It didn’t matter that the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs four times in the regular season and held them to an average of 96.8 points in those games. The Thunder knew that going up against the focused, tough veteran group with homecourt advantage would be a tough task.
Especially without Serge Ibaka.
During those regular season games, the Spurs scored an incredible 27.8 more points per 100 possessions when Ibaka wasn’t on the floor. On Monday in Game 1, the loss of Ibaka was truly felt, as the Spurs did just about anything they wanted on the offensive end. Tim Duncan had his way inside with 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field, seven rebounds and three assists in just 29 minutes to help his team rout the Thunder 122-105. San Antonio had a countless number of looks inside the paint area and shot a whopping 57.5 percent from the field as a team.
Tony Parker ran the offense beautifully and contributed 14 points to go with 12 assists, while Kawhi Leonard chipped in with 16 points, six rebounds and three steals (along with one fantastic spin move as seen above). Players around the league took notice of the dominating performance by the Spurs and showered them with praise on twitter:
Vintage TIM DUNCAN – He was ALL World today in ripping the Thunder!
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) May 20, 2014
Have to respect what Timmy, Manu & Tony have accomplished together. Winningest trio in history! Wow!!! Just wow!
— Quentin Richardson (@QRich) May 20, 2014
@tonyparker @NBAonTNT plays to win the game, not to cover himself on the stat sheet. That’s why he is a #champion!
— Isiah Thomas (@iamisiahthomas) May 20, 2014
That boy kawhi got Eagles Claws
— Anthony Morrow (@MrAnthonyMorrow) May 20, 2014
Kawhi nice af
— Brandon Rush (@BRush_25) May 20, 2014
Points in the paint = Spurs are plus 20 @ESPNNBA
— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) May 20, 2014
Kawhi #realdeal with sweet move.
— David Robinson (@DavidtheAdmiral) May 20, 2014
YesRT @j_nelson18: Tony Parker is the best PG in the NBA hands down. RW is a friek athlete 2 guard who plays PG #KnowTheDifference
— Pierre Jackson (@Pappyjackk) May 20, 2014
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James Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.