Four key points on the aftermath of the Oklahoma City Thunder's 102-82 win in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals against the San Antonio Spurs:
Kendrick Perkins glared over at the broadcast table. The Thunder center had been hammered for five days by TNT analysts Reggie Miller and Steve Kerr, but Game 3 was going to be different. And he wanted to be the first to let them know.
Scott Brooks kept his view on the court, but the beleaguered Oklahoma City coach could have followed his player's lead. Brooks was perfect Thursday. Perfect in the sense that he out-dueled the NBA's best coach, Gregg Popovich. Perfect in the sense that he drew out the best in his players. Perfect in the sense that he found a blueprint that might just work to knock off the seemingly unbeatable Spurs.
Brooks' plan started with Thabo Sefolosha. The Dutch shooting guard starts for the Thunder, but he played only 15 minutes in a 120-111 Game 2 loss. It never made any sense: Sefolosha is the Thunder's best on-ball defender, and the Spurs are the best offensive team in basketball.
Brooks righted his Game 2 failure by turning to Sefolosha and his nearly 7-2 wingspan as the primary defender on Spurs star Tony Parker. Sefolosha finished with six steals to go along with an unexpected 19-point offensive performance while Parker scored 16 after a 34-point outburst in Game 2. (Sefolosha was rewarded by being interviewed after the game by an orange Creamsicle.)
But the Thunder's defensive dominance in holding the Spurs to their second-lowest total of the season and sending them to their first loss in 50 days was the product of more than Sefolosha's work on Parker. Brooks had defenders switching on screens and used bigger players to cover the Spurs' many shooters.
That's where Perkins comes in: He blocked three shots and grabbed eight rebounds in 23 minutes. This time, when he didn't play in the fourth quarter, it was because the game was well in hand.
The Spurs didn't do much to help themselves. They never gave Popovich "some nasty" to counter the Thunder's length. But Brooks also figured out a counter to the counterattack, preventing the drives by shrinking driving lanes and sealing off-ball cuts. Oklahoma City had 14 steals and nine blocks as San Antonio totaled 24 turnovers.
That's worthy of a mean mug.
Russell Westbrook wasn't shooting well. That often leads the Thunder point guard to even more shot attempts, but he reeled himself in quickly. Seven of Westbrook's 15 field-goal tries were in the first half. He finished with only 10 points but added nine assists, four steals and two blocks, a freed man without the obligation of guarding Parker. He also had this ridiculous alley-oop dunk on a pass from James Harden. Then Westbrook wore this shirt to the postgame news conference. Can't win 'em all.
DeJuan Blair was the Spurs' best player in Game 3. That's a mixed sign. Blair had played five total minutes since the first round of the playoffs, so when he came in with 9 minutes, 47 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, there was a feeling of resignation permeating the Spurs' sideline. But Blair has been a quality producer in the past for San Antonio, and he was terrific in the final 10 minutes Thursday, posting 10 points and six rebounds with great energy. Blair's knees look like frogs in an eighth-grade biology class, but he could give the Spurs some toughness off the bench.
What will the Miami Heat do about Rajon Rondo? Our guess: Nothing. The Boston Celtics star has a reputation as a poor shooter, but he was unbelievable Wednesday in Game 2. The Heat still won. Rondo's not going to make 11 of 13 shots outside the paint many games, and the Heat are better off letting him beat them with his jumper than set up teammates for easy looks. Rondo was unbelievable Wednesday, and the Heat shouldn't believe he can do it again.
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