Thunder vs. Spurs: Most Important Factors to Oklahoma City Winning Series

As the Thunder went home down 2-0 to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, it seemed San Antonio's experience would trump Oklahoma City's young, flashy core.

Since then, Durant and crew have tied the series and made it a best-of-three.

Home court played a huge role in the Thunder's resurgence, but there were other on-court factors that helped them climb back into it.

Here's a look at what it will take from them to reach the NBA Finals.

Limit Westbrook's Shots

Westbrook played a huge role in winning their first two series, but his overall performance so far against San Antonio hasn't been the same.

His percentages are down in the series, shooting no more than 41 percent in any of the four games.

This could be attributed to a number of things. Tony Parker has had stretches where he has dominated Westbrook on the offensive end in pick-and-roll situations. This could wear him down and make him less effective with the ball.  

It's probably tough for Westbrook—as he is one of the three that can carry the team—but it may take deferring more to Durant in their own pick-and-roll and allowing Harden to get into his game for them to get the job done.

Defending the Pick-and-Roll

The Spurs shot exceptionally well in the first two games, mostly because of the effectiveness of their pick-and-roll.

In both of Oklahoma City's wins, the defense clamped down on the Spurs and did a lot of switching to take away certain shots.

Duncan said it best. According to Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press, Duncan said they need to take advantage of the matchups that are created by the defensive switches on pick-and-rolls.

It'll be up to the Thunder if they can maintain their defensive intensity the rest of the way.

Turnovers

In Game 3, the Spurs turned the ball over 21 times.

This eventually led to a Thunder blowout.

Throughout the playoffs, the Thunder have been picking up easy points when they get strips that lead to uncontested baskets on the fast break.

Though it'll be tough to get a disciplined team like the Spurs to turn the ball over that much again, Oklahoma City will need to keep the pressure on to get those easy baskets whenever they can. 

Point Total

Though it may not be immediately recognizable, most of Oklahoma City's playoff success has come from limiting their opponent to under 100 points. They've only given up over 100 points in two of their wins.

The Spurs have scored over 100 in three of the four games, and that will need to change. Oklahoma City got away with it in Game 4, when Durant went on a tear in the fourth quarter.

If the Thunder keep up their defensive intensity and stick with the matchups they had for Games 3 and 4, the rest could take care of itself.

Big Performances from Kevin Durant

Durant has had great games throughout the series so far. It's not surprising we're seeing that kind of effort from him, even in their losses.

Consider this.

With the exception of the Game 3 blowout, the Thunder have either lost or won by a small margin—all with herculean efforts from Durant. The Thunder can't afford a drop in production from him.

It'll come down to what Durant's teammates can do to help close out the Spurs, but none of that can happen without Durant continuing his consistent production.