SAN ANTONIO — Tony Parker swished the buzzer-beater and unleashed a cathartic scream. Under the basket, Kevin Durant stood frozen in disbelief.
SAN ANTONIO — Tony Parker swished the buzzer-beater and unleashed a cathartic scream. Under the basket, Kevin Durant stood frozen in disbelief.
Throw in the trade that sent James Harden to Houston, and that’s two stunners for the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first week of this NBA season.
Parker sank a 21-footer as time expired and the San Antonio Spurs won a thrilling rematch of the Western Conference finals, beating Oklahoma City 86-84 on Thursday night without having to chase around Harden this time.
Parker scored the last of his 14 points while Serge Ibaka — the NBA’s leading shot-blocker last season — ran at him full steam. The All-Star guard calmly swished a long jumper from the left wing before breaking into a sustained scream while his teammates mobbed him in front of the Thunder bench.
“I was like, I have to shoot fast,” Parker said about eluding the outstretched arm of the 6-foot-10 Ibaka. “He was coming very fast.”
Durant led all scorers with 23 points and began his sixth NBA season by becoming the second-youngest player behind LeBron James to reach 10,000 career points. Durant, however, stood silent under the basket for several seconds after Parker’s shot before walking off the court.
“We lost him. We didn’t get him in time, but he still made a tough shot over Serge,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.
The defending West champions broke up their Big Three by trading the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year to Houston on Saturday. Harden had 37 points and 12 assists in a brilliant debut with the Rockets on Wednesday night.
Speaking before the season opener, Brooks succinctly acknowledged Harden’s performance before saying his team was moving forward.
Until Parker’s game-winner, it was almost as if nothing had changed for Oklahoma City.
Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 20 points and eight rebounds. Parker also had 11 assists and hit a 3-pointer with 28.4 seconds left that tied the game at 84 and set up his buzzer-beater on the next possession.
Durant also had 14 rebounds. Russell Westbrook scored 18 points but made a poor pass on the Thunder’s final possession that gave the ball back to the Spurs with 5.9 seconds left, giving Parker plenty of time to set and release his shot.
The Thunder are starting anew with newcomers Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, who along with draft picks, are what the Thunder got in exchange for their third-leading scorer. Small-market Oklahoma City wasn’t willing to offer Harden a maximum contract, and the No. 3 overall pick in the 2009 draft wouldn’t accept its lesser offer.