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Thunder at Spurs Recap 11-14-09
Written by Ezellion   
Sunday, 15 November 2009 10:27

Quarter by Quarter observations

 

First Quarter

thunder_v_spurs_11-14-092 Kevin Durant runs around the screen then dribbles Bogans around the court before getting the dunk.

The Thunder just pulled a nice switch one of the nice things about playing Jeff Green at the four is he can guard opposing threes and even some twos.

Green is working Blair over; he just doesn't have the quickness to cover Green when he has him in space.

Krstic is picking up some quick fouls here; first he gets a touch foul on Blair now another touch foul on Parker. After playing a couple of very physical games these refs are not as lenient and Krstic in particular is having issues adjusting.

Etan Thomas was not ready for the pass from KD, and then he gets abused by Jefferson on the fake and under dunk. KD did a nice job of forcing Duncan to get up to block the potential layup so KD passes the ball to a wide open Thomas who lets it bounce off his chest. Great recognition and pass by KD if Etan is ready for it that's an easy dunk.

Krstic is struggling again 1-5 so far but the Thunder lead 18-17 so it's not all bad. I haven't seen him take a bad shot yet he just can't find the range.

One of the keys to this game will be the play of the Thunder bench. If they can keep up with the Spurs bench the Thunder have a good chance to pull out the win.

KD almost gets the steal; teams are going to have to start respecting the Thunders defense sooner or later.

Green with the block on Ginobili and then gets the rebound on the subsequent inbounds shot.

Score to end the Quarter 25-25 Tied

 

Second Quarter

Harden is having difficulty keeping up with Ginobili, so the spurs are running him off screens and all around the court trying to exploit that mismatch.

Collison shows on the pick and roll but then screens Harden which allows Finley to drive the baseline and get the basket.

The Thunder are having some issues getting open shots, part of that is the Spurs increasing the defensive intensity and part is the Thunder's insistence that they will get KD the ball low when Hill is on him. I know it's a mismatch but Hill is doing a great job of denying the ball to KD and once he gets it the double comes immediately. If you are just trying to get the defense switching isn't there an easier way.

Good defense on Duncan by Green forces the pass out. His defense is definitely the area of his game that has drastically improved in the off season.

Westbrook gets to the rack and the foul, I know Parker is quick but Westbrook left him in the dust.

Krstic picks up another touch foul. Collison comes back in for Krstic. Krstic now has 3 fouls which will probably impact him more on the defensive side of his game than the offensive side. One of the good things about Krstic as a center is that because his offensive game is based more on jump shots than post moves he generally doesn't pick up many fouls on offense.

Score to finish the half 53-46 Spurs

 

Half

thunder_v_spurs_11-14-093 It's the Jeff Green and Kevin Durant show they are the only Thunder players with more than 5 points at this point. The Thunder need someone else to step up and start making some baskets, I am looking at you James Harden and Nenad Krstic. A couple of times the Thunder have gotten loose with the ball and those lost possessions are looking like they are coming back to haunt them. Krstic going 1-6 hurts because it doesn't force the Spurs to vacate the lane to challenge on his shots. Westbrook has gotten into the lane a little but for the most part he has not been a major offensive force. The defense is looking okay, they haven't gotten a bunch of steals but they are getting blocks and forcing the Spurs into shots they would rather not take. Krstic has been getting quite a few fouls that are pretty pathetic but so have the Spurs so it is not like the refs are favoring one team or another. All in all pretty much what was expected for the first half. A small Spurs lead, that is actually larger than it should be, but the Thunder are still in this game and if they pick up the play a little and take care of the basketball they have a good chance to get the win on the road over a playoff bound team.

 

Third Quarter

The Thunder come out firing getting Westbrook into the lane and paying it off. Duncan is still playing Krstic close and that just opens the lane up for Westbrook so he drives and finishes.

Krstic makes the long two, if he can get it going that will give the Thunder a nice third option on offense. I guess Westbrook getting into the lane and finishing has convinced TD that he is going to have to sag back into the lane to discourage Westbrook from driving and Krstic makes him pay. Since he is 2-7 TD probably will make Krstic earn a couple more before he starts to play him closer.

The Thunder have come out with some nice defensive intensity forcing a bad pass and Thabo getting the steal that leads to a basket.

The Thunder are settling for long jump shots instead of driving the ball or setting up their offense, and their offense has started to stagnate. Right now against the Spurs they need to drive the lane and either get to the cup or pass it out to shooters. We are trying to make long pull up threes and it just isn't working.

Westbrook takes it back into the low post and kicks it out to Krstic who knocks down the open shot. This is what I was talking about, Krstic and Westbrook playing a nice two man game on the pick and roll. You got to use Westbrook right now he is the hot hand.

Westbrook again drives the lane and pulls up makes the jumper and gets the foul.

Westbrook again finds Krstic on the pick and roll.

Krstic is doing a great job getting open on offense and making the shots.

