The Oklahoma City Thunder look to even the series when they host the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The Spurs were the prohibited favorite to win this series and they showed why in Game 3. What makes them so good is their defense, as they held the Thunder to 41 percent shooting in their Game 3 road win. The new core of LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard is proving to be one of the best tandems in the league, as they are playing some of the best ball of their careers in this series. If the Spurs can get those two going along with Tony Parker's resurgent 19-point, eight-rebound and five-assist outing from the last game, they'll be tough to beat.
The Thunder got a huge road win in Game 2, but it was all for not with a Game 3 home defeat. Russell Westbrook flirted with a triple-double in that loss, but really hurt the team with his poor shooting and bad decision making. In fact, he shot just 10-for-31 from the field, while committing five turnovers in the defeat. Kevin Durant went 10-for-18 in that game and it's a wonder why Westbrook took so many more shots with the way these two were shooting. That's what can be so frustrating about this team, as their dynamic tandem has very little cohesion with the rest of their teammates. With that in mind, still look for this to be a close game with the Spurs being a projected one-point favorite.
