NBA Playoffs 2014 Bracket, Standings & Schedule: San Antonio Spurs Topple Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5
Stop me when you've heard this before -- the home team dominates the road team in the Western Conference Finals. That seems to be the trend with this series as the home team is now 5-0 after the Spurs' latest victory, 117-89. The average margin of victory in this series is 20.4 points.
Home court reigns supreme.
Game six will be played in Oklahoma City, where the Spurs have lost nine straight games.
Game five was a huge confidence booster for the Spurs, because for the first time all year (regular season and postseason) they beat Serge Ibaka. Ibaka was in the starting lineup for the third consecutive game and played 27 minutes, but had an awful shooting night. Ibaka was just 3-10 from the field scoring 6 points and didn't go to the free throw line once.
The biggest coaching decision for game five was made by Gregg Popovich, who decided to start shooting guard Danny Green. Green is a three point specialist who usually comes off the bench, but he played great in game five. As a starter in game five, Green made four of his eight perimeter shots and scored 14 points in just 22 minutes. Green's best attribute in game five was the defense he played against Kevin Durant.
The biggest impact player was Manu Ginóbili. The Argentine-born player has been playing like he's 28 years old again. You could argue he's the most valuable player in this series for the Spurs thus far considering Tim Duncan and Tony Parker aren't playing at their usual high level. In game five, Ginóbili scored 19 points in only 21 minutes on 7-9 shooting.
Thunder fans shouldn't panic just yet. Game six will be played at home, where they've looked unbeatable against the Spurs. In both games three and four, the Thunder put up more than 100 points at home against the Spurs defense. Tiago Splitter has also shown to be a bad match-up for this team with Ibaka in the lineup.
Is it possible the Spurs found out how to beat Serge Ibaka? Maybe, maybe not. The Spurs have so much depth at different positions they have different optional rotations to run at you. But, the Spurs still haven't won in Oklahoma City so there's no reason to panic.
Game six will be played Saturday night at 8:30 PM EST.
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