San Antonio Spurs vs Oklahoma City Thunder - 5 Talking Points

In one of the most high-quality encounters of the season, the San Antonio Spurs hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder at the AT&T Center, beating them 103-99 in a thoroughly enjoyable match. The level of seriousness displayed by the two sides mirorred that of a real playoff game.

Paul George's 26 point, 7 rebound, 6 assist statline was not enough to push the Thunder over the line, despite PG-13's clutch free throws at the end of the game. The Spurs put together a solid 5 minutes of paint defense and frustrated the likes of Westbrook and Steven Adams in money time, with LaMarcus Aldridge coming in good for the Spurs at both ends of the floor.

The rest of the San Antonio supporting cast played their part in establishing the Spurs' overall superiority on the night. The following are 5 talking points from the game.

#5 It was a high-intensity game filled with turnovers

Both teams played at extremely high pace in the first half. The game was intense and there were a number of hustle plays and deflections on display. The result was an exciting, up-tempo game which involved 8 steals by both teams in the half (Westbrook led all players with 3). While the Spurs had 10 turnovers, the Thunder had 9 for the half - however, the Spurs converted these into 14 points, while the Thunder only had 11 to show.

Paul George and Danny Green, both all-NBA defenders on their own right, were involved in a spectacular sequence early in the 3rd quarter involving a steal by George and a chasedown block in transition by Green. The game finished with 15 turnovers for Oklahoma City and 16 for San Antonio, while the steals totals for the teams were 11 and 13 respectively.

#4 LaMarcus Aldridge's monster night

Aldridge's fadeaway was a force to reckon with on the night.

LaMarcus Aldridge dominated proceedings, scoring 19 points in the first half. He attempted just 11 shots, scoring on 8 of them, while getting fouled once and converting both attempts from the charity stripe. He even knocked down the only 3-pointer he attempted, as pretty much nobody on the Thunder had an answer for his mid-range game.

When the 6-time All Star is playing at his best, the Spurs are a tough proposition for any team in the league even at full strength. Aldridge finished the game with 25 points (including 6 in the 4th quarter), 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. His anchoring of the paint area and effective switching was one of the biggest reasons why the Spurs held OKC to 30% shooting in the final quarter.

#3 It was a game of runs

Westbrook and George combined for 7 steals in the game

The high defensive effort exerted by both teams allowed both of them to go on several runs throughout the game. While there were a number of dry scoring spells for both teams simultaneously, more often than not, it was one team using transition opportunities to either cut back a deficit or to open up a small lead.

The total momentum swing of the game was just 17 points, with the Thunder's lead closing at a maximum of 7 and the Spurs' largest lead standing at 10 points. There were a total of 10 lead changes and 7 ties in the game. The Thunder managed to hold the Spurs to 7 successive scoreless possessions at one point in the 3rd quarter.

#2 Corey Brewer has been a valuable addition to the Thunder

Perhaps reuniting with his fomer coach Billy Donovan is the reason for Brewer's productivity

One of the understated successful free agent signings this season has been the Thunder's acquisition of veteran Corey Brewer on a minimum deal in early March. The former Florida Gator has been a near like-for-like replacement for Andre Roberson in terms of energy levels, and on his night, he can be an extremely effective player.

Brewer was on the court for 28:41. During this time, he scored 14 points on 8 shots, converting 5 out of his 8 field goal attempts while making 3 out of 4 free throw attempts.He also effected 2 steals, and hustled every second on defense. This performance has been more of a trend than an aberration for Brewer in the Thunder setup.

#1 The Thunder need better execution in close games

Westbrook was off target tonight

Russell Westbrook and co scored a miserly 18 points in the 4th quarter of the game. Going into the quarter, they held a 4-point lead at 81-77, but because of bad decisions, turnovers and a general lack of imagination, their offence stank to the high heavens.

They shot a woeful 6 field goals out of 20 in the 4th quarter, getting outscored 26-18 in the time that mattered most. It took 3 made free throws for the Thunder to get back within touching distance after the Spurs opened up a 101-96 lead.

Such unimaginativeness is rarely awarded by results on the offensive end. Coach Billy Donovan has to pull his socks up and get the Thunder to run at least some sets other than predictable pick-and-rolls against teams like the Spurs who have elite big men defending the paint, or else it could come back to bite their backsides in the playoffs.

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