Spurs reign Thunder down on Oklahoma

Kawhi Leonard growing into “Go-To Player”

The reigning and defending NBA Champions have put the league on notice.  We will not go silently into the night.  Leading the way into the playoffs is the reigning and defending NBA Finals MVP, Kawhi Leonard who has simply been on fire over a two week stretch.

“He’s been absolutely amazing,” teammate Tim Duncan said. “He’s on a tear right now, and we’re riding him. He’s not doing it the wrong way. He’s taking great shots and continuing to be unselfish, but he’s absolutely being aggressive. That’s what we need from him.”

Leonard matched his career high 26 for the second night in a row as the Spurs blew by the struggling and injured Thunder 113-88.

“No matter how you slice it, it’s not a fair fight,” Head Coach Gregg Popovich said after the game. “Nobody’s going to give back the win. We’re going to take the win. I thought we played well, but you feel badly. You see Kevin in that chair out there and the other guys that are hurt and it’s not a fair fight.”

Spurs extend streak to seven games

Of the past seven games the Spurs have won, five were against playoff contenders and one was the league leading Golden State Warriors who brought with them the best defense in the NBA only it wasn’t last night.  Kawhi Leonard had his way with the Warriors, and after Coach Pop put him on Stephen Curry, who reeled off 13 straight points, Curry didn’t score again.

“Kawhi was phenomenal, he was the best player on the floor,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It was Kawhi’s night.”

“He’s playing with more patience. He knows the shots are going to come, so he doesn’t have to force and keep looking for his moment. We’re not dumb. We’re going to look for him. We need him to score like that. He understands that now,” Spurs Guard Manu Ginobili told ESPN’s Michael Wallace.

The Spurs are jelling at the perfect time and the game against the Warriors put the rest of the NBA on notice as they handed the East leading Warriors their worst loss of the season.