Spurs-Thunder Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Dec 16 2012 10:25PM

Thanks to their longest winning streak in 16 years, the Oklahoma City Thunder own the best record in the NBA.

The San Antonio Spurs aren't far behind and Tony Parker is a big reason why.

Kevin Durant and the Thunder go for their 11th win in a row Monday night when they host Parker and the Spurs for the first time since eliminating them in last season's Western Conference finals.

Oklahoma City (19-4) has won 10 straight for the first time since an 11-game run in November 1996 when the franchise was the Seattle SuperSonics.

The Thunder are averaging 109.6 points and shooting 50.2 percent during the current streak, keeping them perfect since a loss at Boston on Nov. 23.

"It's good. We're 19-4 and we just want to look at the bigger picture instead of winning streaks," said sixth man Kevin Martin, who is averaging 19.7 points in the past three games. "We're a pretty talented team, so we're just taking baby steps and getting better every day."

Durant continues to be the team's driving force, averaging 30.2 points over his last 12 games, with Oklahoma City winning 11.

The superstar forward kept the Thunder rolling Friday, making 10 of 14 field goals to finish with 31 points and four steals in Friday's 113-103 win over Sacramento.

Durant had 23 points, 14 rebounds and five assists in an 86-84 loss at San Antonio (19-6) in the Thunder's season opener Nov. 1.

He's averaged 25.8 points in 18 career regular-season meetings with the Spurs, but totaled 29.5 while helping top-seeded Oklahoma City oust San Antonio in the conference finals last spring.

Durant was stellar in the decisive 107-99 victory in Game 6 on June 6, tallying 34 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.

Parker finished with 29 points and 12 assists in that meeting, and had 14 and 11 in this season's first matchup.

The four-time All-Star enters this game averaging 22.9 points and 8.0 assists during San Antonio's 6-2 run, and had 22 points with four steals in a 103-88 win over Boston on Saturday.

"Tony's a phenomenal player," said guard Gary Neal, who had 20 points. "Through the years I've been here, he's done some phenomenal things."

Tim Duncan was far from phenomenal Saturday, missing 11 of 13 shots to finish with a season-low five points and 12 rebounds. He was much better against Oklahoma City last month, collecting 20 points, eight boards and three blocks.

Manu Ginobili may miss another meeting with the Thunder after back spasms kept him sidelined for the first matchup. The veteran swingman suffered a bruised left quad in the opening quarter against the Celtics.

He averaged 18.5 points against Oklahoma City in the playoffs, but was limited to 10.3 on 37.5 percent shooting in the three road games.

While the Spurs and Thunder are back atop the West standings with a burgeoning rivalry, Parker doesn't feel it's on the level as San Antonio's others against Dallas and the Los Angeles Lakers.

"No, not yet," he said. "Not like the Lakers or the Mavericks. Sure, it's starting to become a rivalry."

Thunder stay atop West, thump Spurs 107-93

By JEFF LATZKE
Posted Dec 18 2012 12:54AM

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Serge Ibaka ripped away an offensive rebound, got hacked in the process and found his way toward midcourt to flex his muscles in celebration.

Ibaka is a force to be reckoned with, and what better way to show it than by delivering his best game of the season against a rival who had a player take a jab at him on Twitter?

Ibaka tied his career best with 25 points and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 107-93 Monday night for their 11th straight win.

The victory kept San Antonio from creating a virtual tie with the Thunder for the NBA's best record.

It was the first meeting for the teams since San Antonio's Stephen Jackson made a threatening post about Ibaka on Twitter, drawing a $25,000 fine from the NBA.

"I don't want to talk about it," said Ibaka, who set the tone for Oklahoma City by making his first seven shots. "A great win for us. We need that. It's about a team win."

Jackson just happened to make his return after missing the previous 14 games with a broken right pinkie finger.

The two had a chance for a confrontation in the first half when Jackson stood in the way as Ibaka went up to catch an alley-oop from Durant. Jackson stood his ground to prevent Ibaka from dunking, and Ibaka fell to the floor. But Jackson simply raised his hand to claim credit for the foul and peace prevailed.

