Spurs outlast OKC

We didn’t quite get the craziness that we saw at the end of Game 2, but Game 3 between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder brought a lot of tension and drama. The Spurs relied on big games from Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker to outlast big moments from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in San Antonio’s 100-96 victory in Oklahoma City.

The Thunder are now down 2-1 in the series and have relinquished home-court advantage back to the Spurs after capturing it in San Antonio in Game 2. There’s a lot to digest from this back-and-forth series. Here are five things to take away from Game 3:

1. The Kawhi Leonard-Kevin Durant duel is worth any price of admission

Two freaks of nature squared off in Game 3, and both Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard put on an incredible show in the process. While Leonard spent quite a bit of time hawking Russell Westbrook, Durant spent a ton of time chasing Leonard around screens and using his impossible wingspan to contest the seemingly unreachable shots of Kawhi. The basketball world could use these two going against each other in a playoff series year after year, and have it be a perfect viewing experience.

Durant was incredible and probably should’ve ended up with more shot attempts. He finished with 26 points on 10 of 18 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line. However, he was just 1 of 5 from deep and turned the ball over five times. Those turnovers and sloppiness ultimately buried the Thunder (more on that in a bit) and took the ball out of K.D.’s hands just enough times to give the Spurs the edge.

Leonard though was the best player in this game and that’s saying something considering the star power of Kawhi, Durant, Westbrook and Dion Waiters. Kawhi finished with 31 points (9 of 17 from the field, 3 of 4 from deep, 10 of 14 from the free throw line), 11 rebounds and three assists. He’s just the fifth player in Spurs history to put up at least 31-11-3 in a playoff game, joining Tim Duncan (19 times), David Robinson (three times), Terry Cummings (two times), and Manu Ginobili (once). Not only was Leonard incredible throughout the game, but he grabbed the biggest rebound of the night when he corralled an offensive board with roughly 24 seconds left to make the Thunder play the foul game and start putting the Spurs at the line to extend the game.

We should request four more games of this matchup this year and then renew for seven-game series the next 10 years.

2. LaMarcus Aldridge looked much …

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