At 7:32 of the first quarter in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals between the Thunder and Warriors on Sunday, Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan pulled center Steven Adams from the game and replaced him with guard Dion Waiters. This was in response to Warriors coach Steve Kerr pulling center Andrew Bogut and replacing him with another center, Festus Ezeli.This left the Warriors and Thunder in an odd role reversal. Here was OKC Dallas Keuchel Jersey with three guards on the floor Waiters, Ru sell Westbrook and Andre Roberson and its two forwards bumped up in position, with Serge Ibaka at center and Kevin Durant at power forward. The Warriors, meanwhile, had a traditional center on the floor.MORE: It was the Thunder who went small, showing Golden State a multi-faceted group with four ballhandlers and willing 3-point gunners all around. Its what Golden State usually does to opponents. But this time, the Thunder turned the table and the Warriors got Death Lineup-ed.It created a little bit maybe more spacing for us on offense, Donovan said after the game. We had several different ball handlers in there that could help contribute and make plays alongside Ru sell and Kevin. So there were some positive things. I think it gave Andre some room and Gerrit Cole Jersey space to do some things that was helpful. It gave Dion some opportunities. So I thought that group there, to your point, it gave us a little bit of a boost in that first and second quarter.A little bit of a boost? Thats like saying the captain of the Titanic made a slight navigational error.The Thunders small lineup was a wrecking ball in Game 3. In the first-quarter stretch in which Donovan went small against the Warriors bigger lineup, the Thunders 14-11 lead blo somed to 30-20. Thats a 16-9 edge. The Thunder went small briefly in the second quarter, gaining a 2-0 edge, before re-inserting Adams.But Donovan quickly pulled Adams again at 4:42 of the first half, with the Thunder ahead by a manageable number, 55 Carlos Lee Jersey -44. Thats when the Thunders Death Lineup blitz took hold again, and when Donovan pulled Durant with 27.0 seconds left in the first half, OKC had gone on a 14-3 run, establishing a 69-47 lead that sealed the game.Tally the damage done by the Thunder small-ball crew in the first half, and you can see just how much Donovan is underselling its impact. The spacing was obvious. Oklahoma City attempted seven 3-pointers with that group in the first half and made three. They attempted 11 2-point field goals, and made eight all eight of those shots were either dunks or layups. There were seven made free throws on eight attempts, with three turnovers.Most important was the total score with that lineup: 32-12, Thunder.MORE: Still, you can understand why Donovan would want to minimize just how effective Thunder Death was in that first half of Game 3. Its been a lineup he has been reluctant to use, one that disappointed during the regular season. According to NBA.coms stats, that lineup made appearances in 25 games this year, with an average plus-minus of minus-32 points per 48 minutes.Donovan also knows that, from a defensive standpoint, the Thunder might have gotten a little lucky with their use of small-ball. Against the Westbrook-Waiters-Roberson-Durant-Ibaka front, the Warriors were just 5 for 22 in the first half, and no coach would be foolish enough to bank on that becoming a regular occurrence. Stephen Curry was 0 for 6 against The Thunders small guys, and Draymond Green mi sed four layups, two of which were blocked by Durant.There was also the memory of OKCs brief dabbling with the Jeff Bagwell Jersey small lineup in Game 1, when Donovan gambled with the group to close the first half, for the final 4:05. That didnt go so smoothly, and the Thunder were outscored, 14-7, then. The Thunder came back to win that Houston Astros Custom Jersey game with either Adams or Enes Kanter on the floor at all times in the second half and Donovan did not use the lineup at all in Game 2.But credit Donovan with keeping the small lineup as an option. And with the havoc it wreaked on Kerrs gameplan, which was to match the Thunders size using both Adams and Kanter together was a key to OKCs win over the Spurs in the conference semis with a rotation of Bogut, Ezeli and Anderson Varejao in the middle.Donovan might not have as much confidence in Westbrook-Waiters-Roberson-Durant-Ibaka as Kerr has in his vaunted Death Lineup, and you can be sure that Kerr will find adjustments.But for Game 3, at the least, Donovan and the Thunder got enough from the bunch to deliver a fatal blow.