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| The Spurs have lost a grip on the series. (Getty Images) |
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Spurs started a new streak Saturday.
The wrong kind though. After winning 20 straight and going nearly 50 days without a loss the Spurs have now dropped consecutive games, letting the Thunder not only back into the series, but almost losing control of it.
Yeah, they still have homecourt advantage in a best-of-three. Yeah, they're veterans with championship experience and lots of leadership. Yeah, they have one of the top coaching minds ever. There's good reason to think they'll be fine. But if momentum were tangible, the Thunder would be holding it with both hands right now.
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The series has flipped. It's 2-2 with the proceedings heading south to San Antonio, and the Thunder carrying a renewed sense of confidence. The series looks completely different now than it did four days ago. Instead of talking about how the superior Spurs know how to beat the young Thunder, it's looking more like OKC should've taken one of those games in San Antonio because maybe they're actually better.
The Thunder whipped the Spurs by 20 in Game 3, then held a 15-point lead in the second of half Game 4 before the Spurs finally found something the final 18 minutes of the game, which would seem to build what little momentum there could be heading to Game 5.
"We shouldn't get any credit for playing hard," said Stephen Jackson. "It's the Western Conference finals, you're supposed to play hard. I mean if you're scared, go to church. Tomorrow is Sunday. It's the Western Conference Finals and you have to be ready to play."
With the prospect that the Thunder could have an opportunity to bring a closeout game back to their rabid home crowd with a win Monday in San Antonio, it would seem that Game 5 would have a new level of importance. But Gregg Popovich wasn't in the mood to hear that.
"Every game in the series is important," he remarked in a very Pop manner, which I think you know what that means.
Manu Ginobili has a different mindset.
"Game 5 is always huge in every series when teams are 2-2," he said. "Game 5 most of the time is decisive, so it's going to be a very important one."
Something has changed and it's hard to put a finger on it. A lot has been made of Thunder adjustments such as switching Thabo Sefolosha to Tony Parker, but it seems like it's more than that. The Spurs went from a basketball dream of ball movement, sharing and team play to a group of guys that looked really old and slow. Parker went for just 12 in Game 4. Ginobili was a non-factor. The Spurs bench didn't contribute much. Whether the Thunder have figured something out or it's just the home team doing their job, that's to be determined.
"We earned ourselves the possibility of having homecourt advantage, and hopefully we'll use it," Ginobili said. "We played a bad Game 3. Today was a little better. But it's just part of the past. Both teams took care of business at home. Hopefully we keep that trend."
The dirty little secret about Game 4 is that the Spurs played their game. The hit 50 percent of their shots. They limited turnovers, giving it away only 10 times. They hit 11 of 23 from 3. They did the things they've been doing the past two months. They just couldn't stop the Thunder and by extension, Kevin Durant.
It's put the Spurs in a strange position, one that many didn't foresee a few days ago. They're the team knocked against the ropes, the group looking to regain some footing in the series. They went from seemingly invincible to the team needing to make adjustments. It's a best-of-3 series and the Spurs hold homecourt, but it doesn't feel like they necessarily have the upper hand.
But then again, keep this note in mind when thinking about the Spurs' losing streak: The last time they lost two consecutive games, they then won 20 straight and didn't lose for nearly 50 days. So that's something.
