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The Spurs generated plenty of good looks from deep in the first half, but they only connected on four of their 18 attempts. Boris Diaw in particular got a good look on just about every possession, but his shot wasn't falling and he many times opted to put it on the floor and try to create from the paint. He did shoot four, but after hitting only one he didn't seem confident in his stroke. Russell Westbrook made his imprint on the game during the first two quarters and finished the half with 15 points, three boards, four assists and a whopping four steals. Those steals and the other four turnovers the Spurs committed cost the Spurs and the Thunder took advantage of Manu sitting after he picked up his third foul by finishing the second quarter with seven points in 1:47 with Marco Belinelli on the floor. 49-42, Thunder.
The second half started with Tony Parker being ruled out with ankle soreness, so Cory Joseph started in his place. Then of course the Spurs went on a 16-7 run over the first five minutes of the third to take a two point lead at 58-56. The Spurs would keep it up over the rest of the quarter and they took a 79-69 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Thunder closed the gap over the quarter and this series full of blowout wins by the home team would go down to the wire in Game Six. The Thunder took a two point lead on a Durant bucket, and Manu responded with his first triple of the game after missing his first five attempts from downtown. Gino split a pair of free throws to give the Spurs a two-point lead and Westbrook hit his 15th and 16th free throw attempts to tie the game and eventually push the game to overtime.
Tim Duncan dropped seven on the Thunder in overtime to lead the Spurs to another NBA Finals appearance. This will be Tim's sixth appearance and he'll get his chance to pick up his fifth ring starting on Thursday.
We finally got a close game, and what a game it was! What a great win for the good guys! Here's to Spurs basketball into June for the second season in a row!
Tim on the Finals:
We have four more to win. We'll do it this time.