Now that Kevin Durant is back, the Thunder have returned to a familiar place.

Oklahoma City beat San Antonio in six games to advance to the Western Conference finals for the fourth time in six years — and the fourth time in the past five seasons that Durant has been healthy.

San Antonio was expected to advance, especially after going 40-1 at home during the regular season to claim the No. 2 seed in the West. But the third-seeded Thunder won twice in San Antonio during the series, boosting their confidence heading into Game 1 against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Monday night in Oakland.

Durant is still chasing his first NBA title, so he was able to put the Spurs series in its proper perspective.

The grind of the San Antonio series could serve the Thunder well against Golden State. Though the Thunder won the series 4-2, four of the games were battles.

Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook was dynamic in the series against the Spurs, too. He scored 28 points in Game 6 on 10-for-21 shooting, and had 12 assists. For the series, he averaged 25.2 points and 10.5 assists. He struggled with his shot early in the series, but he put pressure on the defense and found his teammates often, then eventually found his shooting rhythm.