durant and the Thunder couldn’t get anything going. As a result, we had a full quarter of garbage time. The Spurs are f&$@ing terrifying.
Read Article >The Spurs expect dominance
Ronald Cortes/Getty Images“We had a great night and they had one of their bad nights,” said Popovich, always brusque, even after a 32-point playoff win.
Aldridge’s performance in particular was the culmination of everything the Spurs expected when they signed him last summer. His absurd 17-of-23 shooting led the way for the Spurs, who finished just shy of 61 percent from the field and shot exactly 60 percent from behind the three-point line. Oklahoma City’s pick-and-roll defense against San Antonio crumpled into a sad parade of easy baskets. Swarm the ball handler, and Aldridge wasn’t missing from 18 feet. Play it straight, and the Spurs’ guards easily infiltrated the paint. Help from the weak side, and there was always a shooter mercilessly knocking down open looks even late into the fourth quarter.
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