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OAKLAND — By late May 2012, Kobe Bryant’s Lakers were dissolving as an NBA power, the Warriors were yet to rise and the veteran Spurs seemed one powerful punch away from an expiration date.
That’s why the 2012 West Finals felt like more than a series victory for Kevin Durant’s young Thunder. It landed like a declaration of conference dominance for the next decade, a four-game, seven-day avalanche of limbs, dunks, 3s and overwhelming athleticism that turned the Spurs from wily and authoritative to aging and exposed.