Serging Forward: Ibaka Provides Spark, Thunder Even Series

Ever since that game, I figured that if these two teams played in the playoffs, the Spurs’ pristine execution would give them the upper hand. If the Thunder were to win games against the Spurs, it would have to be blowouts. Execution was the lifeblood of the Spurs; execution was the weakness of the Thunder. Put these two teams in a tight game, and the Spurs’ execution would outdo the Thunder’s overall talent every time.

And then, Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals happened.

Popovich faults the Spurs’ issues with turnovers for their issues with having more points than the Thunder. Asked about San Antonio’s play in the high post, he redirected a question to turnovers.

I’m more concerned with the number of turnovers we’ve had. We had 21 last game. That really fuels those guys. As quick and fast and talented as they are, it’s like a layup drill every time we turn it over. So we’re better off spending our time worrying about that kind of stuff than not playing in a crowd, valuing the basketball more than trying to concoct some play or offense.The Spurs committed 16 turnovers in Game 1 of the series, 13 in Game 2, and 21 in Game 3 before self-correcting a bit with 10 in Game 4.

The greatest thing about Stephen Jackson being back with the San Antonio Spurs is that he’s usually happy, because the Spurs usually win. So when the team get tagged with a rare loss, as they did on Saturday night when the Thunder won Game 4 to even the series, he still has enough victory endorphins left over to be a joy to listen to.

↵Witness his reaction to the series tightening, straight out of any number of rap songs:

“Those (Oklahoma City) kids are playing hard,” Jackson said after Game 3. “They want it. I think we’ve got to get back to being that way.”

Jackson also said he was surprised by the lack of effort in the first half, especially considering what is at stake.

It’s a double mohawk all the way

Whoa it’s so intense

Whoa

Man

Whoa

Whoa

Whoa

OMG OMG

OH MY GOD!

WOOOOOO!

OH WOW!

WOOOOOO! YEEEAH!

OMG

OMG

OMG look at that

It’s starting to look like a triple mohawk!

OMG it’s full on

Double mohawk all the way across his head!

*sobbing* OMG ... OMG ... oh god

What does this mean?

OH! OMG

OH!

Oh, god.

It’s SO bright

OMG it’s so bright and vivid

OH! OH!

OH *sobbing*

It’s so beautiful

Oh my god

OMG

It’s a double complete mohawk

On my TV

OMG

Too much!

I don’t know what it means

It’s so intense

OMG

Oh, and he just got married ... at a Thunder game.

After the game, while interviewing Durant, Craig Sager informed the 23-year-old superstar that Ibaka was flawless shooting, to which he responded, “He didn’t miss a shot? Wow.” Wow, indeed, Mr. Durant.

The man known as KD was pretty wow himself, with 36 points, eight assists and six rebounds, including 18 in the fourth quarter, the most in his playoff career.

For more on the Spurs, be sure to visit Pounding the Rock; for the Thunder, Welcome to Loud City. And for news, analysis and everything else revolving around the NBA Playoffs, be sure to visit SB Nation’s NBA page.

Before the fourth quarter, he had played great defense on Durant, but since Durant went off, Leonard has done his best to match him. He’s scored 17 points with eight rebounds and has missed just one shot, and has been the best Spurs player by far down the stretch. It’s likely not enough, but it’s worth a tip of the cap for a rookie who’s looking more and more like the steal of the 2011 NBA Draft.

There’s a time when having no ACLs may come back to bite you when you’re a professional athlete. When you’re trying for a fast-break dunk and the NBA’s leading shot-blocker — who also happens to be having the best playoff game of his career — is bearing down on you, it would help if you had two ACLs. Sorry, DeJuan Blair, but Serge Ibaka ain’t havin’ that. Not tonight.

UPDATE: Upon further review, Blair got rejected by the rim first, but since it wasn’t in the cylinder, that was a legal play by Ibaka. And hilarious.

Perkins has looked bouncier than he has pretty much all season with a few dunks and he’s even hitting jump shots. Ibaka has been known to possess a jumper of some consistency, but he’s been less and less confident in it this season. He’s been on the money so far in this game — in fact, he hasn’t missed a shot — going 6-6 for 14 points. Perkins has 13 points and eight rebounds.

For more on the Spurs, be sure to visit Pounding the Rock; for the Thunder, Welcome to Loud City. And for news, analysis and everything else revolving around the NBA Playoffs, be sure to visit SB Nation’s NBA page.

A little tough to tell from this angle, but the vertical angle showed it clearly hit the backboard first.

In other news, hey, is the sky bleeding?

Unsurprisingly, Duncan replaced Splitter after the next timeout.

Craig Sager’s attire is as muted as ever.

The Thunder will definitely need to continue playing “fantastic basketball” if they want to keep their hopes of reaching the NBA Finals alive.

For more on the Spurs, be sure to visit Pounding the Rock; for the Thunder, Welcome to Loud City. And for news, analysis and everything else revolving around the NBA Playoffs, be sure to visit SB Nation’s NBA page.

The prevailing answer, it seems, is that the Thunder came out hungry while the Spurs were flat and never recovered. That isn’t all that surprising considering Oklahoma City had the home crowd behind them, but Pounding the Rock’s Fred Silva wrote about the San Antonio loss in excruciating detail.

“Depressingly difficult” was a phrase many believed would describe the Thunder’s chances to win the Western Conference finals following the first two games of the series. Heading into the weekend, though -- and another home game for the Thunder -- the momentum seems to be firmly on the side of the Thunder.

It seems everyone is pointing to the new defensive matchup except Parker. During his postgame press conference, Parker downplayed the defensive switch, noting he’s seen it before. “OKC put (Sefolosha) on me last year, two years ago,” he said. “It’s nothing different for me. I just have to find my spots.”

Parker’s 16 points and four assists in Game 3 were his lowest postseason totals since Game 4 of the Spurs’ opening-round series against Utah. Only time will tell if Brooks’ defensive tactic was a one-game fluke or enough to turn the series back in Oklahoma City’s favor.