Oklahoma City Thunder Progress To The Western Conference Finals

It’s deja vu for the OKC as they head to the Western Conference finals for the second season in succession and it’s promises to be a monster contest too, as Tim Duncan’s San Antonio Spurs await them.

OKC’s “Big 3” Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and James Harden led the Thunder on offence with 28, 25 and 17 points respectively to counter a tremendous 42-point performance from the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant.

The Thunder dominated the glass on both ends of the floor. In addition to Bryant’s 42 points, three other Lakers were in double figures. Pau Gasol had 14 points and 16 rebounds, but only two of those were on the offensive end, Metta World Peace added 11 points and Andrew Bynum had 10.

The Lakers made it interesting for a while, but couldn’t keep up with the faster and younger and more athletic Oklahoma City Thunder.

In the end, the Lakers fell with a thud in a 106-90 defeat in the decisive Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal series against the Thunder.

 

San Antonio Spurs Sweep LA Clippers 4-0 To Advance To Western Conference Finals

Beware the rest. The San Antonio Spurs are red-hot at the moment after clinching a series whitewash against the LA Clippers for a 4-0 sweep, They have won 18 consecutive games and eight straight in the play-offs.

On Sunday night in Game 4 at Staples Center, they prevailed with Duncan scoring 21 points for the Spurs and nine rebounds, while Green finished with 14 points, shooting 3-for-5 from 3-point range.,  to finish the sweep with a 102-99 victory.

“I know how good this team was last year, and we’re healthier and deeper,” said guard Danny Green, who finished with 14 points. “I know what we’re capable of.”

San Antonio will play either Oklahoma City or the Los Angeles Lakers for the Western Conference title.

Tim Duncan Guides The San Antonio Spurs To A One Game Play-Off Lead Over The LA Clippers

A vintage Tim Duncan performance for the San Antonio Spurs see’s them take a one game lead over the Clippers after a dominant 108-92 victory.

Tim Duncan scored 26 points and had 10 rebounds to lead the Spurs to victory over the Clippers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday at AT&T Center.

Manu Ginobili came off the bench for his best game of the playoffs, scoring 22 points in almost 27 minutes.

The Spurs noticeably hit 4-of-8 shots from the 3-point line in the decisive third quarter, but they only outscored L.A. 12-9 from long distance. The thing that really killed the Clippers in the third was the lack of support for Caron Butler, who was 5-for-7 in the quarter. The rest of the team, however was 3-for-9, and Paul and Griffin combined to go 1-for-7.

The Spurs have not lost in 34 days, an April 11 home loss to the LA Lakers. The eight-day layoff the Spurs had after sweeping Utah out of the first round matched the second-longest the Spurs have had in the playoffs since Popovich became the coach in 1998.