Yes
HELL YES
I thought I saw Aldridge mostly scoring when Serge was switched away from him. I'll keep an eye out game 3. LIke Dan said, he's not going to be hot forever. Granted he was in POR til SA shut him down. SA got plenty of open shots, they didn't go in where they did game 1.
Thunder have got to continue to play an aggressive style of basketball.
The Spurs are known for being a well-disciplined & well coached group; that doesn't mean they can't be taken down. All the talk about home-court advantage since the Spurs went 41-1 at home doesn't guarantee an automatic home win in the playoffs.
The Memphis series didn't challenge the Spurs like the Thunder did in game 2. Notice how Popovich handled the Thunder beat-down in game one; he doesn't want his team to get a false sense of security or become to complacent.
Thunder needs to take care of the home court advantage they now possess. Win the next two home games and you have the Spurs down 3-1. It's important to win the next two because it means that the Spurs won't get that badly needed rest. It becomes mental; especially against a team that relies on physical rest as a part of their game plan.
Other than the Cavs, I think the other team that coins the mantra "Home court advantage isn't real" would be the spurs.
The Warriors, Spurs each lost one home game this season. Cavs were 33-8 at home & 24-17 on the road. Thunder were 32-9 at home & 23-18 on the road.
If we make the NBA finals; Cleveland would be a tough match up. They have a better overall record; plus in head-to-head confrontation this season they beat OKC in Cleveland 104-100 & 115-92 in OKC.
Interesting take on the Thunder's six game take down of the Spurs:
OKC - GSW
All CDT:
Game 1: Away Monday, May 16, 8 p.m. TNT
Game 2: Away Wednesday, May 18, 8 p.m. TNT
Game 3: Home Sunday, May 22, 7 p.m. TNT
Game 4: Home Tuesday, May 24, 8 p.m. TNT
Game 5: Away (if necessary) Thursday, May 26, 8 p.m. TNT
Game 6: Home (if necessary) Saturday, May 28, 8 p.m. TNT
Game 7: Away (if necessary) Monday, May 30, 8 p.m. TNT
These games are too late for my blood. Just gonna have to do what I did for the SAS games. Wake up around 11:30pm and check the scores :-(
With these two teams being the #1 and #2 highest scoring teams, I'm hoping this is a better version of the all star game.
.
Oklahoma City Thunder 108 - Golden State Warriors 102
Box Score: http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400876750
Boom!
Looks like Donovan has this team peaking at exactly the right time.
We didn't even play particularly well last night and still beat the best team in the history of the NBA on their home floor.
This whole series will be an absolutely battle but you've got to think the Thunder are starting to believe and the Warriors are worried. Lots of pressure on them as their historic season will mean little if they don't even make the finals.
What a game. That was pure maturity in that second half. We could have easily came out and rolled over and let Steph and Klay hit a bunch of ridiculous shots and that's all anyone would be talking about.
Instead OKC is wrecking the media's season long story they have been touting about Golden State and San Antonio. Looks like everyone slept on the Thunder. Still 3 more wins to go, game tomorrow will be another grinder I'm sure.
That's the biggest unstated advantage OKC has going for it right now, and I'm amazed no one is talking about it more. GSW has immense pressure on it to push this through and validate its 73-9 regular season. The Thunder are playing with house money, as they say. Last night was amazing.
Good analogy Sooner Dave, the Thunder are playing with house money.
It boils down to this; who has more at stake if they lose this series. Thunder have taken down the Spurs; along with their jedi grand master, Popovich.
There is blood in the Bay area waters, the Thunder smell blood; this just may be the confidence they need to gather that second wind.
The house money Sooner Dave referenced may have sealed Durant faith in the Oklahoma City Thunder--Durant & Westbrook can co-exist.
The entire narrative about KD's last season in OKC has been obliterated by this run. ESPN is trying to make it about how OKC is lucking into road wins with late-game blown referee calls. It is truly hilarious how this team and coach are still barely getting any credit when they are beating their two golden-boy teams.
Yep.... I find it amusing that the Waiters elbow to Ginobli is mentioned time and time again but no one bothers to mention that if the referees call the technical on Ginobli for stepping over the line. The Waiters elbow probably never happens because the Thunder would have been shooting a free throw instead of in-bounding the ball.
Donovan has many former college players in the NBA; don't know how many will be free agents. A template for things to come.
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