Oklahoma City Thunder win but find chance for No. 1 seed slipping away - Examiner.com

The Oklahoma City Thunder are fighting for the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference heading into the NBA playoffs but time is running out. On Friday night, April 20, the Thunder beat the Sacramento Kings, 103-92, but the San Antonio Spurs knocked off the Los Angeles Lakers and it appears the Thunder won’t be able to reach that No. 1 seed with only three games remaining.

The Spurs would have to lose two of their final four games while the Thunder would have to win out. That is easier said than done because the Thunder still have to play the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as the division rival Denver Nuggets, in two of their final three regular season games.

If the Thunder play like they did against the Kings on Friday, they have a good chance of doing their part but the Spurs are one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now.

“We just had a great shell tonight,” Kendrick Perkins said about the win over the Kings. “I thought we played good team defense and made them take contested twos. They came out early and hit a few, but we were living with that. That’s what our defense kept on, contested twos outside the paint”

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Kevin Durant finished the Kings’ game with 29 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. However, the Thunder star also worked on getting his teammates involved and contributing in the little ways. This is very important if they want to advance deep into the playoffs.

“I just tried to make the right play, whether it was a shot or a pass,” Durant said. “They were converting on me and I had to find my bigs. They did a great job of finishing… Serge is a great shot blocker, the best in the league and Perk does a great job on the ball, so with those two, that combination is deadly.”

The Thunder finish their road trip on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles against the Lakers. Game time is 2:30 p.m. CT. The Thunder then return home to finish the season with games against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night and Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.

“We just have to make sure we get our rest,” Perkins said. We’re going to LA for business and not fun, so we have to make sure we take care of our legs, our bodies and we’ll be ready.”

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