OKLAHOMA CITY -- Make a list of everything that went wrong for the Thunder in Game 1 and Game 2.
It could take awhile.
Now make a list of everything that went right for OKC in Game 3. Compare and contrast with that first list.
Sunday, the Thunder turned all the wrongs into a one giant right, starting with Serge Ibaka returning and finishing with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook playing their best game of this short series.
And somewhere in the three, full days the Thunder had off after Game 2, this team also learned how to keep itself together.
The difference was a 106-97 win when the first two games all they got was a pair of kidney punch defeats.
Maybe it was the return of Ibaka, who missed the first two games. Maybe it was the return to the home arena, but the Thunder didn't lose their cool or their minds. Because of it, they didn't lose the game, either and now a 2-1 deficit to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals doesn't seem so bad.
"We're an emotional group. It's an emotional game," coach Scott Brooks said. "You get frustrated when you get your butt kicked and if you don't, you don't have a team that's good. I'm not saying we should have a bunch of technicals, but you should show that emotion and passion when you're down. I loved the fact we played a better game."
They played better because Ibaka had 15 points on six-of-seven shooting and Reggie Jackson had 36 minutes of playing time and scored 15 points. They played better because Steven Adams and Caron Butler and Jeremy Lamb combined for 18 points.
They played better because Durant was engaged and they played better because they got a team effort in a number of different ways.
And this time, OKC didn't kick away a third-quarter lead like it did in Game 1 and it didn't lose their way like they did in Game 2 when Durant and Westbrook went a combined 13-for-40 from the field and were caught in a strange, verbal debate on the court.
No frustration Sunday, but it was clearly there, behind the scenes and on the mind of Brooks leading up to the game. Brooks tinkered – again – with the lineup , maybe out of desperation this time, starting Ibaka, benching Sefolosha and putting Jackson into the starting lineup for the first time this season since Westbrook has returned from injury.
But it may have been to get some calm, too. The athletic lineup resulted in Sefolosha getting no minutes and Nick Collison getting no minutes, but it also led to immediate urgency. There was also a sense of direction and purpose and an odd sense of stability from a team that showed nothing of the sort offensively or defensively in Game 2 when the Thunder got outscored 67-36 in the middle two quarters.
Too much of the first two games was about Westbrook and Durant. Not saying that approach isn't a sound philosophy, but when the two struggle and no one else picks up any of the other heavy lifting, the two get frustrated and exposed. It happened in Game 1 when Westbrook and Durant couldn't close in the fourth quarter, combining for just seven points on 2-of-6 shooting.
The three starters other than Durant and Westbrook had nine total points combined in two games. The Thunder had six blocks in the first two games as well. Sunday, Ibaka had four blocks and the team had 10. The Spurs scored 40 points in the paint Sunday after going for 66 in Game 1.
And certainly the presence and boost of Ibaka just being on the floor helped the Thunder and its renewed sense of calm and certainty.
"When you talk about a teammate, that's everything you want your teammates to embody," Durant said. "A guy who gives himself up for the team, gives his body up for the team. I gained so much more respect for Serge for laying it all on the line for us, putting his body out there and sacrificing his health of the betterment of the team. I'm glad we won, but no matter what would have happened tonight, that's something you want to have beside you every, single day."
We know the Thunder are a better team when Westbrook and Durant play well. They combined for 51 points and were 16-for-38 shooting. We know when someone else contributes – and tonight it was a lot of Ibaka – the Thunder win playoff games.
But when Durant and Westbrook don't argue and when the team plays some amount of defense on a guy like Danny Green (3-of-12 Sunday/ 7-of-11 in Game 2) and show some urgency and energy, things go a lot better.
Sunday the Thunder won because they had all of that, and their composure, too.
Follow Andrew Gilman on Twitter: @andrewgilmanOK
