Streaking down the court after a steal, Kevin Durant was fouled as he went to the basket in transition. His momentum carried him to the left of the basket, and as he slowed down he took a few extra steps back behind the stanchion, into the aisle between the rows of Thunder fans, and in front of a section of thousands of screaming Oklahoma City faithful. He paused, gathered himself to flex his entire body, and let out a massive, soul-emitting scream.
“I screamed so loud I almost blacked out,” Durant chuckled. “I got lightheaded on that one right there.”
The play came with 44 seconds remaining in Game 4, a 111-97 Thunder win at Chesapeake Energy Arena that tied this Round 2 series against the San Antonio Spurs at 2-2. It was an absolutely vital victory in this back-and-forth series, and it was fueled by the heart, determination and relentlessness of spirit the Thunder played with all night.
“This is a passionate, emotional game. I love it with all my heart. I don’t plan any of that stuff, it just happens,” Durant said. “That’s just the emotions of the game and how fun playing in the Playoffs is. Everybody played with that passion last night. We’re going to need that going forward.”
The multiple efforts Thunder players made on defense were only matched by the physicality and tenacity that Head Coach Billy Donovan’s team played with all night, and in particular the fourth quarter. The Thunder out-rebounded the Spurs by nine in the final frame alone, scored 10 second chance points in the fourth quarter and Durant outscored the Spurs by himself, 17-16 as San Antonio was held to just 7-for-21 shooting.
There were plenty of opportunities for the Thunder to wilt, against a machine-like Spurs squad that doesn’t make many mistakes. Instead, the Thunder banded together as one, bringing the fight to every inch of every possession. That right there is the only way to play postseason basketball, and it’s the reason this is now a best-of-three series.
“Our guys just keep battling and fighting,” Donovan said. “We’re going against a great team. You’re going to have to have some resiliency, perseverance and work through difficult, tough stretches and continue to fight. Our guys have done a good job of that.”
“We played extremely hard. Either way the game went last night, everybody left a piece of them on the court when we walked off,” Durant said. “Guys left everything out there last night. That’s what you need, what you want and the result showed. We were able to come out and get a W.”
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Adams-Durant Screening Action Changed the Game
With 2:29 to go in the first half, something important happened in the context of the game, and potentially the series. Out of a timeout, Steven Adams dummied like he was going to set a pin-down screen for Durant, then slipped out of it and barged straight to the rim, where a Russell Westbrook pass was already sailing. With a perfect arc over the surprised David West, the ball fell into Adams’ hands for a monster flush.
“We saw what they were doing, they were over-extending on that pin-down and we slipped to the basket,” Adams said of the play. “From there they had to change it, it kept them honest.”
What Adams described is something that Donovan spoke about prior to Game 4 – that if the Spurs were going to shadow and almost double team Durant before he even caught the ball on those screening actions, there had to be opportunities elsewhere on the floor.
“One of the things we talked about was trying to get his rolls back into the game,” Donovan said. “Russell did a good job of finding him several times. That’s a big part of what we’ve done all year long is having him roll. Trying to create different opportunities for him to do that was important.
“A lot of it depends on how they elect to defend. You can take Steven away but you’re going to leave something else open, then we have to make the read,” Donovan continued. “You have to do a good job of making quick decisions in tight quarters.”
It didn’t happen right away or necessarily on every possession, but as Adams alluded, the Spurs had to re-arrange their coverages to prevent such a high percentage shot from happening. One way they did that in the second half was by switching that pin-down action to prevent Adams from getting a head of steam to the rim.
“It put my man, David West, on KD. That’s awesome,” Adams said. “I had a guard on me, in Kawhi Leonard, for rebounds. There’s an advantage on that straight away.”
Durant, facing a variety of lone defenders, instead of two at a time, had more space to operate and that extra room is the oxygen to his game. 6-for-6 shooting in the fourth quarter for Durant was no coincidence, and the credit goes all around. Obviously Durant hit the shots when called upon in crunch time, but it also took a head coach to assess the in-game situations then communicate it to his players and a point guard who made the right reads and correct decisions in a split second.
“You have to be able to play through that on the fly and bring those things to your guys’ attention so that they’re aware of what is happening,” Donovan explained. “Russell back there is a really smart point guard. He has a really high IQ. Russell recognized a lot in terms of the way the coverage was on some of those slips. He was able to identify and locate the guy for layups or dunks.”
In Game 5, there will be even more game-within-the-game situations like that Adams-Durant screen action that the Thunder has to contend with. As long as it approaches those possessions with the same level of concentration, commitment to detail and passion, it will give itself another chance to take advantage of its physical edges.
Full Video: Game 5 at Spurs Preview
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Durant Named Finalist for Community Award
Just before practice began on Monday, it was announced that Durant was named one of 10 finalists for the 2015-16 season-long NBA Cares Community Assist Award. Thunder fans can support Durant’s bid for the award by participating in a social media-based fan vote, which is now open. The Thunder encourages fans to vote for Durant between now and Wednesday, May 18, using Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Both #KevinDurant and #NBACommunityAssist must be together in any post to count as a vote.
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