Two games on the road in San Antonio equaled an early hole in the Western Conference Finals for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The next two games at home leveled the playing field. So far, no team can make a statement away from their familiar terrain and the fans behind them. The Thunder will try to do take their adjustments and game plan from games three and four on the road tonight back in San Antonio.
Bomani Jones says that the Thunder made all the right moves recently, but the challenge will be replicating that task. He writes:
Kevin Durant closed out a fourth quarter in spectacular fashion. Scott Brooks made adjustments Popovich has yet to capably respond to. Kendrick Perkins scored 13 points in the first half of Game 4. Serge Ibaka nearly set a record for shooting perfection that same night. There was real-live ball movement. The Thunder, basically, did everything at home that it didn't do on the road.
The question -- how many of those things are likely to happen again? Durant doing it again seems most probable, but even his greatness has been prone to lulls. But here's something else that won't happen again -- Russell Westbrook and James Harden combining for 18 points, as they did in Game 4. The Thunder's back in it. The fun will be seeing how they might manage to stay there.
The Thunder will take this newfound momentum back to San Antonio tonight in game five of the Western Conference Finals.
For a more in-depth look at the Oklahoma City Thunder, go to Welcome To Loud City. Check out Pounding The Rock for additional news and analysis on the San Antonio Spurs.