Thunder vs. Spurs: Game 1 TV Schedule, Live Stream, Spread Info and More
The Oklahoma City Thunder finished off the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night with a 16-point clobbering that didn't leave any doubts about who deserved to win what was ultimately only a five-game series.
The celebration won't last long, however.
The Thunder will head to San Antonio to face the a nearly flawless Spurs team on Sunday, hoping to end an 18-game winning streak that dates back to the regular season. It took the Thunder just nine postseason games to reach the Conference Finals, but it took the Spurs one game fewer after head coach Gregg Popovich's club decisively swept both the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers.
Depending on what happens in the Eastern Conference, there's a good case to be made that this series will be the real NBA Finals. The Spurs and Thunder played dominant basketball all season long, and they've remained healthy and determined throughout the playoffs.
The Spurs will own home-court advantage for the remainder of their postseason, but Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden have proven capable of winning anywhere. They'll certainly be put to the test against Tim Duncan's new-look (and highly-effective) supporting cast.
Where: AT&T Center; San Antonio
When: Sunday, May 27 at 8:30 p.m. ET
Watch: TNT
Live Stream: None
Listen: WOAI 1200 AM (San Antonio) and WWLS 98.1 FM (Oklahoma City)
Betting Line: San Antonio Spurs (-5), according to Top Bet
Spurs' Key Injuries (according to Yahoo! Sports):
None reported.
Thunder's Key Injuries (according to Yahoo! Sports):
Out: Eric Maynor (torn ACL)
Will play: Nick Collison (got stitches on head for cut sustained in Game 4 against the Lakers)
What They're Saying
While the San Antonio Spurs are trying not to say too much, there's definitely a sense this teams ranks among the very best Gregg Popovich has ever had to work with.
Even Tim Duncan conceded there was something familiar in the air (via the Chicago Sun-Times' Paul J. Weber): “It feels a lot like some of the other championship teams. In saying that, we haven’t done anything yet,” Duncan said. “We’ve won two rounds. We haven’t done anything so you can’t qualify, or classify our team as anything other than that we’ve gotten this far.”
While it didn't take Duncan long to return his focus to the series ahead, he alluded to something we've all been thinking: The Spurs have been here before—healthy, driven and playing fundamentally sound team basketball.
When asked about the Spurs' ongoing winning streak, Gregg Popovich put the subject to rest as he so often does (according to the AP's Beth Harris): "It doesn't exist for us,'' Popovich said. ''We don't talk about it. It is not even a thought in our minds."
And of course, that's why San Antonio's winning streak just might continue, even against the high-octane Thunder. This team is focused on one thing at a time, and Oklahoma City is next.
Most Important Player to Watch: Kevin Durant
Like other great scorers, it's unlikely that any team can actually stop Kevin Durant. But, the Spurs are in a much better position to bother him this year than they might have been in the past. Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Stephen Jackson give Gregg Popovich a longer, more athletic defensive platoon to harass the Thunder's superstar.
Durant played incredibly well in OKC's first game against San Antonio this season, tallying 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in just 29 minutes. The Thunder won that game by 12.
He produced in Oklahoma City's two losses to the Spurs as well, but far less efficiently at times, including an uninspired 8-for-19 performance in the Thunder's nine-point loss in March.
The three-time scoring champ will need to be at his best against the Spurs on both ends of the floor. His most significant contribution may wind up being a defensive one—the Thunder could be in trouble if they don't stop San Antonio's prolific perimeter shooters.
Key Matchup: Russell Westbrook vs. Tony Parker
Tony Parker had one of his worst games of the season when the Spurs first played the Thunder. He scored just four points on 1-of-8 shooting, and his team followed suit.
His next game against OKC was a different story—he put up 42 points and nine assists, making 16 out of 29 shots in the process. In the team's final meeting, he followed up with 25 points and seven assists. When Parker was on top of his game—as he's been throughout most of the postseason so far—the Thunder struggled to keep up.
The same can't be said for Westbrook.
When the Thunder's All-Star point guard racked up 36 points against San Antonio (putting up 29 shots in the process), his team lost. In OKC's lone victory against the Spurs, Westbrook instead scored just 13 points on a more modest 13 field-goal attempts. Granted, it was a blowout, but Westbrook was comparatively less involved in that blowout than Durant.
Westbrook has always been more of a scorer than a distributor, especially this year, but he may need to get his teammates involved for the Thunder to prevail.
Game 1 prediction: San Antonio 104, Oklahoma City 97
