Thunder vs. Spurs: The Moment of Truth (2012 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals Game 3 Preview)

Game Thread at 8PM CST

Records: The San Antonio Spurs (#1) vs The Oklahoma City Thunder (#2)

Time: 8:00 PM Central Daylight Time

Place: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

TV: Turner Network Television

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1), KSPN 710 Los Angeles

Enemy Blog(s): Pounding the Rock, 48 Minutes of Hell

Previous Meetings: Game 1, Game 2 (Spurs Lead Series 2-0)

PtR Preview

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Game 3 is upon us tonight. The Moment has arrived. It would be wonderful if the Thunder were up 2-0 in this WCF series against the Spurs. It would be splendid if they had a 1-1 split. It would even be quite the thing if OKC had a solid plan of attack to slow down the Spurs' offense.

Alas, we don't have any of those things. We have an 0-2 series hole against a Spurs team that appears to run a perfected offense and they are moving in for the mortal blow. They haven't lost in almost two months and have no intention of starting now.

Are you nervous? I am nervous. I shudder to think of the Thunder dropping tonight's game, which would be the beginning of the end of their 2011-12 season. Dark and sobering thoughts spin out of control, taking the mind to all sorts of unsavory endings. Very, very bad things.

Then I realized, however, that tonight's game is all about the very Moment for which we eagerly await as sports fans. Perhaps the greatest feeling in the sports world is that moment in between when it feels like all is lost and the moment when the road to revival begins. It is the thin space in between that restores something that every sports fan cherishes - hope.

Tonight, the Thunder have a chance to restore hope to the team, the fanbase, and to themselves. That is a moment worth waiting for.

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Prediction: Thunder 99, Spurs 95