Stephen Jackson: ‘[The Spurs] Have Got to Show More Emotion and More Passion’

Behind outstanding performances from Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka, the Thunder came out Saturday night and took down the Spurs, evening the series at two. Naturally, swingman Stephen Jackson wasn’t too happy with what he saw out of his teammates, and he’s got an idea or two about what San Antonio needs to do to swing the momentum back in their favor. Via the Express-News: “Trailing by 12 at halftime after the Thunder dominated the final five minutes of the second quarter of Game 4, the Spurs got their ears full of Gregg Popovich. Veteran Stephen Jackson said they deserved the high-decibel tirade from the coach. ‘I don’t think Gregg Popovich should have to come in this locker room and scream and kick to get guys to go in and play hard,’ Jackson said after the Thunder evened the best-of-7 series at two games apiece. ‘This is the Western Conference finals. I know a million people who want to be in our shoes. For him to have to come in here and scream at guys to play hard … I am shocked. Everybody should be ready to play. … We’ve got to show more emotion and more passion to want to win this thing.’ Nobody who was in the locker room went into specifics about Popovich’s halftime exhortations.”