Serge Ibaka Back With a Bang As Oklahoma City Thunder Down San Antonio Spurs in Game 3

The Oklahoma City Thunder have seemed to use excuses for their poor showings lately, but it seems it might of been a legitimate excuse after all. After falling 2-0 down to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals, they kept saying "We're missing Serge Ibaka". After realizing they cannot be without him, they recalled him despite his 'Season-ending' injury. Even if he wasn't at his best, Serge Ibaka returned with a vengeance as OKC stormed over the Spurs on their way to taking game 3.

Ibaka dropped 15 points as OKC beat the Spurs 106-97, on top of that he had seven rebounds and four blocks. Talk about the grandest return of them all. With Ibaka in this kind of form, OKC have to be wondering if games 1 and 2 could've finished any differently. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have struggled without Ibaka, but they found their fluent form once again. Durant dropped 25 points, whilst Westbrook went one better, scoring 26 points.

With this trio playing in this way, one can wonder, can they march their way to the NBA finals after alL? Thunder coach, Scott Brooks, explained the importance of Ibaka's return, saying "Obviously Serge came in and gave us a big lift not only on the defensive end but the offensive end," Whilst Spurs coach Gregg Popovich shared his disappointment, saying "I was very disappointed that we didn't come out with more of a foot in the neck sort of attitude. They killed us on the boards, they beat us in 50-50 balls and that's very disappointing to me."

With Ibaka back and raring to go, just how far can his Thunder team go?