Spurs silence Thunder for 9th straight victory, 115-86.
The poisonous turnover struggle for OKC was the Thunder's downfall; that, and horrid shooting in a very physical bout. One turnover was intercepted as if in an NFL game by Kawhi's claw-like hands, claiming the ball mid-air and going the other way. Avery Bradley took his licks from Westbrook, blocking and stealing the ball on separate occasions.
Kawhi Leonard was masterful in this blowout, sensing the incoming double team, passing out, racing to the wing, and firing from deep to give the Spurs a 55-42 advantage after his team had carved out a ten-point lead which featured Iman Shumpert splashing his own three-pointer. Leonard would block Paul George, then make another three and see Westbrook get stuffed at the rim. The result? A Patty Mills 3PTer to cap off another 9-0 run, as the Spurs went up 73-47 to open the second half.
The crowd fell silent by that point, numbed by its team deficient display on the court. The Spurs stayed up 25 points heading into the fourth quarter, a throwaway period. Joakim Noah had 14 points and 13 rebounds; Kyle O'Quinn had 16 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks; Avery Bradley had 14 points with 8 assists, 1 block and 1 steal; Kawhi Leonard had 14 points with 2 blocks and steals. Filling out the rest, Pau Gasol had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks; Dejounte Murray with 10 points, Tony Parker with nine, Patty Mills with eight.
San Antonio crushed OKC in the paint 50-32, its bench 63-43, with OKC stopping at 15 turnovers. For the Thunder, Jerami Grant had 19 points with Westbrook and George only combining for 25 points, with Russ sporting five turnovers (1/3 of his team's total).