Thunder vs. Spurs: Game 2 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NBA Playoffs

The Oklahoma City Thunder made a habit of blowing fourth-quarter leads this season. They nearly did it again in unbelievable fashion Monday but hung on for a dramatic 98-97 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

The Thunder deserve credit for bouncing back from a 124-92 loss in Game 1 and tying their second-round playoff series at one contest apiece, but they held a four-point lead with less than 20 seconds remaining before almost handing the Spurs a second win.

Oklahoma City fouled LaMarcus Aldridge on a three-pointer, and he hit all three free throws with 13.5 seconds to play. The Thunder then turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds pass to give San Antonio one last gasp. But the Spurs' Patty Mills missed a three-pointer that could have won the game, and the clock expired as the teams battled for the ball:

Royce Young of ESPN.com described the sequence:

As if that wasn't crazy enough, a fan grabbed Steven Adams' arm after Mills missed the shot and the two teams were scrambling:

Considering that Oklahoma City blew 15 fourth-quarter leads this season, per Fran Blinebury of NBA.com, it will take the win. Russell Westbrook led the way with 29 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, while fellow superstar Kevin Durant added 28 points, seven boards and four helpers. Adams controlled the glass with 17 rebounds while also chipping in 12 points.

Aldridge was fantastic for San Antonio with 41 points on 15-of-21 shooting, eight boards and two blocks, but no other Spur scored 15.

After losing Game 1 by 32 points, the Thunder controlled the pace in the early going and built a 21-8 lead in the first quarter.

"This first quarter for San Antonio is the definition of regression to the mean," Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post observed.

The Spurs chipped away, though, and it was 29-21 by the end of the first. They wasted little time coming all the way back and tied the contest at 33 less than four minutes into the second quarter.

Michael Wilbon of ESPN noted San Antonio was doing it all without much of a contribution from future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan:

But Oklahoma City didn't let the Spurs' charge dictate the remainder of the second quarter. The Thunder took a 56-53 lead into the locker room thanks to 18 first-half points from Westbrook and 13 from Durant.

Oklahoma City, however, couldn't slow Aldridge. The big man scored 22 points in the first half while hitting shots that Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News called "unreal," such as this one, via NBA on TNT:

Young had a suggestion for the Thunder:

The Oklahoma City defense came through in the third quarter and held the Spurs to 13 points through the first eight minutes. The visitors took advantage during that stretch and extended their lead to 75-66.

Westbrook continued to trouble the San Antonio defense, connecting on two pull-up jumpers and converting on a three-point attempt. Paul Garcia of Project Spurs pointed out the problems Westbrook was causing for San Antonio:

But when Thunder head coach Billy Donovan tried to buy some rest for Westbrook near the end of the quarter and inserted rookie Cameron Payne, the Spurs came roaring back and were down just 77-76 heading into the fourth.

Bontemps recognized the issue for Oklahoma City:

Young wondered why there wasn't more consistency in the rotation: "All for Payne playing. Been calling for it. But here's what doesn't make sense: Donovan benched him for [Randy] Foye in the regular season. Why?"

Payne may have struggled in the third, but the Thunder restored their lead to 85-76 with an 8-0 run to start the fourth. Westbrook was still on the bench during the spurt, but Durant scored six points as Oklahoma City's go-to guy.

San Antonio came back with two threes from Danny Green and a bucket by Leonard, and it trailed 91-89 with less than three minutes remaining after Aldridge converted a three-point play. NBA writer Josh Eberley commented on the forward's dominance:

If Aldridge was an unexpected hero, few likely saw Dion Waiters hitting one of the biggest shots of the game. He connected over Tony Parker's outstretched hand from the corner to put his team up 94-89, via the Thunder:

After Aldridge made a jumper, Durant hit a runner in the lane, and then Aldridge drained a three before Westbrook connected twice from the free-throw line. It appeared to be over at 98-94 with 18.3 seconds left, but the Thunder nearly let the game slip away.

What's Next?

Game 3 will take place Friday in Oklahoma City.

The Thunder stole home-court advantage from the Spurs, and they would win the series if they take care of business three times in Oklahoma City.

But all is not lost for San Antonio, which was a formidable 27-14 on the road this season. Only the record-setting Golden State Warriors had more victories (34) away from home, and all the Spurs have to do to reclaim home-court advantage is win one of the next two.

If Monday's finish was any indication, this second-round clash could be one of the most exciting series of the playoffs.

Postgame Reaction

While the Spurs got the ball on the last play because they stole the inbounds pass, they should have been awarded their own inbounds when Waiters made contact with Manu Ginobili. At least that is what lead official Ken Mauer said after the game, via McDonald:

Ginobili recognized that San Antonio had an opportunity to win during that sequence even after it didn't get the foul call, per Rachel Nichols of ESPN: "I don't know what type of violation it is—gotta be something. But it's not the play that decided anything because we got the steal, we got the shot. And it doesn't matter; it's over. I'm not going to be able to change it. It's 1-1."

Said Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, per Young: "Something certainly happened on the sideline, I thought."

It did, but Mills could have won the game by making his three-pointer. He talked about the shot, via Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News:

Durant discussed the last portion of the game, via NBA TV:

To hear Adams tell it, the Thunder put forth a different level of effort in Game 2 than they did Game 1, per Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman: "We came out and actually tried. That's pretty much it. We actually tried this time."

If Oklahoma City tries again in Games 3 and 4 on its home floor, it could be in control of the series.