Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs: Breaking Down the Game

This game felt exactly like a playoff contest between two elite teams. Both the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder held double-digit leads at some point, but they were both also able to claw their way back in with great defense and hustle.

The hard fouls were flying, especially in the first half when Kevin Durant and Tim Duncan got hit with technicals following a Serge Ibaka flagrant foul. Simply put, if you enjoy playoff style basketball, this was the game for you.

For the past few weeks, I have been praising the Thunder's bench, but it was the Spurs' bench that impressed me today. Matt Bonner and George Hill gave the Spurs solid production off the bench, but the real star was Gary Neal.

I had barely heard of Neal before this game began, but he jumped onto my radar with 19 points off the bench. He was on fire throughout the game and hit four of five 3-point attempts. I would be remiss in not mentioning Antonio McDyess, because his tough defense on Jeff Green greatly helped the Spurs pull out a win.

The Thunder's bench didn't play terribly, though. James Harden and his 10 straight fourth quarter points single-handedly brought the Thunder back into the game. Serge Ibaka was a monster on the glass, pulling down 15 boards along with 10 points. If Daequan Cook can continue to hit 3-pointers at a high clip off the bench, it could shore up the Thunder's weakest area on offense, outside shooting.

Kevin Durant had another huge game with 30 points and nine rebounds. His new found ability to rebound gives me hope for the Thunder's playoff chances. If he keeps getting close to 10 boards a game, it will greatly help out the Thunder's small frontcourt. 

Speaking of the frontcourt, Jeff Green played pretty terribly tonight. His air ball at the end of the game is what most people will remember from this one and that was a terrible play, but he had a bad shooting night all-around.

He's a decent 3-point shooter, but in no universe should Jeff Green take seven shots from behind the arc. You have to give him a little bit of lee-way since he had to help Ibaka guard the best power forward in the game, Tim Duncan, but a team's second option needs to do better.

With Tim Duncan on the brain, let's talk about the Spurs' starting line-up. Out of the big three, only Manu Ginobili had a bad shooting night, but he was able to make up for it with nine assists. Tony Parker, on the other hand, did an excellent job against Russell Westbrook.

Many times Westbrook is able to terrorize older point guards, but, even at 28, Parker still has the speed to keep up with Westbrook. Plus, he is one of the more skilled guards coming off a pick and roll, and he used those skills to get 20 points.

I was also impressed with how well he was able to stay with Durant at the end of the game. I was sure that was going to be a huge mismatch that would lead the Thunder to victory, but Parker proved me wrong with excellent defensive play.

As I said before, this was great playoff-like basketball, with both teams playing excellent defense down the stretch and dishing out the hard fouls early to set the tone. If there was ever a time for moral victory this was it, because the Thunder was able to prove that it can claw its way back against the best teams in the League. Next time, Jeff Green just needs to make a better decision at the end of the ball game.