It is the changing of the guard in the Western Conference.
Many thought this would have happened years ago. The Spurs are finally too old, too slow, and too weak to win. The Oklahoma City Thunder proved once again they are simply the better team as they defeated the Spurs 108-103 on Monday night.
The Thunder’s big three all came up big. Kevin Durant went for 27 points on 10-19 shooting, Russell Westbrook went for 23 points and 12 assists, and James Harden dropped in 20 points and the game clinching 3-pointer with under a minute to play. The Thunder scoring came with ease as they lead for double digits for most of the game.
If it wasn’t for the individual play of Manu Ginobili, OKC would have won this game by 20 points. Ginobili was amazing in the defeat. He had a game high 34 points on 11-21 shooting from the field and 5-10 shooting from downtown.
Tony Parker had a mediocre game at best. His effort was non-existent in the first half. When he finally decided to get into the game in the second half, he looked weak and got man-handled by Russell Westbrook and the rest of the Thunder.
Tim Duncan also had a miserable first half. He managed to come back to finish with 18 points and 12 rebounds, but he looked slow and weak compared to the tough and athletic bigs for Oklahoma.
The better team won this game. The team that played with more passion and desire. The Spurs didn’t entirely fold and made a legitimate run at OKC after trailing by eight points at half, and as much as 15 in the game.
Oklahoma City was simply able to bounce back after every San Antonio run.
In the 3rd quarter Ginobili went bonkers and it looked like the Spurs might just take over as they grabbed a six point lead, but San Antonio was incapable of stopping the Oklahoma City shooters. When the quarter was over OKC had actually increased their lead.
This series continues on Wednesday night in Oklahoma where all betting fans are expecting a Thunder victory and crowning of the Oklahoma City Thunder as the 2012 Western Conference Champs.
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Photo Credit: AP
