Kevin Durant & OKC Start A New Era, Stamp Their Ticket To The NBA Finals

Back in ’91, there was a young, athletic team that had some unquestioned individual talent, but just couldn’t overcome their faults. The Bad Boy Pistons had beat them up and scalped them for three straight years, and everyone outside of Chicago was saying you couldn’t win with a selfish player and you couldn’t win when your center had less athletic ability than half the league’s referees, and your point guard looked like the old guy with the knee brace who dominates the local YMCA pickup. But then something just clicked, the pieces came together, and Detroit took a seat on the tidal wave. Last night, the same thing happened in OKC as the Thunder completed their improbable comeback with a 107-99 Game 6 win to send themselves to the NBA Finals. This was literally a changing of the guard… the Thunder are the first team to win the West outside of Dallas, San Antonio and the Lakers in 14 years. FOURTEEN YEARS! OKC just matured right before our eyes, and there wasn’t anything San Antonio could do. It was like one morning they woke up… and the lil’ bro was bigger and meaner. That growth is personified in Kevin Durant (34 points, 14 rebounds, five assists), whose presence dominated the fourth quarter despite the fact that he didn’t make a shot. Even two months ago, KD couldn’t put his stamp on anything without scoring. Now, he’s creating for others, lifting everyone else’s games and performing invasive heart surgeries on the competition … San Antonio came out and lit it up in the first quarter. Tony Parker (29 points, 12 assists) had 17 in the first 12 minutes, digging into his man purse and pulling out floaters on nearly every possession. He even had 11 points and five assists halfway through the first quarter as the Spurs were hitting rain-makers all over the court. If there was ONE GUY we would want shooting with the game – and the season – on the line in a hostile environment, it’s Stephen Jackson. He just doesn’t care. He lives for those situations; it’s like an alternative strip club for him. We’re always saying you need a little crazy to win, especially in the playoffs, and Capt’n Jack (23 points, six triples) has it. We still remember the Spurs’ title run in 2003 when he wouldn’t do anything all game besides get repeated spankings from Popovich. Then, a team would throw all five guys at Duncan, and Jackson would splash the biggest shot of the game. Someone should’ve told OKC this because he came out slinging guns. The Spurs went up by as many as 18 points, but by the fourth quarter, Parker was struggling, short-arming pull-ups. At one point after he missed what was a simple 15-footer, he was 1-for-8 in the second half. Jackson, on the other hand, just couldn’t get a shot off … Keep reading to hear about the Thunder’s crazy second half …

After the third quarter was over, San Antonio was still up one and if you took it at face value – as Popovich did – that’s a good thing. Up one, on the road in the fourth quarter of their biggest game of the season. But still, at least at the start of the fourth, it felt like someone killed all of San Antonio’s puppies. OKC finally took the lead a few minutes into the fourth off James Harden‘s (16 points) patented Euro two-step, the ball sort of spinning up and in. At the time, Pop was sitting both Tony Parker and Tim Duncan (25 points, 14 rebounds) because the old men needed a little rest (in contrast, Durant hadn’t seen the bench for even a second) and San Antonio immediately called a timeout. Screw small ball. Bring the big guns back in … Halfway through the fourth quarter, the Spurs were hanging on by the edge of Harden’s beard, and without Tim Duncan, they would’ve been finished. Twice in a row, he brought Serge Ibaka into his war room in the post, destroying him on the second possession with a ridiculous drop-step. How did the Thunder respond? With two ball-busting triples from Derek Fisher (only the 1,456 time he’s hit a ball-buster) and the Beard … With OKC nursing a four-point lead in the final minute, the Spurs had three chances to hit a three, and couldn’t get it done. After they left Kendrick Perkins wide open for a dunk to push it to six, you could sense it. Kevin Durant was hugging his family. Stephen Jackson had that “WTF just happened” look, and we couldn’t see it, but we’re sure Derek Fisher was bumping his fist and thinking “What up Kobe!” It was hard to imagine, but yes, the Spurs were about to lose a game where Parker had 21 and 10 in the first half, and Jack had made six triples … As for Duncan, his numbers were great but he was pretty up and down. In the second half, he looked so slow and immobile and was taking jumpers from the top of the key that had no chance (twice when the unconscious Jackson was wide open) … After this playoff run, it’s obvious. Kevin Durant is just the best offensive player in the league. He just does it in so many different ways: off the pick-n-roll, cutting backdoor, off the bounce, at the rim, from 30 feet away. LeBron might be the better all-around player, but he’s not even close to as versatile a scorer, and whereas ‘Bron hasn’t really improved for the last three or four years, Durant took a MAJOR step forward this postseason … And when they brought up Sam Presti after the game for the championship celebration, we were waiting for him to thank Portland for drafting Greg Oden … We’re out like the Spurs.

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