Russell Westbrook hits long three pointer to end first half (Video)
By Hayden Kane
The Oklahoma City Thunder are trying to win game three at home and assert themselves in the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night. The return of Serge Ibaka stands to be a huge boost for the Thunder, but ultimately they will need Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to take over for stretches of the game if they are going to beat San Antonio’s well-rounded attack.
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In the first half of this game it felt like the Thunder should be winning by double digits at certain moments. The Thunder got contributions from various members of the roster, with Reggie Jackson, Kendrick Perkins, and Ibaka combining to score 21 points in the first half.
Perhaps that took some of the pressire off of Westbrook as he ended the half with a thrilling stretch and a three-pointer at the buzzer. After Manu Ginoboli hit a flailing three at the very end of the shot clock and left the Thunder only a few seconds to score, Westbrook ran down, pulled up from about 45 feet, and hit his second consecutive three to end the half and keep the Thunder in the lead.
Westbrook ended the first half with 12 points, including the last handful of buckets for the Thunder. As for Durant, he dropped 15 first half points. Many were ready to write off the Thunder after the first two games of this series were so lopsided, but if Westbrook and Durant are right and Ibaka stays on the floor, this might be a series yet.
See the video of the crazy back and forth sequence of threes at the end of the second quarter below: