Thunder win by 20, end Spurs’ streak at 20
OKLAHOMA CITY — A playoff winning streak as big as Texas fell on a night when everything was falling for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The San Antonio Spurs were riding a 20-game winning streak spanning 50 days, 10-0 in the playoffs.
But in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals Thursday, facing the prospect of a 3-0 deficit that no NBA team has overcome, the Thunder responded to the home crowd with a huge 102-82 victory.
The team that ran the fast break with impunity for much of the regular season returned with a force, led by Kevin Durant’s 22 points.
But perhaps most impres-
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“It was good for us to get a win in front of the home crowd. It gets our confidence up,” Sefolosha said.
Oklahoma City can even the series in Game 4 here Saturday as the Thunder try to become the 15th team to rally from a 2-0 deficit. The last to do it: Gregg Popovich’s 2007-08 Spurs.
His Spurs this game were manhandled by the Thunder, who led by as many as 27 points, outscored them 44-24 in the paint and forced 21 turnovers to Oklahoma City’s eight.
“They played like it was a closeout game,” said Popovich, who pulled his starters late in the third quarter. “They were very active, physical. They moved the ball well on offense. They did all those things better than we did. They beat us good.”
Oklahoma City limited San Antonio to 40% field goal shooting after the Spurs had converted 55% in Game 2.
“We’re going to see how we’re going to react. We haven’t lost for a while,” said Spurs forward Tim Duncan, held to 11 points on 5-for-15 shooting.