The drubbing we saw last night in Oklahoma City, the 102-82 Game 3 Thunder victory over the San Antonio Spurs, was the sign we all wanted and needed. It was the official declaration that these Western Conference Finals will indeed be a series rather than a sweep; it was what any neutral NBA follower should have wanted all along, but were afraid of losing after the Spurs everyday dominance showed no signs of being slowed by one of the only teams we thought had a chance to do so in Games 1 and 2.
Credit to the Thunder, who licked their wounds from those first two games but came back prepared to not get hit in the same place again. Scott Brooks’s decision to have Thabo Sefolosha not only play more in general, but check Tony Parker for the majority of the game was something that seemingly needed to happen and worked out accordingly; from that change in handling San Antonio’s point of offensive attack to the turnovers forced and overall headier, confident play — especially for a team that could’ve saw no end to the Spurs’ barrage in sight, but fittingly for these Thunder refused to — O.K.C.’s defense was the real story of Game 3. Being at home, where the Thunder haven’t lost yet this spring, certainly helped, and the Spurs did their part in keeping the outcome at a laughable distance by getting the likes of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker some fourth quarter rest; the Spurs have done, and responded to, the playoff blowout thing before.
And now, for as critical as it was for O.K.C. to avoid the 3-0 pit of despair, the series control enjoyed by San Antonio will not be ceded without the Thunder also holding serve at home in Game 4, making Saturday night the true turning point in this series. It will divide at the intersection of 3-1 Spurs, Thunder must fight just to live from here on out, or 2-2 series tied, where both sides have drawn enough blood from the other to believe they are the superior unit, and where it goes next is anyone’s guess.
Game 3 may have lacked in the 48 minutes worth of urgent, high intensity basketball shown in the first two in San Antonio, but it’s outcome was what we needed to see this series, dripping with talent, coaching sleights of hand, and variables galore, take a major step towards coming into full bloom. But either way, its result will not matter after Game 4, when we’ll know whether the Spurs just absorbed last night’s beating in stride and continued on their conquest like an unstoppable basketball robo-machine, or if the Thunder actually left more than a dent in their 20-point win, and as they progress with each new playoff life lesson learned, their inner-belief in themselves comes to fruition on the court, leaving this series to decide not a winner, but a survivor.
Griffin Gotta contributes to The Hoop Doctors and is a co-managing editor of Straight Outta Vancouver on SB Nation. The story arcs and infinite weirdness of the NBA are addictions he deals with every day. Email him at griffingotta at gmail dot com.