"I'm leaving that alone," Jackson said. "It's all basketball. Whatever was said on the court is going to stay on the court and I'm going to leave it alone.

"I wish Serge the best."

The Spurs never found an answer for Ibaka, who had just four points while fighting foul trouble in Oklahoma City's season-opening loss at San Antonio. He finished 10 for 16 from the field, led the Thunder to a 49-37 rebounding advantage and also blocked three shots.

"He hurt us bad. ... He was hitting everything," said Jackson, who apologized to Ibaka on Twitter after the initial post.

"That's the same way we lost last year in the playoffs, by him hitting those same shots. I take my hat off. He played a great game tonight."

The teams hadn't faced each other at Chesapeake Energy Arena since the Thunder overcame a 2-0 deficit in last season's Western Conference finals by winning the next four games. The Spurs drew a measure of revenge in the season opener by beating Oklahoma City on Tony Parker's jumper as time expired.

There were no such dramatics in this one, with Parker and Tim Duncan remaining out of the game even after James Anderson stole an ill-advised Ibaka pass and ran out for a two-handed dunk to get the deficit down to 93-84 with 5:29 remaining.

The Spurs came up empty on two possessions with chances to make it closer before Kevin Martin sank a 3-pointer. Ibaka - who else? - and Durant each had two-handed slams in the final minutes to ice it.

"It was just another game on the list for us," said Kevin Durant, who scored 19. "We really respect this team, we really knew it was going to be a tough game. It was good for us to get a win, but we've got to keep moving on."

Parker and Nando De Colo had 14 points apiece to lead the Spurs. Manu Ginobili did not play because he bruised his left quadriceps in Saturday's win at Boston.

Russell Westbrook chipped in 22 points and nine assists and Kevin Martin scored 20 for the Thunder, who had no interest in fanning the flames on the Ibaka-Jackson feud.

"I think he's just a great player and it showed again tonight," teammate Thabo Sefolosha said.

Westbrook didn't even want to admit knowing about the bad blood.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said

Ibaka had five baskets in the first 6 minutes, including three in a row to wipe away an early 16-10 deficit. He and Martin combined to go 10 for 10 and score 23 points as Oklahoma City then opened a 33-26 lead after Martin's three-point play to start the second quarter.

"I think he got us all going and throughout the whole game, really he made some big plays, made some big shots," Sefolosha said.

San Antonio rallied behind its reserves and went up 41-39 on Tiago Splitter's basket underneath before the Thunder pushed ahead for good with a 12-2 response.

Oklahoma City stretched its lead with 11 straight points during the third quarter, punctuated by Nick Collison's putback that made it 71-56 with 4:27 remaining in the period.

The Spurs tried going to their cornerstones to break up the spurt but Duncan had the ball stolen by Westbrook and then a shot blocked by Ibaka on consecutive possessions and Parker followed by missing a corner 3-pointer off the side of the backboard and then getting a fast-break layup swatted by Durant.

Collison then scored off of Sefolosha's missed 3-pointer, and it was on the next possession that Ibaka flexed his muscles after grabbing three straight offensive rebounds.

"He's growing every single day," Durant said. "He's shooting the jumper well, he's taking guys off the dribble. Of course, you know he blocks shots and rebounds but his offensive game is expanding and that's what we need."

NOTES: After playing 16 of their first 24 games at home, Oklahoma City plays 15 of its next 21 games on the road. The roughest stretch is another three weeks away, when the Thunder play 11 of 13 games away. ... Referee Bennett Salvatore called a technical foul from across the court against Spurs coach Gregg Popovich as he complained to official Scott Twardowski after calling a timeout during Oklahoma City's 11-0 third-quarter run. ... Oklahoma City's last 11-game win streak was in 1996 as the Seattle SuperSonics.

Notebook: Thunder 107, Spurs 93

Randy Renner, for NBA.com
Posted Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:56 PM - Updated Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:56 PM

THE FACTS: The Oklahoma City Thunder used a big third quarter and an even bigger effort from Serge Ibaka to dispose of the San Antonio Spurs 107-93 inside a roaring Chesapeake Energy Arena. Ibaka led the Thunder with 25 points (tying his career-high) and pulled down 17 rebounds (three short of a career-high). Point guard Russell Westbrook added 22 points and nine assists and Thunder sixth man Kevin Martin struck for 20 on 7-for-10 shooting. Kevin Durant was also in double figures for OKC with 19 points.

