San Antonio Spurs will be hosting the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder for the opening match of their best-of-seven semifinals series of the Western Conference at the AT&T Center on Saturday night.

The Spurs are coming fresh from a mighty 4-0 sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies, while the Thunder got the better of the Dallas Mavericks with a 4-1 first round series win.

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The two elite clubs in the West have met twice in the NBA playoffs before, and both occasions happened to be in the finals of the Western Conference where the winners went up against the LeBron James-led Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

In their two previous postseason showdowns, the Thunder beat San Antonio and emerged as the victors in 2012 - although they failed to win the NBA crown. The Spurs defeated Oklahoma City in 2014 and eventually claimed the NBA championship title against the Micky Arison-owned basketball club.

This season, the Spurs and Thunder went 2-2 against one another, with both teams having their victories at their own ground. Oklahoma won at the Chesapeake Energy Arena with a 112-106 win on October 28 and with 111-92 triumph on March 26, while San Antonio defeated the Thunder with a 93-85 win on March 12 and with a 102-98 victory on April 12 at the AT&T Center.

The spectacular duo of All-Stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are expected to carry the Thunder. Durant is currently averaging 26.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists in the postseason while the league's triple-double leader Westbrook averaged 26.0 points, 11.2 assists and 7.2 boards in the playoffs.

The back-to-back Defensive Player of the league Kawhi Leonard will lead San Antonio on both ends of the court. His postseason numbers are 21.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 2.8 blocked shots. The Spurs' deeper bench is also expected to contribute in their quest for another NBA title.

TagsNBA 2016, Western Conference, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, 2016 nba playoffs