Thunder Only Happens in San Antonio

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The Thunder flipped the script, and now they’re heading to the Western Conference finals. 

Kevin Durant scored 37 points, Russell Westbrook added 28, and Oklahoma City beat San Antonio 113-99 on Thursday night to win the Western Conference semifinal series 4-2.

Oklahoma City lost 124-92 in Game 1, but first-year coach Billy Donovan led the Thunder to victory in four of the next five. Oklahoma City controlled Game 6, leading by as many as 28 points.

Westbrook said the Thunder never lost confidence.

“We had that game, and we left it behind us,” he said. “We came out after that and had a different mindset. We knew what we had to do to win the series. They’re a great team. They’ve been winning for 10-plus years, same pace. I’m just proud of our guys.”

Steven Adams had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Andre Roberson added 14 points for the Thunder. Oklahoma City now will face defending NBA champion Golden State, starting Monday in Oakland, California.

“Golden State’s a great team,” Donovan said. “It will be a great challenge. We’ve got a little bit of time to prepare before we play, but right now, for us, it’s just to enjoy the opportunity to move on, get a chance to continue to play and get as prepared as we can going into Game 1.”

The Spurs were trying to extend the winningest season in franchise history after going 67-15. The 40-year-old Duncan struggled for much of the series before scoring 19 points as San Antonio tried to fight back in the fourth quarter.

Duncan didn’t clear anything up about his future after the game. He has a player option for next season.

“I’ll get to that after I get out of here and figure life out,” he said.

Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 for the Spurs. San Antonio lost just once at home during the regular season, but the Thunder beat the Spurs twice in San Antonio during the series.

In Game 6, Oklahoma City opened up a 47-29 lead late in the second quarter after a three-pointer by Westbrook that brought a roar from the crowd. Durant’s 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left in the half pushed the lead to 55-31 at the break. Durant scored 18 points in the first half and Westbrook added 13.

The Thunder looked like the Spurs often do in the first half, running an efficient offense while committing just three turnovers.

It was a season-low point total for the Spurs in a first half. San Antonio shot 31.1 percent from the field before the break and missed all nine of its 3-pointers.

“I thought they did a great job of coming out and punching us in the stomach,” Leonard said. “But we got some open looks that didn’t go down, turned over the ball a couple of times, and that’s all on me.”

Oklahoma City kept the pressure on and led 91-65 at the end of the third quarter.

The veteran Spurs had one last surge left and got as close as 11, but a three-pointer by Westbrook, then a driving layup by Westbrook, killed San Antonio’s momentum for good.

“We always give credit to our opponents, and obviously, OKC turned it up there and turned our execution into forced bad shots, and then we kind of trickled down from there and it snowballed,” Duncan said. “We put ourselves in the hole. We actually played somewhat solid for the second half but it was too little, too late.”

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Spurs Tied After Durant Thunder

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Kevin Durant matched his career playoff high with 41 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 111-97 on Sunday night to tie the Western Conference semi-final series 2-2.

Durant scored 29 points on 10-for-13 shooting in the second half.

Russell Westbrook finished with 14 points and 15 assists, Dion Waiters added 17 points, and Steven Adams had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Oklahoma City. The Thunder shot 50.6% overall and 57% in the second half to avoid going back to San Antonio down 3-1 for Game 5 on Tuesday night.

Tony Parker led San Antonio with 22 points, Kawhi Leonard had 21, and LaMarcus Aldridge 20.

San Antonio led by 11 early in the second quarter, but the Thunder rallied and took a 45-44 lead on a three-pointer by Durant with 1:47 left in the first half. The Spurs closed the quarter on a 9-0 run, with all the points coming from Leonard and Aldridge, to take a 53-45 lead at the break. Durant and Westbrook were a combined six for 21 from the field in the first half.

Boris Diaw’s three-pointer from the corner in the closing seconds of the third quarter gave the Spurs an 81-77 lead heading into the fourth.

Durant took over early in the final quarter. His back-to-back threes gave the Thunder a 93-87 lead. Enes Kanter’s fast-break dunk pushed the lead to 100-93.

San Antonio hung tough, but a baseline floater, a layup and a corner three by Durant made it 108-97.

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MVP Curry Strikes Again with Thunder

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Stephen Curry’s 3-pointer from beyond 30 feet with 0.6 seconds left in overtime gave the Golden State Warriors a 121-118 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.

Curry finished with 46 points as his winning shot was his 12th 3-pointer, tying the NBA single-game record. He also broke his own NBA record for 3s in a season, leaving the new mark at 288.

Curry, the league’s scoring leader and reigning MVP, missed about six minutes of the third quarter with a left ankle injury. He drove to the basket and rolled the ankle before Thunder guard Russell Westbrook stepped on it.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 37 points, but he fouled out in the first minute of overtime.

The Warriors won the previous meeting with the Thunder 116-108 at home on 6 February. The teams play again Thursday at Golden State.

Oklahoma City led by 12 in the fourth quarter, but the Warriors rallied. Klay Thompson made a 3 from the left corner to cut Oklahoma City’s lead to 100-99. It was the first 3 of the game for any Warriors player other than Curry.

Durant responded with a 3-pointer with 14.5 seconds left to put the Thunder up 103-99.