The Spurs (19-7) had four players in double figures but none of San Antonio's starters played in the fourth quarter after Oklahoma City (20-4) had built an 18-point lead. Tony Parker and rookie Nando De Colo led the Spurs with 14 points. Parker also handed out seven assists and De Colo dished six. Tim Duncan added 12 points and Tiago Splitter dropped in 10.

The Spurs were playing the front end of a back-to-back and their 16th road game of the season. They looked a little ragged in the third quarter so Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich pulled the plug early. The Spurs backups still managed to whittle the 18-point OKC lead down to nine, even with the Thunder starters in there. The Thunder quickly pushed the margin back to 15 to finish things off.

QUOTABLE: "Our standards are high and their standards are high, we wanted to play well tonight and I thought we did.

-- Thunder head coach Scott Brooks

THE STAT: In the third quarter the Thunder outscored the Spurs 16-4 in the paint and 7-2 on the fast break while blocking five shots and stealing the ball four times. OKC limited the Spurs to just 33.3 percent shooting in the quarter.

TURNING POINT: An 11-0 Thunder run sparked a big third quarter that saw Oklahoma City outscore San Antonio 29-16 and force six turnovers providing the cushion Oklahoma City needed to get the lead well into double digits and keep it there.

QUOTABLE II: "Just mistakes on our part, obviously we give them credit they played well. Guys like Serge (Ibaka) continue to attack us and make plays. But all-in-all I thought we got a little stagnant on the offensive end."

-- Duncan

HOT: The Thunder started the game 11-for-16 (68.8 percent)... Ibaka hit his first six shots and finished the first half 7-for-8 (16 points) ... Splitter was 5-for-6 (10 points) in the first half ... The Spurs were 12-for-19 (63.2 percent) in the paint in the first half.

NOT: Thabo Sefolosha was 0-for-4 in the first half and finished 1-for-8 (two points). Oklahoma City shot just 38.5 percent in the third quarter and 39.1 percent in the second half.

INSIDE THE ARENA: The cast of "A Christmas Carol," playing down the street at Oklahoma City's Civic Center Music Hall, provided the halftime entertainment for the 83rd straight sellout at Chesapeake Energy Arena singing a medley of songs from the hit musical. Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs sat courtside.

GOOD MOVE: The Thunder came out with tremendous defensive intensity in the third quarter holding both Parker and Duncan to 2-for-5 shooting and Gary Neal to just 1-for-4. The Thunder got deflections on several possessions leading to six turnovers in the third quarter. The Spurs also managed just two assists in the third quarter.

QUOTABLE III: "We had 15 assists in the first half and two in the third quarter and we stopped scoring. You've got to keep scoring and you need pace to do that because in the half court they're just too long and too athletic. They did a great job defensively and we helped them by not moving the basketball."

-- Popovich

BAD MOVE: The Spurs focused their defense on Durant, making him see a lot of bodies and Stephen Jackson was in his grill most of the time he was in there limiting Durant to just three shots in the first 21 minutes of the game. While that strategy worked against Durant, it left Martin wide open on the perimeter and he knocked down five of his first six shots and Ibaka had open lanes inside and he took advantage, hitting his first seven attempts.

NOTABLE: The Thunder have now won 11 straight games, the longest in the Oklahoma City era and tying the third longest winning streak in franchise history. When the team was still in Seattle, the SuperSonics won 11 straight in the 1996-97 season.

UP NEXT: For the Spurs, Tuesday @ Denver, Friday vs. New Orleans, Sunday vs. Dallas. For the Thunder, Wednesday @ Atlanta, Thursday @ Minnesota, Christmas Day @ Miami.

• Spurs: Joseph, Leonard
• Thunder: Jones

• Spurs: Popovich
• Thunder: --

• Lead Changes: 9
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
• Officials: #15 Bennett Salvatore, #52 Scott Twardoski, #61 Courtney Kirkland
• Attendance: 18203
• Duration: 2:08