(Reuters) – The San Antonio Spurs ended the regular season with 10 straight wins and carried the momentum into the playoffs with another 10 triumphs before the run came to a screeching halt against a young, hungry and athletic Oklahoma City Thunder. Power forward Tim Duncan, who won four NBA championship rings (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007) during his illustrious career with San Antonio, thought this was a season destined to end in another Spurs’ title.
“It’s very disappointing,” the 36-year-old Duncan said after Wednesday’s 107-99 loss to the Thunder, who captured the last four games of the Western Conference finals to win the best-of-seven series 4-2. “We thought this was definitely our time. Our time to get back to the finals, our time to push for another championship. That was our singular goal and it ends here,” added Duncan, whose Spurs were top-seeded after a 50-16 regular season record. A 15-point halftime lead for San Antonio disappeared in a second-half comeback that saw the Thunder, led by 23-year-old Kevin Durant, outscore them 59-36 before their roaring home fans.
“They were more energetic,” 34-year-old Spurs guard Manu Ginobili admitted. “They played better defense, they were more aggressive.
“Of course, we can’t have their legs, their energy. We’re never going to jump as high or run as fast.”
Duncan said he thought the Thunder benefited from foul calls late in the game, but conceded Oklahoma City coped better under pressure to set up a showdown against the winner of the Eastern Conference finals between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.
“I thought our effort was there, our execution was there,” the power forward said. “Down the stretch it seemed like they got every whistle possible. That changed the tide. We tried to make stops and push them back but the whistle kept blowing and they kept going back to the line and getting some free points.
“But that’s them being aggressive, continuing to attack. Credit to them.” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich reflected on how great a run the Thunder were on after dismissing the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks (4-0) and Los Angeles Lakers (4-1) in the playoffs before eliminating the Spurs. “As sad and disappointed as we are, it’s almost like a Hollywood script for OKC,” Popovich Said. “They went through Dallas, last year’s NBA champion, and they went through the Lakers and they went through us. Those teams represent 10 of the last 13 championships. “They will face either Boston or Miami and that will be 11 of the last 13 championships. I don’t know if anybody has ever had a run against teams like that. “I think that’s incredible. I think it’s pretty cool for them.”
