SAN ANTONIO – Entering the Western Conference Finals, the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder shared one definitive characteristic—they were playing like offensive juggernauts throughout the season and beyond. The Spurs were the second-ranked offense in the NBA this year, and came into this series on an 18-game winning streak during which they averaged 109.3 points per game. Oklahoma City had the third-ranked offense and was averaging 100.0 points per game in the playoffs.
But if you were looking for an offensive explosion here in Game 1, you were disappointed. It was defense that ruled the day, for the first 36 minutes, at least—the two teams shot 40.3 percent combined through three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, though, San Antonio’s offense was able to pull away from the Thunder, paving the way to a 101-98 win here at the AT&T Center.
For the Spurs, Manu Ginobili led the way with 26 points (11 in fourth quarter) on 9-for-14 shooting. Tim Duncan had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Tony Parker scored 18. The Spurs yielded 27 points to Kevin Durant, but forced Oklahoma City’s other two top scorers, Russell Westbrook (17 points, 7-for-21 shooting) and James Harden (19, 7-for-17), into inefficient games. Each had four turnovers, too,
In the first half, the two teams were clearly feeling each other out, each going on mini-spurts but failing to establish any significant advantage—there were six lead changes, three ties and neither team led by more than six. The most notable feature of the first 24 minutes was the play of the oldest guys on the floor.
For the Thunder, 37-year-old Derek Fisher started 4-for-4 and had nine first-half points (he would finish with 13 on 6-for-8 shooting). For the Spurs, Duncan, 36, had six points and five rebounds, and 34-year-old Ginobili led his team with 10.
Oklahoma City seemed to take control of the game in the third quarter, holding the Spurs to just 16 points in the period on 6-for-24 shooting, surging to a 71-62 lead. But after Harden put Oklahoma City up, 73-64, with 11:18 to go in the fourth, the Spurs began to shift the momentum, driven in part by the raucous home crowd. They went on an 18-3 run over the next 6:13, capped by a 3-pointer from Gary Neal , that staked the Spurs to an 82-76 lead.
The Thunder kept hanging in, though, until guard Stephen Jackson all but sealed the win with a 3-pointer that put the Spurs up by seven with 3:02 to play. San Antonio fended off Oklahoma City from there.
The Spurs outscored the Thunder, 39-27, in the fourth quarter, shooting 12-for-16 from the field and 13-for-18 from the free-throw line.
source: http://aol.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2012-05-27/spurs-okc-thunder-game-1-score-derek-fisher-manu-ginobili-kevin-durant
