San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: Postgame Grades and Analysis
Fighting for their playoff lives, it looked like the Oklahoma City Thunder never left the locker room on Tuesday, and the San Antonio Spurs cruised to a wire-to-wire 113-88 victory, their eighth straight win. Kawhi Leonard tied his career high with 26 points before most in attendance had returned from getting halftime concessions.
The Thunder started off with 4-of-21 shooting in the first quarter and trailed 29-10. Despite a 31-point second quarter, the Thunder never mounted any real threat, and the second half was a mere formality as the deficit hovered near 30 points and the Thunder dropped their third straight. They came into Tuesday averaging 103.6 points per game, but they scored only 57 points through three quarters.
And it got even worse for them during the fourth quarter when, 700 miles away, the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Golden State Warriors 103-100, thereby leaping over the Thunder into eight place in the Western Conference.
| Kawhi Leonard | A |
| Tim Duncan | B+ |
| Aron Baynes | B+ |
| Danny Green | B- |
| Tony Parker | Incomplete |
| Rest of Team | B+ |
| Russell Westbrook | B |
| Enes Kanter | C+ |
| Dion Waiters | C+ |
| Steven Adams | C- |
| Kyle Singler | D |
| Rest of Team | C |
San Antonio Spurs
Kawhi Leonard, Small Forward
Leonard put in his work early with a dozen first-quarter points. He helped the Spurs construct an insurmountable lead and equaled his career high in the process. And he barely played any minutes! (He would have deserved an A+ if more than half-a-game's effort was required.)
Fresh off tying his career high with 26 points in Sunday's win over the Warriors, Leonard once again equaled his career high in just 24 minutes of work. He got there on 10-of-15 shooting and canned all four of his three-point attempts. He also added three steals and a block, seemingly without getting out of second gear.
There was little that Thunder fans (and bloggers) could do but throw up their hands in exasperation.
Leonard began the year dealing with an eye injury, and it hampered his game like a mischievous imp. His stats bottomed out in February when he averaged 13.5 points per game on 41.8 percent shooting. Then March rolled around, and he rolled to his best month of the season with 19.3 points per game on 53.1 percent shooting.
Leonard is hitting his stride at the right time, just like his team as a whole, and he's still the reigning NBA Finals MVP.
Grade: A
Tim Duncan, Power Forward
Tim Duncan swatted three shots just in the first quarter. It was that kind of night in OKC. Duncan notched 12 points and nine boards, chipping in three assists to lead all starters. His four blocks and a steal came in just 23 minutes and change, and the Spurs starters will be reasonably fresh as they finish off the back-to-back with the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
The question is: Will head coach Gregg Popovich bother raising the issue of Duncan's four turnovers? Almost certainly.
Grade: B+
Tony Parker, Point Guard
TNT announced during the third quarter of the telecast that Tony Parker would not return after experiencing "tightness in his right Achilles," cleaving the French viewership down to just the Boris Diaw fans.
It's unclear when Parker began feeling the Achilles tightness, but he logged 16 forgettable minutes and missed four of his five shots to finish with two points, two assists and one turnover.
Grade: Incomplete
Danny Green, Shooting Guard
Danny Green picked up his fourth foul with a little over nine minutes remaining in the third quarter, thereby limiting his playing time in the blowout.
He did score an efficient eight points and made three of his four shots, including a pair of treys. While his foul trouble mattered little within the game, it shifted more responsibility to the bench unit and left his coach with fewer options.
Grade: B-
Aron Baynes, Center
Aron Baynes started in place of Tiago Splitter (calf)—who is out until "at least April 10," via CBS Sports—and turned in a very useful 22 minutes.
Baynes scored 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting and recorded six rebounds in addition to tying the team high with three offensive boards. The Kiwi also snagged a steal for good measure. The Spurs' contingent of international big men showed their depth in the dominating win.
Grade: B+
Rest of Team
Diaw played 26 minutes, so his six points and four boards seem pedestrian. But he also tied for the team high by handing out six of the Spurs' 27 assists. Essentially, it was his interpretation of Parker's point-guard stylings.
Manu Ginobili notched 10 points off the bench, and one nifty driving reverse layup in the third quarter prompted TNT's Chris Webber to exclaim the war cry: "Ginobiliiiii!"
Cory Joseph recorded half a triple-double in 15 minutes with six points, six dimes and five rebounds. Marco Belinelli scored half of his dozen points during the completely meaningless fourth quarter, but they still count on the stat sheet. Patty Mills joined the bench mob with 10 points.
Grade: B+
Oklahoma City Thunder
Russell Westbrook, Point Guard
With Serge Ibaka and Kevin Durant sidelined, Russell Westbrook seemed like a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders while playing alongside a motley crew of starters.
Pressing incessantly and exuding extreme effort, Westbrook spasmed his way to 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting. The point guard recorded only two assists to four turnovers, but he also recorded six of the team's 13 steals.
The Spurs took every opportunity to touch Westbrook up on his heedless drives into the paint. In the course of knifing to the cup, racing past screens and diving for loose balls, Westbrook ended up in a heap on several occasions, covering his face with his hands more than once.
The frustration bubbled up like an egg cream, but he maintained his demeanor. Fortunately for him, he only had to play for 26 minutes before a comeback was all but mathematically impossible.
Grade: B
Enes Kanter, Power Forward
Enes Kanter came in on a monster streak with at least 21 points and 16 rebounds in three consecutive games. That streak ended against Duncan and the Spurs.
Kanter scored nine points on nine shots and added five rebounds. There's nothing like starting opposite the greatest power forward in NBA history to throw cold water on a hot streak.
Grade: C+
Dion Waiters, Shooting Guard
Dion Waiters is a shooting guard by trade, but he came up with team-worst numbers thanks to four turnovers and 1-of-4 shooting at the foul line.
He did manage 10 points but needed 11 shots, and he never stepped into the role of supplementary scorer with Westbrook doing a one-man-band routine. Waiters chipped in three assists and two steals to the futile cause.
Grade: C+
Steven Adams, Center
New Zealand-born center Steven Adams faced the most rare of NBA animals: another New Zealand-born center, with Baynes in for Splitter.
In short, Baynes won. Adams notched five points, four boards and two blocks, but he was also present on the floor for most of the carnage. Adams posted a minus-36 floor rating in 26 minutes; the next lowest mark on the team was Anthony Morrow's minus-21.
Grade: C-
Kyle Singler, Small Forward
Kyle Singler also chipped in on OKC's poor foul shooting, missing three of his four attempts from the charity stripe and ending with one measly point.
The Thunder ended just 15-of-28 shooting at the line—a miserable 53.6 percent effort.
Grade: D
Rest of Team
Morrow only made two shots on eight attempts for his seven points. Andre Roberson grabbed seven boards and two steals to go with five points.
Head coach Scott Brooks emptied the bench later in the game, and even Steve Novak recorded a field goal. Jeremy Lamb ended up with 11 points, and Perry Jones had 10.
Grade: C
Coming Up Next
With four games remaining, the Spurs host the Rockets on Wednesday and then visit them at the Toyota Center on Friday. The Spurs finish by hosting the Phoenix Suns and traveling to see the New Orleans Pelicans.
In a dogfight for playoff seeding, the Thunder host the Sacramento Kings on Friday before visiting the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. The final two contests come against the Portland Trail Blazers and at the Minnesota Timberwolves.