Thompson quickly scored a layup, then the Thunder turned the ball over, and Andre Iguodala was fouled with 0.7 seconds left. Iguodala made both free throws to tie the score at 103 and force the extra period.

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Bryant Bids Farewell to All Star Game

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Kobe Bryant had his NBA All-Star game farewell and the next generation of the West’s best sent him off a winner, rolling to a record-setting 196-173 victory over the East on Sunday night.

The first All-Star Game outside the US was the highest-scoring ever, with both teams piling up more than any team had ever managed. Bryant didn’t provide much of the offense but many of the memories. He finished with just 10 points, so few that he lost his career lead in All-Star Game scoring to LeBron James, even though James also had a quiet night.

But Russell Westbrook scored 31 points in his second straight All-Star MVP performance, Stephen Curry added 26, Anthony Davis 24, and Kevin Durant 23. Paul George finished with 41 for the East, tying Westbrook’s total from last year in New York that was one off Wilt Chamberlain’s record. John Wall added 22 points.

James finished with 13 points, just enough to move ahead of Bryant for most ever in the All-Star Game. He has 291, while Bryant, who is retiring after this season, leaves with 290. He checked out with 1:06 left to cheers and hugs from his fellow All-Stars who now put up points in bunches the way Bryant did for so long.

Bryant had seven assists and six rebounds, but shot just 4 for 11 in a game where there isn’t really much defense and had never been less. The 369 combined points were 48 more than last year’s record, and both clubs blew away the previous individual team record of 163. But people just wanted to see Bryant play, not necessarily play well.

The pregame was a celebration first of Canada, then of Bryant. Player introductions came from two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash and Grammy winner Drake. Canadian Nelly Furtado sang her country’s national anthem.

Then it was time for two video tributes for Bryant, whose 18 All-Star selections are second only to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bryant thanked fans who have given him more than 30m votes in his career, and as he finished speaking all the All-Stars lined up in the background to salute him. He took the opening jump ball against James — neither team had a true centre voted to the starting lineup — and each East starter took a turn early covering Bryant.

Toronto hosted the very first NBA game in 1946. No one who saw that game would recognise the way it looked Sunday.

Curry and Durant launched shots from spots where only buzzer-beating heaves were once attempted, and Westbrook put together another combination of speed and force that turned it into a rare All-Star blowout in the second half. The West has won five of the last six even without longtime mainstay Bryant, who hadn’t played since 2013 because of injuries. But players like Westbrook, Durant and Curry are more than ready to shoulder the load.

At 37, Bryant has trouble keeping up with the youngsters — especially the really young ones. Chris Paul’s son stole the ball from him as Bryant warmed up for the second half. But he was the star without playing a starring a role. He had said he didn’t want players forcing him the ball in an effort to make him the MVP — he’s already got four of them in this game — but he was never far from the centre of attention.

James crouched in his defensive stance and pounded the floor when he found himself covering Bryant out on the wing in the second quarter. But come on, nobody is really here to play defence, at least that early. The West led 92-90 at the break, both teams surpassing the previous record of 89 points in a half.

The game goes back to the US next year, and for the first time since 1997 won’t have Bryant. 

He made his All-Star début in New York in 1998, a game also remembered for Michael Jordan’s last with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan, now chairman of the Hornets, was on hand Sunday for a ceremonial passing of the All-Star torch from Toronto to Charlotte, the 2017 host.

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David Mirra 1974 - 2016

Police in North Carolina say one of the most celebrated names in X Games, Dave Mirra, has died in North Carolina at the age of 41.

Greenville police confirmed on Thursday night that Mirra’s body had been found earlier in the day. Authorities responded to reports of an apparent suicide and discovered Mirra’s body in a truck.

“We mourn the loss today of a great friend and wonderful human being who touched the lives of so many around the world with his gift. He called Greenville, North Carolina home and was as humble a guy talking with kids on a street corner about bikes as he was in his element on the world stage. A young life with so much to offer was taken too soon,” said the Greenville mayor, Allen Thomas.

Mirra was a brilliant BMX rider and won 14 gold medals at X Games, despite the fact that his career was nearly ended in 1993 after he was hit by a drunk driver. But Mirra recovered and he won X Games honors at an astonishing rate between 1995 and 2008, his record of 24 medals over a career was only broken in 2013 by Bob Burnquist.

He was also a rally driver and competed in ironman and triathlons. “Ironman competitions are an entirely different ballgame. The level of competition is much higher, and there are way more athletes,” Mirra told Sports Illustrated. 

ESPN, the broadcaster of X Games, released a statement paying tribute to Mirra. “Dave Mirra, your courage, determination and natural skill in everything you pursued pushed the world of action sports to become a better place. From all of us at X Games and ESPN, we salute your contributions,” read the statement. “Our sincere condolences go out to Dave’s wife, Lauren, his daughters Mackenzie and Madison, the BMX community and friends of Dave Mirra.”

Mirra’s friend and fellow BMX rider TJ Lavin expressed his sorrow at the news. “I just wish he would have called me,” he told TMZ. “I would have jumped on a plane in a second. There’s always another way. If anyone needs help, just please get it. I feel sick about this.”

#RIP 

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