The little team that could, the Oklahoma City Thunder, has done the seemingly impossible by defeating the mighty San Antonio Spurs to reach the 2012 NBA Finals.
The stakes couldn’t be any higher (well, maybe only a Game 7 scenario would top this) for the men playing at home this night. Although they had won the previous 3 games in a row, they were still facing the team with the best record of the league, top of the Western Conference for a 2nd consecutive year, who had mopped the floor with them in the first two games of the series, and in this game alone had scored 66 while playing away with a particularly epic performance from Frenchman Tony Parker.
But the not-as-young-as-you-think guys went into the second half with a determination that is worthy of a 30 For 30-style documentary tonight. On the backs of Russell Westbrook (25 pts, 8 rbd), James Harden (16 pts, 5 rbd), and the MVP of the series: Kevin Durant. The latter had a fantastic night at the Chesapeake Energy Arena scoring game-leading 34 points and 14 rebounds along with 2 blocks and 5 assists to have his team reach the NBA Finals for the first time as the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Beating the Spurs was no easy feat, and though the storied veterans they suited up tonight like Tim Duncan (25 pts, 14 rbd), Stephen Jackson (23 pts), and Tony Parker (29 pts, 12 ast) put up amazing numbers of their own, it was not enough for an OKC side that was coming into the game with great momentum after 3 key wins in a row and riding on the magic of one of the most exciting players in the entire world in 23-year-old Durant.
So what now for the OKC Thunder? For now, they will have to play the waiting game to see who they will meet in the NBA Finals. With what they have demonstrated tonight, the Thunder faithful can be confident enough with their team bringing home the title that cements them as the best team in the land. After all, they did just beat the team which up until a few hours ago was considered just that.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DkFz7OouAk]
