Grantland

NBA Conference Finals

Resize Font: A- A+

TOTAL BREAKDOWN

Oklahoma City's Winning Play

By Sebastian Pruiti at

As they sought to close out the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder needed to keep scoring in the fourth quarter. To do so, they went to that play that confused the San Antonio defense and allowed Kevin Durant to score 16 straight points in the fourth quarter of Game 4. They went to their pin-down play, where Russell Westbrook sets a pin-down screen for Durant as James Harden handles the basketball. The scheme produced 10 points on just four possessions, and each time they ran it, the Thunder went to a different option and a different player scored.

The first iteration was a play for Durant. He didn't knock down an open shot, but rather used the pin-down screen to draw a foul.

Top Stories

MOST POPULAR

  1. Rating the lead singers of active bands in 2013
  2. Jonah Keri ranks the MLB teams
  3. A not-so-brief conversation with Damon Lindelof, the writer behind 'Lost,' 'Prometheus,' and 'Star T
  4. The Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, and Round 2 of the NHL playoffs
  5. The excellence of Matt Harvey and the misery of the Mets