The San Antonio Spurs overcame the absence of their All-Star point guard Tony Parker to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-95 and extend their lead in the Western Conference standings to two games.
Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant of the Thunder combined for 51 points but it was not enough to beat the total team effort the Spurs put forth. Durant's 26 points came on 7-of-13 shooting to go with a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line, while Westbrook hoisted up 27 shots and made 11 of them, finishing with 25 points. Durant and Westbrook had six rebounds each and Westbrook had six assists to Durant's five.
Tiago Splitter had one of his best games of the season, scoring 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting and grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds. After the game Splitter said ''I think everybody played well. I was one of them. You play well and you feel better. You want to play well against these kinds of teams, these playoff teams. Of course, we've got to stay humble. It's one more game.''
Danny Green torched the Thunder from the 3-point line, nailing all four of his treys, while small forward Kawhi Leonard pitched in 17 including a highlight-reel dunk involving some behind-the-back dribbling and a left-handed finish.
San Antonio's bench played well on both ends of the floor too-Manu Ginobili gave the Spurts 12 points and Boris Diaw scored 11 on 4-of-5 shooting. Tim Duncan praised the bench's play saying, ''We had a lot of great play from the bench,'' Duncan said. ''That second squad came in there and kind of changed the tempo and took control of the game.''
The story of the game beyond the Spurs' stellar play was the shot differential between Westbrook (27) and Durant (13.) When asked about only taking 13 shots Durant told reporters in the locker room ''I can do whatever I want on offense. I can come down and take 30 shots, but that is not the right brand of basketball for me. I was trying to make the right basketball play. The Spurs do such a great job of making me pass the ball. I was picking and choosing my shots. I trust my teammates.''
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