The story of the quarter, Krstic gets his groove back.

Score to finish the Quarter 78-74 Thunder

 

Fourth Quarter

thunder_v_spurs_11-14-091 Good movement by the Thunder but the Spurs came out ready to play some defense. The Spurs have really upped the defensive intensity after the Thunder outscored the Spurs 32-21 in the third.

Harden is taking the ball to the bucket and it is paying off right now. He got the dunk to finish the last quarter and just got into the lane again and picked up two more and the foul. Harden's long steps just seem to gobble up the distance between him and the basket when he drives. And he has shown a nice ability to finish.

The Spurs are switching on all exterior shooters which is making it difficult to get KD open.  Harden has stepped up to get a couple of good shots. The Thunder are moving the ball but the Spurs are really clamping down on defense.

Sefolosha is doing a good job on Jefferson he only has three shots total on the night. It has been a pretty quiet night for Sefolosha tonight; he has erased Jefferson from the floor.

Harden finds Sefolosha for the open shot. Harden is really working on driving the lane and finding the open man or getting the open shot. This is the fourth or fifth time I have seen him drive the lane this second half and every time he does something good happens for the Thunder.

Collison with a clutch shot there as the shot clock winds down. The veteran steps up hits the shot with 2 left on the shot clock.

The Thunder really need a basket this trip down. They have let a 9 point lead disintegrate into a 3 point lead with poor shot selection. Westbrook finds Collison under the basket to stop the bleeding. Another great pass by Westbrook and good finish by Collison. Collison has stepped up in crunch time and made two big shots to keep the Thunder in the game.

Parker is getting into the lane and forcing the Thunder to collapse before he kicks it out to open shooters. When the Spurs shooters are hitting shots that's hard to defend, and right now the Spurs are hitting those shots. That's been the primary reason the Spurs have cut this lead down to a single possession.

The Thunder are just taking bad shots right now, slow it down get your offense set and give yourself a chance. They are running down the court and hoisting prayers while the Spurs have numbers. Right now the clock is your friend run it down and take a good shot when you have your offense set so you get a chance at a rebound and take some time off this game.

When the Spurs need a shot Parker is making them. They have gone to him in back to back possessions and he has gotten into the lane for easy points.

Westbrook 15 points 11 assists, and here in the second half his play has really given the Thunder a chance to win.

Thabo is now on Parker and the Spurs go to TD. That's a great switch by Brooks; Parker was just blowing by Westbrook and getting to the basket with ease. Now with Sefolosha on him Westbrook can save a little energy for the offensive side of the court where we need him and hopefully Thabo can deny Parker the easy buckets.

Westbrook again finds Krstic underneath and gets fouled. Krstic just made a great block on the defensive side and then gets the ball on the offensive side with a chance to extend the lead to two possessions. Misses the first but makes the second.

1:18 left in the game and Westbrook gets into the lane and scores to put the Thunder up by 5.

Thabo is still on Parker; Harden comes over to double Parker as he drives baseline and Parker steps on the line. Another turnover late by Parker, switching Thabo on to Parker has possibly saved this game for the Thunder.

Thabo with the bad inbounds pass he was trying to get it to Jeff Green who was well covered, I guess that's what I get for praising him seconds before. But Sefolosha gets back on defense and gets the steal.

Mason fouls Westbrook before the ball comes in, Grant Long seems to think this is a mistake but after watching Westbrook miss the first free throw I am not so sure. The Spurs get to put the player they want on the line, no time comes off the clock, with the Thunder lead at 2 right now one miss keeps the Spurs hopes alive and Westbrook did just miss the first.

Westbrook makes the second and the Spurs half court heave misses, just barely, Thunder win.

Score to finish the Game 101-98 Thunder

 

The Good and The Bad individually

 

The Good

Russell Westbrook

What a game, 19 points 11 assists and 5 rebounds he shot 7-13 from the field. He even hit a couple of clutch free throws to seal the game. The real story of the night at least as far as Westbrook is concerned is 0 turnovers.

 

Nenad Krstic

After going 1-6 in the first half Krstic caught fire in the third quarter going 4-5 and sparking the key third quarter run that put the Thunder ahead. Krstic also had 3 blocks including one late in the fourth quarter to keep the Thunder ahead.

 

Nick Collison

Went 3-3 and got some good shots to fall. When it seemed the Thunder were about to fall apart Collison stepped up and hit some shots to keep them in the game.

 

Jeff Green

The other Thunder player to get a double double tonight, Green had 21 points and 10 rebounds he also got credit for 2 blocks although I am pretty sure he actually had about 4. His defense was key to the Thunder's upset tonight.

The Bad

Jeff Green had 21 points but he had to take 19 shots to get there. He went 8-19 including 1-6 from three. KD also struggled from the field 6-18 including 0-2 from three. The Thunder in general struggled from three going a combined 1-6 with Westbrook having the one make. All in all this was one of the best complete games the Thunder has played this season.

 

Photos from ESPN

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