Makings of Something Beautiful

The Thunder are one win away from the NBA Finals. Just typing that totally freaked me out. I’m thinking about backspacing and starting over because it’s scaring me.

They did what they had to do. They had to win one game in San Antonio. They had to get a seemingly impossible job done. They had to do it.

And they did it.

I’m out of things to say about this team. Which sucks, because there’s a decently remotely possibly potentially good chance that I’m going to be needing to come up with a lot more stuff to say about this team over the next three weeks.

To say Game 5 was a wave of emotions is like saying Mt. Everest is a tall hill. Understatement. The ups and downs experienced in Game 5 zapped five years off all our lives. I’m not joking either. We’re all going to die earlier deaths because of this game. The Spurs’ hot start. The Thunder’s charge. The Thunder missing an opportunity to put some distance between them and the Spurs at halftime. Manu Ginobili’s explosion. OKC’s comeback. Another nine-point lead to start the fourth. Another blown lead. Another run to push it to 13. Another blown lead. A huge jumper by Russell Westbrook. Another push by the Spurs. A dagger by James Harden. Another push by the Spurs. A blown foul call that gave the Spurs a shot at tying down three. A Ginobili 3 that just rimmed out.

After all of it, the Thunder are one game away.

It almost had to be this way. There’s been a whole lot of talk about this team being ready or needing to go through the process of getting over the hump. Last season against Dallas, the Thunder struggled late in games, blowing a 15-point lead with about the same amount of time that was on the clock tonight. They blew the Game 1 lead against the Spurs. If there’s a process, the Thunder are going through it. Just on the fly. Accelerated development.

“We never thought we were supposed to wait our turn,” said Durant. “We always wanted to go and take everything.”

And they had to take Game 5. Deep down, it was true because otherwise it was back to being against a wall, back to fighting to stay alive and back to San Antonio with a must-win scenario. Obviously that’s still in play though. The series didn’t end tonight even though that feeling is in the air. The Thunder have a great advantage taking a 3-2 lead home, but there are no guarantees.

” We don’t want to get too high on this win,” Durant said. “We know that we still have a tough road ahead. But we came here, we wanted to get a win on their home floor. That’s what it took for us to advance or get to where we wanted to get.”

Said Westbrook: “It’s just one game. It’s Game 5, now got to get ready for Game 6. Just one step closer.”

One step, but the final one is big. Closeout games aren’t easy, especially when you’re trying to finish the Spurs, a team that’s really good. A team that doesn’t lose three games in a row very much. A team that loses four games straight about as much as Lazar Hayward plays.

It seems like it’s a little dangerous to think about having to win Game 6. But the opportunity is there. It’s there for the taking and the path has been cleared out for the Thunder. Are they ready? Is it their time, even though it’s so soon? If it’s not, we’ll sure know because this is about as good a chance as you’re going to get.

Game 5 was a summation of the Thunder’s journey wrapped into 48 minutes. Explosive exciting athleticism. Breathtaking basketball. Infuriating carelessness. Defensive lapses. Brilliant playmaking. Incredible resiliency. Frustrating mental mistakes. Big plays, big shots. Kevin Durant. Russell Westbrook. James Harden. Building leads, losing them, coming back, hanging on. If the Thunder are finally set to take that next step, at least they’re doing it right.