The Spurs led for only 37 seconds in their comeback win over the Thunder

The San Antonio Spurs were getting blown out in the third quarter of their Friday night matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was bad. Really bad.

But in typical Spurs fashion, they stayed the way, clawing back from a 21-point deficit to escape with a 100-95 win over the Thunder. San Antonio led for only 37 seconds in an otherwise lopsided affair highlighted by two MVP candidates clashing with one another.

Kawhi Leonard only scored eight points in the first two quarters, but turned in a mammoth 20-point second half to carry San Antonio to its 58th win of the season. He recovered a blocked Russell Westbrook layup and went coast-to-coast to convert an and-one with under six seconds in the fourth quarter to extend the Spurs’ lead to four.

Westbrook recorded his 39th triple-double, picking up 32 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists on the night. He is now just two shy of tying Oscar Robertson’s all-time mark of 41 triple-doubles in a single season.

But as San Antonio made its comeback, Oklahoma City’s MVP candidate shot just 1-of-7 from the field until the 4:14 mark in the fourth quarter. Westbrook also recorded eight turnovers, and the Thunder got outscored 29-19 in the final period.

Westbrook and James Harden have been the runaway candidates for the league’s Most Valuable Player award all season long, and for a good reason: The two are on a tear the NBA hasn’t seen in decades. But Leonard has silently reminded the league why his name should always be mentioned when discussing the season’s most coveted award.

Leonard defended Westbrook for much of the fourth quarter, helping deter the Thunder guard from staving off the Spurs’ enormous comeback effort.

Oklahoma City literally led for 47 minutes. But the Spurs executed down the stretch, hunkered down defensively, and came away with an improbably victory.