Tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have built a tremendous amount of momentum in the Western Conference Finals by winning two blowouts, will try to get the series' first road win when they tip off with the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 on TNT. Fans can live stream the game online free by clicking this link; Spurs fans can hear the radio broadcast on 1200 WOAI, while Thunder fans may do the same on WWLS 98.1.
The Thunder are bringing back memories from two years ago, when they fell behind the Spurs 2-0 only to take advantage of their athleticism and youth and win the next four. "Reminding people about what happened in the past helps in some way, but we have to go out there and execute and do things," Spurs forward Tim Duncan said.
That season the Thunder also still had James Harden as a sixth man, so Kevin Durant is trying to focus on what's current. "We can't think about the past," Durant said.
"We have to focus on right now. This team (San Antonio) is well-coached and has a great group of guys. They'll make it tough. We have to worry about getting better and having our focus and energy on every single play."
Russell Westbrook showed that focus and energy Tuesday night, when he eviscerated the Spurs for 40 points and 10 assists. His speed and power are far too much to overcome when he's also beating the Spurs on the intensity scale, which San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich noted.
It doesn't matter what we do tactically if we don't up that determination, that attitude, that persistent, aggressive, ugly, hard-nosed attitude and I think that was embodied in them in Russell Westbrook," Popovich said. "He played like it was his last game, and that's the way it's got to be."
Coach Pop also noted his older team simply can't run with OKC, so they need to force the Thunder to a more suitable pace.
"I don't think there's no way we can match their athleticism, so we've got to play smart and take advantage of a few situations, because that athletic part is not going to be matched." Popovich said.
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