Report card: Spurs 93, Thunder 107

By Quixem Ramirez
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A: Serge IbakaApparently, he is about this life.

A spirited performance from Ibaka. Coincidence? In response to Stephen Jackson’s veiled threats, Ibaka tied his career-high in points (25), along with 17 rebounds and three blocks. Once again, he made the open mid-range shot — which will always be there against the Spurs — and he added a couple of pinpoint passes to open shooters.

B: Nick CollisonCollison’s near double-double pails (eight points, 10 rebounds) in comparison to the production of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Martin. The trio combined for 61 points.

But Collison’s activity was a big reason for Oklahoma City’s dominating offensive rebounding advantage (15-9). Six of Collison’s 10 boards were on the offensive glass and the Thunder accumulated 15 points on second chance points. Collison wasn’t one of the five most important players on the court but he fulfilled his limited role to a tee. There’s a reason why Oklahoma City outscores the opposition by 16.2 points per 100 possessions while he’s on the floor.

C: Nando De ColoThe hostile road environment did little to deter De Colo. He tied Parker for the team-high in points (14) on a mere nine shots. He missed three, a couple on 3-point shots. His six assists were only indicative of how far he has came this season.

D: Thabo SefoloshaThabo inexplicably missed seven of eight shots, most of which were uncontested. Probably some regression of the mean happened tonight — Thabo has career-highs in true shooting percentage and offensive rating — but the versatile Swiss Army knife shouldn’t have a difficult night as long as Durant and Westbrook are playing.

F: Gary NealNot only were the Spurs outmatched in Neal’s 20 minutes, recording a negative-20 plus/minus, but Neal scored eight points on 11 shots. His typical defensive missteps didn’t help his case.

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