Spurs vs. Thunder: Game 4 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NBA Playoffs

Kevin Durant wasn't about to let the Oklahoma City Thunder lose. Not on Mother's Day with his own mom sitting courtside.   

The superstar took over Sunday's Game 4 and outscored the entire San Antonio Spurs team in the fourth quarter on the way to a 111-97 victory at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The second-round series is now tied at two games apiece.

Durant finished with 41 points, which tied his postseason career high, per ESPN Stats & Info. He was better than the opposing team's whole offense down the stretch, via ESPN:

Sports Illustrated implied we were not worthy of his greatness:

Durant received some assistance in the form of Russell Westbrook's double-double (14 points and 15 assists), which helped counterbalance the fact the point guard shot 5-of-18 from the field. Dion Waiters also added 17 important points off the bench behind 7-of-11 shooting. 

Tony Parker (22 points), Kawhi Leonard (21 points) and LaMarcus Aldridge (20 points) carried the offensive load for the Spurs, but two of their starters (Danny Green and Tim Duncan) went scoreless. In fact, it was the first time in Duncan's nearly two-decade career he didn't attempt a single shot, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Even with Parker, Leonard and Aldridge each turning in 20-point efforts, the Spurs offense couldn't match Durant in the contest's biggest moments.

San Antonio did jump out to a 12-9 lead behind strong perimeter defense. Paul Garcia of Project Spurs noted San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich made an "early adjustment" with Green guarding Westbrook and Leonard on Durant, and the two stars started a combined 1-of-6 from the field.

Matt Moore of CBS Sports commented on the defense:

San Antonio rode that stifling play to a 27-17 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Thunder missed all five of their three-point attempts in the opening 12 minutes, and Westbrook was 1-of-5 from the field with two turnovers. The point guard was clearly frustrated with his poor play and picked up a technical foul, although Sam Amick of USA Today said he was lucky to avoid an ejection:

Something went wrong in the first half for the Spurs when Duncan picked up his fourth foul less than four minutes into the second quarter, but as Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report pointed out, "Four fouls on Duncan doesn't feel like a bad thing in this series. [David] West and [Boris] Diaw can keep up with OKC a bit better."

That may be the case, but the Thunder went on a run of their own to tie the game at 42 in the second quarter. Just when it looked like they were going to rally to a series-tying victory behind the home fans, San Antonio answered with an 11-3 run to take a 53-45 lead into the halftime locker rooms. 

The theme of the Thunder making a charge and coming just short of the lead continued in the early portion of the third quarter, as they cut the deficit to three multiple times but couldn't quite get over the hump. Bill Simmons of The Ringer believed defense was the main problem for the home team:

However, Oklahoma City finally tied the game with less than four minutes remaining in the third behind Westbrook's vintage burst of athleticism:

The Spurs once again responded and took an 81-77 lead into the final quarter, leading Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News to summarize the back-and-forth as such: "Thunder has to fight, scratch, claw to gain tie. Then, try as they might, they just can't get any separation. Got to be a bit demoralizing."

Oklahoma City didn't look demoralized when it seized a 93-87 advantage within the first four minutes of the fourth after Durant connected on two consecutive jumpers. Leonard was all over him on the second one, but it was the type of shot only a few players in the league can hit, via the Thunder:

From there, the Thunder sped up the pace and took advantage in transition to build a 100-93 lead with just more than four minutes remaining. It marked the first time all series Oklahoma City reached the century mark, and it came in what was essentially a must-win game.

The Spurs hung around, but the red-hot Durant connected on a teardrop floater on the baseline and a layup in transition to push the lead to 105-97 right before the two-minute mark. Royce Young of ESPN.com remarked on the forward's overall domination:

As if that wasn't enough, Durant drilled a contested three-pointer over Leonard to make it 108-97 and essentially end the contest. The Spurs never threatened after Durant's spurt, and the series will now shift to San Antonio for Game 5. 

What's Next?

Game 5 of this semifinals series is Tuesday in San Antonio.

Even though the Thunder won in dramatic fashion Sunday, the Spurs are still in a favorable position with two of the remaining three games at home. As long as San Antonio takes care of business in the AT&T Center—where it was 40-1 during the regular season—it will win the series. 

Still, the Thunder have some momentum after Sunday's win and have two superstars in Westbrook and Durant who are capable of taking over a game and swinging a series at a moment's notice. Durant proved that Sunday with a dominant fourth quarter.

He will have to do it on the road at least once for Oklahoma City to reach the Western Conference Finals.

Postgame Reaction

Despite his incredible performance, Durant was quick to point to his teammates after the win, per ESPN.com: "My teammates did a great job of sticking with me and finding me and getting me easy baskets and screening for me and sacrificing their bodies, and I'm definitely grateful for it. After they do all that, it's on me to finish the shot and just stick to the fundamentals I've been practicing since I was a kid."

He specifically highlighted Westbrook’s play, per Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman: “[Westbrook] was phenomenal tonight controlling the game and getting us in our sets.”

Durant may have been humble, but Popovich praised his game from the other side, per Fred Katz of the Norman Transcript: “You've got to give him credit. He was great. He was great. I don't know what else to say. He was fantastic.”

Aldridge summarized the outing for the Spurs, per ESPN.com: “They just outplayed us. They made more plays than us. They got to the ball faster. They crashed the boards harder. We took tough shots. We had open shots too. We didn't make shots. They played better than we did down the stretch.”

As long as the Spurs make sure that doesn’t happen in San Antonio, they are still in the driver’s seat. Their margin for error is just smaller now.