Just like its series against the Mavericks before this one, the Thunder faces a Western Conference foe in the postseason for the third time in the past six years – the San Antonio Spurs.
Both prior matchups in the Playoffs between these teams came in the Western Conference Finals, with each team winning one series. In 2012, the Thunder erased a 0-2 deficit to the Spurs to rattle off four straight wins to propel OKC to the NBA Finals. In 2014, the Spurs again won the first two games, but after Serge Ibaka returned from injury the Thunder won Game 3 and Game 4 in Oklahoma City. Ultimately, the Spurs won Game 5 and Game 6 to advance to the Finals.
This season, the Thunder and Spurs went 2-2 against one another. The team isn’t putting too much stock into the individual matchups for a number of different reasons, but there were some great battles throughout the year between these two clubs.
“It’s a little different in the playoffs,” forward Kevin Durant said. “You get more time to prepare. There are days in between. It’s different. We beat them, they beat us.”
First Meeting: Oct. 28, 2015, Chesapeake Energy Arena – 112-106 Thunder
Opening night. Chesapeake Energy Arena was rocking, as Kevin Durant played his first regular season game since returning from injury and Billy Donovan served as head coach for the Thunder for the very first time. It was a back-and-forth battle against a Spurs team playing with LaMarcus Aldridge for the first time, and ultimately the Thunder pulled away down the stretch.
The Spurs went ahead 103-101 with 2:34 to go, but Dion Waiters hit back-to-back jumpers from the right side of the floor before Russell Westbrook drained a second-chance three-pointer to blow the roof off the building and give the Thunder the lead for good.
Second Meeting: March 12, 2016, AT&T Center – 93-85 Spurs
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Thunder went down to San Antonio and gave the Spurs a battle, but ultimately came up short down the stretch. Neither team shot well from behind the three-point line in the defensive battle, with the squads combining to go 6-for-42 from behind the arc combined.
The Thunder clung to a 72-66 lead with 10:33 to go, but the Spurs made a 16-4 run midway through the final quarter to turn the game on its head, started by a three-pointer from Danny Green. The ball didn’t go down for the Thunder over the final four minutes, as the Spurs were able to break away.
Third Meeting: March 26, 2016, Chesapeake Energy Arena – 111-92 Thunder
In a late season contest, the Spurs rested Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, but it was still a good battle in Oklahoma City between the Thunder and the Spurs. Against a unique roster, the game got off to a slow start for the Thunder, but it broke away in the third quarter by outscoring San Antonio 35-19.
Short bursts of 7-0, 10-1 and 9-1 runs fueled by stout defense that forced the Spurs into 0-for-8 shooting and a turnover during those stretches helped the Thunder build a 22-point lead. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined to shoot 23-for-38 from the field while Enes Kanter recorded his 21st double-double of the season by scoring 19 points and grabbing eight rebounds in the second half.
Fourth Meeting: April 12, 2016, AT&T Center – 102-98 OT Spurs
Symmetry dictated that the Thunder start and end the season with the Spurs, and while neither team had anything to play for from a seeding standpoint, it was still a hotly contested game in San Antonio in the final game of the Thunder’s season. Minus Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, who all rested, the Thunder took the Spurs to the brink, erasing a five-point deficit in the final minute of regulation to force overtime.
The Thunder’s second unit rattled off a 23-4 run that spanned the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second quarter, but the Spurs regained momentum heading into halftime and then turned on the jets in the third quarter to get the game back to even. In overtime, Kawhi Leonard broke a 98-98 tie with a jumper and then the Thunder couldn’t get a layup and a jumper to fall, resulting in a Spurs victory.