Spurs at Thunder
7:30 pm Central
TNT
The home team has won all five games in this series so far, and the Thunder will need that to continue in order to force a game seven in the Western Conference Finals.
After getting overwhelmed by the athleticism of the Thunder, particularly on defense after the return of Serge Ibaka, Gregg Popovich made a change to ensure that at least one of his bigs on the floor at all times was capable of stretching the defense out to the three point line, in order to open things up in the middle and stop Ibaka from dominating the paint. It worked, as the Spurs found their ball movement and shooting touch in game five and cruised to a blow out win after it looked like they were on the ropes.
The Thunder need to respond tonight, and it will be a charged atmosphere in Loud City. Russell Westbrook has been phenomenal at times this post-season, and is really doing a job clamping down on Tony Parker. He exploded for 40 points in game four, and the Thunder will need big nights from both him and Kevin Durant tonight. They also need to find something off the bench, as that has been a problem most of the series. With Reggie Jackson now in the starting lineup, the Thunder have no bench scoring. Steven Adams is a nice backup center, but isn't getting points on his own. They need someone like Jeremy Lamb to make some shots off the bench.
Expected lineups
Spurs
Tony Parker
Danny Green
Kawhi Leonard
Boris Diaw(?)
Tim Duncan
Thunder
Russell Westbrook
Reggie Jackson
Kevin Durant
Serge Ibaka
Kendrick Perkins
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