Tony Parker performed brilliantly in the San Antonio Spurs' 86-84 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder at the AT&T Center, in a rematch of the Western Conference finals.
Parker did it for the Spurs with a brilliant game-winning jumper - a 21-footer - with barely a second left. The point guard did well to elude the outstretched arm of Serge Ibaka who charged at him at full steam.
"I was like, I have to shoot fast. He (Ibaka) was coming very fast," Parker said of the game-winning shot
Tim Duncan led San Antonio with 20 points, while Parker had 14 points and 11 assists.
The Thunder's Kevin Durant reached 10,000 career points in the game, and is the second youngest player to reach this milestone after LeBron James of the Miami Heat.
Durant had 23 points and 14 rebounds while Russell Westbrook contributed with 18 points for Oklahoma City, still reeling a little from the absence of James Harden, who was traded to the Houston Rockets a few days back.
Thunder coach Scott Brooks said about Parker's shot: "We lost him. We didn't get him in time, but he still made a tough shot over Serge."
In a rather surprising deal last week, Oklahoma City picked shooting guards Jeremy Lamb and Kevin Martin along with draft picks, sending Harden, center Cole Aldrich and forwards Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to Houston.
The Thunder was in a dilemma unable to decide whether to extend Harden's contract or allow him to become a restricted free agent next July. They had already signed Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and Kevin Durant to long-term goals.
Harden had a stunning debut with the Rockets, scoring 37 points and a career-high 12 assists on Wednesday night against the Detroit Pistons. The Houston Rockets defeated the Pistons 105-96 in both teams' season openers.
Harden said after the match: "I think I just wanted to get out there and play. All the talking and all the craziness that has been happening this last week -- I just wanted to go out there and play basketball."
Manu Ginobili, the Spurs guard was not available for Thursday's game due to injury. Coach Gregg Popovich however, said he could be available for the game against Utah on Saturday.
Earlier in June, Oklahoma City had defeated San Antonio in six games to advance to the NBA Finals. Thunder then lost to Miami Heat in five games.
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