NBA Playoffs
Western Conference – Round 2
Tip-off: Friday, 9:35 p.m. ET
Line: San Antonio -2.0, Total: 199.0

The Thunder will be looking to take a 2-1 series lead when they host the Spurs in Game 3 on Friday.

Game 2 of this series was marred with controversy in the final moments, but the Thunder ended up emerging with a 98-97 win as 7.5-point road underdogs. Oklahoma City now has the home court advantage in this series, but will need to win both of its games at Chesapeake Energy Arena in order to keep it. That’s not going to be an easy task, as this Spurs team was a dominant one during the regular season. The 42.6% from the field that San Antonio shot in Game 2 also happened to be the worst shooting performance that the team had in its past six games. The Spurs will likely recover and put on an impressive offensive display on Friday, so it’ll be up to the Thunder to do the same. It’s worth noting that San Antonio is 29-12 ATS when tied in a playoff series since 1996. Both of these teams are at full strength coming into this one, so injuries are not likely to factor into the outcome of this game.

The Spurs did not play their best game in Game 2 of this series, but they still had a shot to win and they’ll need to continue to get the ball to PF LaMarcus Aldridge (22.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.8 BPG in playoffs) while he’s hot. Aldridge is averaging 39.5 PPG in this series against the Thunder and is an insane 33-for-45 from the field as well. Aldridge is finishing around the rim and has also been shooting the ball extremely well from midrange and the outside. He has been hitting timely shots, but he’ll need some help from his teammates in Game 3. One guy that will need to step it up is SF Kawhi Leonard (20.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.2 BPG, 2.2 SPG in playoffs). Leonard has been San Antonio’s best player all season, but he struggled in Game 2 of this series. He had just 14 points on 7-for-18 shooting from the field in that one and must be better moving forward. If he played just a little better than the Spurs would likely be up 2-0 in this series. Both C Tim Duncan (5.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.5 BPG in playoffs) and PG Tony Parker (8.0 PPG, 6.2 APG in playoffs) are also going to need to be better in this series. Duncan has not been able to buy a bucket around the basket and was just 1-for-8 from the floor in Game 2. He must find a way to be effective as a scorer in this series. Parker, meanwhile, needs to be better on both ends of the floor. He had trouble defending Russell Westbrook in Game 2 and was also very passive offensively.

The Thunder are coming off of a huge Game 2 victory in San Antonio and both PG Russell Westbrook (24.7 PPG, 10.7 APG, 6.4 RPG, 1.7 SPG in playoffs) and SF Kevin Durant (24.9 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 3.7 APG in playoffs) played well in the win. Westbrook had 29 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds, two steals and a block in that game. He is way too fast for the Spurs’ backcourt players and will need to continue to be aggressive going to the basket in this series. He has also hounded Tony Parker defensively and it’ll be big for the Thunder if he can continue to shut him down moving forward. Durant, meanwhile, had 28 points on 11-for-19 shooting in Game 2. He had no trouble scoring on Kawhi Leonard and will need to continue to score efficiently the rest of this series. His jumper should be a weapon that is always there considering his size, but he also stepped it up on the defensive end in the victory. He limited Leonard in Game 2 and that’s something he’ll need to continue to do starting on Friday. Another guy that really played well for the Thunder is C Steven Adams (9.6 PPG, 9.3 RPG in playoffs). He had 12 points and 17 boards in the game and he also blocked a potential game-winner for the Spurs with just a few seconds left. If he can continue to be active around the basket on both ends then the Thunder should be able to stick around in this series.