From the jump, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs took over the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder mounting a 43-20 lead after the first quarter and they never looked back. Powered behind their new dynamic duo, the Spurs took over Thunder looking to make a statement but they were quickly silenced.
At halftime, the Spurs took a 73-40 lead, which is the biggest halftime lead in the 2015 NBA playoffs, followed by a 105-66 lead at the end of the third quarter and it was way beyond done at that point. The Spurs silenced the Thunder by winning 124-92.
The Thunder couldn’t do anything to stop either LaMarcus Aldridge or Kawhi Leonard in game one of their 2016 Western Conference semi-finals series. It was a drubbing that many did not see coming as a lot of people thought this would be a tightly contest series. The Thunder just couldn’t contain the Spurs pick and roll, they couldn’t hit shots and they simply couldn’t keep up.
Kawhi Leonard finished the night with 25 points on 10-13 shooting with five rebounds and five assists in only 22 minutes of action. LaMarcus Aldridge led the way with 38 points on 18-23 shooting, grabbing six rebounds and blocking two shots. Aldridge also hit his first three as a member of the Spurs coming off a Kawhi Leonard pass.
The Thunder were led by the animated Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook duo with their third member Serge Ibaka leading the team in scoring, but it wasn’t anything to remember. Serge Ibaka scored 19 points on 8-15 shooting including going 3-6 from three-point range but he only grabbed two rebounds in 29 minutes of action. Durant played 33 minutes, scored 16 points on 6-15 shooting with eight rebounds and six assists while Russell Westbrook scored 14 points on 5-19 shooting with with nine assists in 30 minutes of action.
Game two of this series will be on Monday, May 2nd at 9:30 on TNT.
