OKC's Comeback Falls Short As Thunder Fall To Spurs In San Antonio

<p>Kawhi Leonard scored 20 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter as the Spurs beat the Thunder, 108-94 on Tuesday night inside the AT&T Center. </p>

Tuesday, January 31st 2017, 11:24 pm

By: Brett Coppenbarger

OKC's Comeback Falls Short As Thunder Fall To Spurs In San Antonio

Kawhi Leonard scored 20 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter as the Spurs beat the Thunder, 108-94 on Tuesday night inside the AT&T Center.

Related: Thunder Social Scene

Russell Westbrook finished with 27 points, six rebounds and 14 assists but it wasn’t enough as the Thunder has now lost two consecutive games.

Kawhi Leonard leads @spurs with game-high 36 Pts on 13-of-26 shooting and 8 Reb! pic.twitter.com/GvoX1toXO3
— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 1, 2017

Just like in the loss to the Cavaliers, OKC’s second unit has yet to find an identity without the injured Enes Kanter in the lineup. When Westbrook went to the bench for a breather with 2:57 left in the first quarter the Thunder only trailed by five points. By the time Westbrook checked back in with 8:37 in the second quarter, the Thunder was staring at a 15-point deficit due to a 16-to-2 San Antonio run.

Despite all of its struggles, the Thunder continued to fight. Facing an 18-point deficit early in the third quarter, Westbrook was ready and willing to take over the game.

Westbrook drained back-to-back 3-pointers, set up an Anthony Morrow layup, found Steven Adams for an alley oop slam, assisted on a pair of Victor Oladipo buckets and added a layup of his own as the Thunder ripped off a 22-to-2 run to go up by three points late in the third quarter.

But just like in the first half, the Thunder couldn’t maintain its success without Westbrook on the floor.

With 2:42 left in the third, Westbrook went back to the bench with the Thunder up by one point, but thanks to an 18-to-6 Spurs’ run, OKC was down by 11 points before Westbrook checked back in with 8:40 left in the game.

But even with Westbrook back on the court, the Spurs went on a definitive 11-to-0 run to put the game away for good.

Adams played well for the Thunder, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds while Oladipo added 15 points and four steals. Domantas Sabonis tallied his second career double-double in the loss with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

#Thunder progress in 1 sense. Singler sits, Morrow plays, scores 12. W/horrid 3-pt shooting, shouldn't he play more? @news9
— Dean Blevins (@DeanBlevins) February 1, 2017

Along with Leonard’s big night, LaMarcus Aldridge added 25 points as no other Spurs’ starter scored more than six points.

The Thunder has a quick turnaround and will be back in action on Wednesday night against the Bulls.

You can follow Brett on Twitter: @BrettCope

Despite all of its struggles, the Thunder continued to fight. Facing an 18-point deficit early in the third quarter, Westbrook was ready and willing to take over the game.

But just like in the first half, the Thunder couldn’t maintain its success without Westbrook on the floor.

But even with Westbrook back on the court, the Spurs went on a definitive 11-to-0 run to put the game away for good.

#Thunder progress in 1 sense. Singler sits, Morrow plays, scores 12. W/horrid 3-pt shooting, shouldn't he play more? @news9
— Dean Blevins (@DeanBlevins) February 1, 2017

Along with Leonard’s big night, LaMarcus Aldridge added 25 points as no other Spurs’ starter scored more than six points.

The Thunder has a quick turnaround and will be back in action on Wednesday night against the Bulls.

You can follow Brett on Twitter: @BrettCope

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Kawhi Leonard scored 20 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter as the Spurs beat the Thunder, 108-94 on Tuesday night inside the AT&T Center.

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