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 If Game 1 were any indication, the answer is: not very well. With
the league's No. 2-ranked shot-blocker missing because of a strained
left calf, the San Antonio Spurs had relatively unimpeded passage to
the basket and defeated the Thunder 122-105.
The series will resume in San Antonio on Wednesday -- without Ibaka,
who probably is gone for the remainder of the playoffs.
"I thought they were able to get anything they wanted," Thunder
coach Scott Brooks said. "We have to do a much better job
defensively."
San Antonio outscored the Thunder 66-32 in the paint. Spurs forward
Boris Diaw said scoring inside was emphasized by his team with Ibaka
not around. Spurs guard Tony Parker added, "Obviously, it makes a
huge difference with Ibaka not there."
Forward Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 27 points. Reserve guard Manu
Ginobili scored all 18 of his points in the second half. Forward
Kawhi Leonard and guard Danny Green scored 16 apiece, with Green
converting four of five 3-point shots.
Parker, playing on a tender left hamstring, was more of a
facilitator than scorer, producing 14 points and 12 assists. Parker
said distributing instead of trying to score was not an effort to
compensate for the injury.
"That's what they were giving us," Parker said. "They double-teamed
me, came hard on the pick-and-rolls, and Timmy was open."
Forward Kevin Durant scored a game-high 28 points for Oklahoma City,
and guard Russell Westbrook added 25 points.
The Spurs shot 57.5 percent from the floor for the game, far better
than the Thunder's 46.3 percent success rate.
Oklahoma City erased an eight-point halftime deficit and led by one
twice during the third quarter. Westbrook was most responsible for
the comeback, shifting into an attacking gear to score 12 points in
the period.
The Spurs, meanwhile, threw up some clumsy shots, but they regrouped
with a 10-0 push and finished the quarter ahead by seven.
Brooks attributed the brief recovery to a defense that was
temporarily diligent.
"They got two easy looks off of mistakes, but other than that, I
didn't think they got anything easy in that third quarter," Brooks
said.
San Antonio dominated much of the first half but came away with just
a 67-59 lead. The Spurs once led 63-48.
Duncan scored 21 first-half points, hitting nine of 12 shots. Parker
added 12 points and six assists before the break, and Leonard scored
11. Green gave San Antonio a quick boost with eight points in a span
of 1:13 of the second quarter. He made a pair of 3-pointers.
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San Antonio shot 62 percent in the half and outscored Oklahoma City
40-18 in the paint, where the Thunder missed Ibaka as a deterrent at
the rim.
Durant scored an efficient 16 in the half, converting five of seven
shots, including both of his 3-point attempts. Durant received some
much-needed supplemental help from reserve guards Derek Fisher and
Reggie Jackson, who scored 11 and nine points, respectively. Fisher,
the long-time Spurs nemesis, hit three of four 3-pointers in the
half.
Fisher wound up with 16 points, and Jackson scored 13.
Westbrook took over for a chunk of a third quarter, but Oklahoma
City could not maintain the effort. In the end, the Thunder did not
summon nearly enough defense to challenge the Spurs for 48 minutes,
a deficiency they will have to overcome without Ibaka.
"We play team defense," Durant said. "We don't just rely on Serge.
He's a big part of what we do. He's injured for the rest of the
postseason, so we've got to move past that and keep playing as a
team."
NOTES: Spurs F Boris Diaw was poked in the lower right eyelid late
in the first quarter by Oklahoma City C Steven Adams. Diaw left the
game and returned later in the second quarter with a swollen eye but
no structural damage. ... F/C Nick Collison, who replaced injured
F/C Serge Ibaka (calf) in Oklahoma City's starting lineup, had not
started a game all season before Monday. He finished with no points
and three rebounds in 16 minutes. ... Oklahoma City, 4-0 against San
Antonio during the regular season, won one game without G Russell
Westbrook, one that Spurs F Kawhi Leonard missed, and a third when
Spurs G Manu Ginobili didn't play. Leonard also missed the second
half of the game in which Westbrook didn't play. ...The Spurs are in
their ninth conference finals since F/C Tim Duncan joined the team
in 1997-98, more than any other NBA team during that span.
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