With a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Final, will 2014 be a case of when the Spurs go marching in? After two wins in Texas, the San Antonio team will be hoping to show some strength on the road but the Spurs fans and players shouldn’t get carried away just yet. In 2012, these two teams faced off in the play-offs and the Spurs obtained a 2-0 advantage at the start of the finals but in the end, Oklahoma City won through. There will be a slight sense of fear that history may repeat itself but if you are a fan of the Thunder, this will be what you are clinging to.
The 112-77 win over Oklahoma City has undoubtedly raised the confidence of the Spurs before they hit the road. They may have scored ten fewer points in this win than in the first game of the Finals but their defence was in much better form in this game, which is never a bad platform to build a winning game from. The Thunder were not at their best but again, the big time players showed up when it matters for Spurs.
Spurs took control before half-time
The scoring ran 24-26, 34-18, 33-18 and 21-15 which means that the Thunder led at the first quarter but they were blown away with a powerful performance in the second and third quarter. A star turn for Spurs was Danny Green who delivered seven 3 pointers in the game. It was this form that allowed Spurs to race away with a half-time lead when it looked as though we were in for a tight affair. Green grabbed two 3 pointers in the final two and a half minutes of the first half. The Thunders were sitting on a 3 point lead and before they knew it, they were trailing by 14 in San Antonio. Green bagged 21 points in total and with Tony Parker delivering 22 points, the Spurs are on a great run of form which has seen them clock up seven wins from eight games and with a winning margin that stands at 21.9 points.
While Thunder fans may state the turning point of the Finals was the injury to Serge Ibaka which looks as though it may rule him out for the rest of the season, the turning point definitely came with 7:45 left in the first half. This was when the Spurs grabbed 10 points in a row and their domination of this period was highlighted in the last two minutes of the half. The Thunder only managed one shot in this period while Spurs delivered 6 and with two of those being successful three pointers; this was the period which decided the match.
2-0 leads have been blown before but Spurs will be in the mood when they head to Oklahoma for the game on 25th May. Bwin think that Oklahoma are still in the Finals and for the money line bet, you will find the Thunder sitting at 1.73 and the Spurs sitting at 2.15. You’ll also find that Bwin has the Thunder sitting around this mark for Game 4 and 5 in the series so if you believe that the Thunder will turn it around and hold a 3-2 lead going into Game 6, you have the chance to put your money where your mouth is.
At 3-1 down in the NBA Finals, many people predicted that the Cleveland Cavaliers would lie down, perhaps looking for the pain to be over and done with for another year. After all, they were facing the record breakers, the team that had shown themselves to be the best of the best by a good...