The Oklahoma City Thunder are back in this thang.
The Thunder were done. They looked completely lost, in desperate need of interior defense (Game 1) and fluid offense (Game 2), and Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant were at odds for a moment. But, the series shifted to Oklahoma City, and Serge Ibaka‘s calf just stopped swelling. Like, it just stopped. And suddenly he was in the starting lineup. The Thunder pretty much led the whole way, and for a time in the 4th quarter it wasn’t even close. Serge Ibaka came out and hit his first 5 shots, blocked the first two shots he swung at, and never looked back. Even when he limped off the court during the 3rd quarter, he came right back in the 4th and hit a jumper before Scott Brooks–with a reminder from Kevin Durant–pulled him so he could massage that calf and get it ready for Tuesday night.
The question is, can Oklahoma City sustain this? Having Serge Ibaka back in the lineup makes a huge difference, and Scott Brooks--wary of spreading his lineup too thin–gave Jeremy Lamb some crunch-time minutes, allowing Derek Fisher, Reggie Jackson and Russell Westbrook a little extra time during their respective bench stints to keep fresh legs under them. Game 4 is Tuesday night, can the Thunder tie up the series?