Spurs dominate the paint, easily topple Thunder in Game 1

The San Antonio Spurs thoroughly dominated the battle of the paint against the Oklahoma City Thunder en route to the 122-105 victory in Game 1.

As they have been for 17 straight seasons, power forward Tim Duncan led the way for the Spurs. Without Thunder forward Serge Ibaka to provide rim protection in the paint, Duncan ran roughshod over the Thunder. He finished with 27 points on 11-for-19 shooting from the field. 

As a whole, the Spurs outscored the Thunder by a score of 66-32 in the paint. Ibaka's replacement in forward Nick Collison was adequate, but failed to provide anything in the way of shot blocking. The Thunder ended the night with three blocks in total.

Thunder head coach Scott Brooks tried just about everything to stem the Spurs' onslaught, but nothing worked. As a team, the Spurs shot a ridiculous 57.5 percent from the field, and 52.9 percent from deep.

Oklahoma City were led by the duo of forward Kevin Durant and guard Russell Westbrook, who scored 28 and 25 respectively in the loss.

Star Performer

Whenever Tim Duncan decides to hang up his shoes, he will inevitably be ushered into the Basketball Hall of Fame at the earliest opportunity.

Case in point: at the tender age of 38, Duncan led the Spurs in scoring with 27 points on an efficient 57.9 percent shooting from the field. He also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out three assists. Most impressively, he racked up those numbers in only 29 minutes of play.

Duncan was dominant in the paint, and single-handedly foiled the Thunder's small-ball lineups. Through a mix of pick-and-roll finishes, post-ups and a few patented bankshots off the backboard, Duncan served as the focal point of the Spurs' 122-point outburst.

Turning Point

The Spurs led for almost the entirety of the game, but the Thunder managed to briefly take the lead midway through the third quarter.

Durant sunk an 8-foot jumpshot, which temporarily gave Oklahoma City a fleeting 78-77 point edge. However, the Thunder went cold, failing to score a single field-goal over the next four minutes, during which time the Spurs were able to recapture the lead.

The Spurs countered with a jumper from Ginobili, a layup from Duncan, and a wholly unexpected three-pointer from center Aron Baynes. The outburst, coupled with their strong defense, allowed the Spurs to hold a 7-point lead going into the final quarter.

Highlight Reel

Tony Parker embarrasses Thabo Sefolosha

Boris Diaw got poked in the eye (gross)

Danny Green sinks a three, gives a shoutout to J.R. Smith

Kawhi Leonard can do it all

BONUS: A photo of "Charlena" Barkley

Quotes of the Game

Series at a Glance

Game 1: SAS 122, OKC 105 (Spurs lead series 1-0)
Game 2: Wednesday, May 21 - 9:00 p.m. ET
Game 3: Sunday, May 25 - 8:30 p.m. ET
Game 4: Tuesday, May 27 - 9:00 p.m. ET
Game 5*: Thursday, May 29 - 9:00 p.m. ET
Game 6*: Saturday, May 31 - 8:30 p.m. ET
Game 7*: Monday, June 2 - 9:00 p.m. ET