(Series Tied 2-2)

Yesterday, in my preview for this game, I put together some questions and the answers I thought would come of those questions.  Today we’ll see how the answers have changed.

1.  How will the Spurs respond to their first loss in 7 weeks?

The Spurs did come out and play tough once the game started and this game was tied at 26 points after the first.  But they couldn’t get it going after that as they went down in the second quarter getting outscored by the Thunder 29-17.  They couldn’t recover and are now on a 2-game losing streak in however long.  It should be interesting to see what they can do in game five to get all that momentum they had going from all those wins and the way they were so impressive.

2.  Can Oklahoma City continue their defensive intensity from game three?

The Thunder definitely stepped up the defense in the second quarter as they only allowed the Spurs 17 points while putting up 29 of their own.  They had to clamp down in the fourth quarter as well to make sure they could keep their lead.

3.  Who stepped up for the Spurs in game four?

Tim Duncan did what he could with his 21 points, but 9-17 isn’t the best shooting percentage when he can get down in that post area and have high percentage shots.  He’s not been shooting the ball that well in this series anyways.  I thought Tony Parker would step up his game for game four, but he only had 12 points on 5-15 shooting.

4.  Who stepped up for the Thunder in game four?

There are two guys who can be featured in this part.  Kevin Durant was ridiculous in that fourth quarter, hitting for 18 points of his 36 total points.  At one point, he scored 16 straight points for the Thunder.  Then he was even passing the ball to make a play.  He was truly the floor general last night.

But we can’t forget Serge Ibaka’s night.  Here’s a guy who had a perfect shooting night from the free throw line and the field.  He scores 26 points on 11-11 from the field and 4-4 from the free throw line.  And don’t forget his 5 rebounds and 3 blocks.  Just a great night from this guy.

Bonus question: Who won the game and how did they do it?

The Thunder won this game in the fourth quarter with Kevin Durant giving them all he could.  He scored 16 straight points to keep the Thunder going and that lead padded.  The Thunder as a team shot over 56%.  What a hot shooting night for them.  Now this series is tied, and the Thunder are looking to become the 15th team ever to come back from an 0-2 deficit in a best of seven series.  Do you think the momentum is all in the Thunder’s hands now?

This would be one of the tougher awards I feel to actually put together because how do you truly measure what a great defensive player is?  Bruce Bowen was usually the benchmark for defense, but was he all stats with it?  I think it was more of his ability to pressure the ball and really make guys earn their shots.  So how does that come into play?

I don’t disagree with any of the choices that received some votes. I can’t say that I’ve really thought Chandler was that much of a defensive player, but winning this award tells me that. I’ve seen a bit of Ibaka and Howard play, and know those guys are always defending the paint, and you won’t want to come down the middle on them.

I think Lebron James doesn’t always get the credit for being a defensive player like he is.  But with his size and strength, he can really muscle you on defense, and force you into bad shots.  That would be a good comparison with Michael Jordan, as he usually was a great defender as well.

All good choices, and the voting showed what a close contest this was.  Congratulations to Tyson Chandler.  Now he needs to help his Knicks team play some defense on the Heat and make that a series.