NBA Playoffs Sunday: Thunder rally to beat Spurs, Cavaliers sweep away Hawks

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

INSTANT CLASSIC: This Thunder-Spurs is, as predicted, fantastic. After the Game 1 beatdown we’ve had three close games. On Sunday, the Thunder evened the series with a fourth quarter devoid of mishaps. The final score was 111-97. Kevin Durant took over down the stretch and finished with a career-playoff-high 41. Russell Westbrook struggled from the field but racked up 15 assists. Game 5 is Tuesday.

But on Sunday, the final 12 minutes saved their season.

“Our guys came back,” Billy Donovan said. “It wasn’t an easy game. We were playing from behind obviously most of the three quarters, but our guys just kept battling.”

On Sunday, Durant had 29 points in the second half as he tied his playoff high of 41 points to turn this series around, playing with a fire and intensity the Thunder need if they’re going to pull off the upset.

Westbrook was still an integral part of the win. He had 15 assists and seven rebounds, and was getting the ball to Durant as much as he could.

Durant was the star, but Westbrook’s 14 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds sure helped as the Thunder stayed alive thanks to a win in a must-win game.

The Spurs offense came out firing early. They went on a 9-2 run thanks to some beautiful ball movement to end the first quarter up 27-17. The Thunder fought back and took a 45-44 lead with 1:47 left in the second, but the Spurs went on a 9-0 run to take an eight-point lead into the half.

One thing NBA fans are quick to mention about Kawhi Leonard are his hands. But what’s the big deal, right? Every NBA player has pretty big hands if they’re able to thrive in the league. Wrong.

This seems familiar:

That was brutal, and he got the foul on top of it.

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Not So Secret Weapon: Nobody can stop the Warriors’ deadliest play

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The Cleveland Cavaliers were one jump ball away from losing a game, their first one of the 2016 playoffs, to the Atalanta Hawks. That would have extended the series to five games. But if you’re Kevin Love, you were just hoping that the game wouldn’t go to overtime.

During the postgame interviews, Love confessed that he wasn’t pondering on the end of the series. No, he was more concerned with catching Game of Thrones. Yes, the Cavs big man can always stream it some other time, but who can really avoid spoilers in this day and age? Better not risk it.

The Hawks offense came out firing in the first. They put up 36 points in the first quarter and went into the half with a 58-56 lead, despite the Cavaliers going 10-of-16 from deep. The shooting didn’t slow in the third, as the Cavaliers made five more threes to take an 81-77 lead.

Schroder made it a one-point game on the next possession. James missed a three on the next trip down the court, but forced a jump ball with Schroder with 2.8 seconds left and Cleveland held on for the 100-99 win.

Kyrie Irving turned into a bad NBA 2K16 glitch during the first half of Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Atlanta Hawks. Poor guy was locked in the corner, unable to move, just faking the ball around during a timeout. Thankfully he rebooted pretty quickly, but this was a terrifying moment. Like when the batteries die in your controller mid-game.

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Oh Hubie, poor sweet Hubie. We know you didn’t mean it to sound like this, but it absolutely 100 percent sounds like this. There are a lot of ways to say what you were trying to say, but “jerk off the defender” might not have been the best move.

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Valanciunas’ status should the Raptors advance to the Eastern Conference Finals is unclear. Toronto holds a 2-1 series lead over the Heat after winning Game 3 on Saturday. Game 4 is scheduled for Monday night.

Valanciunas had been dominant in Game 3 prior to the injury, particularly after Whiteside went out early in the second quarter. The Raptors’ big man notched 16 points and 12 rebounds before coming down awkwardly on a rebound early in the third quarter. He also helped power the Raptors to victory in Game 2, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, including several crucial offensive boards late in the game.

Further studies showed that the injury is serious enough to demand time off. Whiteside is currently listed as day-by-day, but he could miss significant time in this series and possibly beyond.

Leonard and Aldridge, meanwhile, both had efficient nights thanks to their ability to get to the line. The two combined for 24 free throw attempts, more than the Thunder had as a team. The only way to slow them down was to foul and they did a good job of making Oklahoma City pay for sending them to the charity stripe by connecting on 18 of their free throws.

Westbrook took responsibility for his excessive shooting after the game, which means the next matchup could go completely different. If the Thunder find more balance to their scoring, like the Spurs did, they have the firepower and the disruptive defense to tie the series at two and put the pressure to win Game 5 at home on San Antonio. If once again their succumb to poor decision-making, the Spurs will likely take advantage and get their second straight win on the road.