Westbrook crushes Spurs as OKC evens series

Russell Westbrook had a great 40-point outing in Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference Finals (2-2), as he led the Oklahoma City Thunder to 105-92 win over the San Antonio Spurs. Westbrook took the initiative and did not just put up points on the scoreboard. He also recorded 10 assists and got his teammates involved in the action. He was tenacious on the defensive end and compiled five steals for the night.

“Coach told us he needed maximum effort from us tonight, and it starts with me at point guard,” Westbrook said. “My job is to play both sides of the ball. If you want to win a championship, those are things you have to do.”

The Thunder were riding high on the inspirational return to action of Serge Ibaka in Game 3. Their game-4 win showed that they are very much still in this series and that momentum is on their side. They came out swinging from the opening whistle and established a six-point lead at the end of the first quarter. By halftime, the gap ballooned to a 15-point advantage for Oklahoma City. They did not look back and San Antonio could not contest the lead as the Thunder cruised to victory. It was a night that their young dynamic duo of Westbrook and 2013-14 M.V.P. awardee Kevin Durant took over the game. The tandem combined for 71 of the team’s 105 points. Durant logged five rebounds and five assists to along with his 31 points.

Tim Duncan finally showed some weakness with a quiet night as he finished with nine points, six rebounds and four assists. Frenchmen Tony Parker and Boris Diaw led the team in scoring with 14 points each. Parker added four assists, while Diaw pulled down 10 boards to record a double-double.

The Western Finals now boils down to the final two to three games of the best-of-seven series. In 2012 the Thunder came back after losing the first two games (similar to this season) and won four-straight games to beat the Spurs 4-2, to move on to face the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.