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Oakland, Calif. • Midway through the second quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference finals, Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook walked over to his team's bench during a pair of free throws by Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.

First talking to assistant coach Maurice Cheeks and then to coach Billy Donovan, Westbrook had the same message: "Take him out." The "him" Westbrook was referring to was Thunder big man Enes Kanter, a skilled offensive player and rebounder who struggles defensively.

Donovan, after a brief consultation with Cheeks, went down the bench, called for Andre Roberson to come to the scorer's table and removed Kanter from the game.

A moment like this could be perceived as a player dictating to his coach how the team should be run. But for the Thunder it was a moment that signified how much the relationship between Donovan and his team — particularly stars Westbrook and Kevin Durant — has progressed over the course of this season.

"I've tried to foster that kind of stuff because ... I don't want them to feel like they can't come to me," Donovan said after Oklahoma City's convincing 118-94 win, which gave the Thunder a 3-1 series lead and put the team one win from the NBA Finals. "I want Kevin and Russell and those guys that have been here and have invested so much to be able to communicate with me, and I want to be able to go to them.

"⅛One thing⅜ I try to do is to get both parties to have ownership. You can sit here and say, 'Do this, this and this,' not explain it and say, 'I'm the coach. It's my way or the highway,' and they're not really bought into it and before you know it you're never really maximizing what you can do together, so I try to create a situation where there's accountability for both of us. We're both on the hook."

In addition to the success the Thunder enjoyed under former coach Scott Brooks — a 338-207 record and three conference finals appearances - Brooks also fostered strong relationships with Westbrook and Durant. While Donovan's résumé from his time at the University of Florida — including back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007 - was an impressive one, there was no guarantee he would be able to forge that same kind of connection or quickly adapt to life in the NBA.

Over the past few weeks, any lingering doubts about Donovan or the way he has gone about the job have evaporated. He has gotten his players to buy in, and he has made several key decisions that have helped Oklahoma City move to the precipice of the team's second trip to the NBA Finals.

"It's definitely gotten better," Westbrook said of the relationship between Donovan and his team. "Obviously with the coaching change, we all had to adjust. ... I think it's been great."

Tactically, Donovan has been brilliant during these playoffs. His decision to play Kanter alongside center Steven Adams — and instead of longtime starter Serge Ibaka — for extended periods of time against the San Antonio Spurs after the Thunder was routed in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals allowed the Thunder to hammer the Spurs inside and paved the way for Oklahoma City to claim the series in six games.

After Kanter played so well against San Antonio, Donovan has all but benched him in this series, instead opting to play a small-ball lineup featuring Durant at power forward and Ibaka at center for extended minutes the past two games. That lineup has destroyed the Warriors and their own small-ball formation. Oklahoma City has outscored Golden State 91-35 in the 26 minutes the Thunder has had its small-ball lineup on the court. The rest of Oklahoma City's lineup combinations, meanwhile, have actually been outscored through the first four games of this series.

Not only has the Thunder shown off its impressive versatility, but Donovan's ability to dramatically extend and decrease players' minutes illustrates how he has earned the trust of a group that believes in his decisions.

"I always feel my job and responsibility is to try and generate and create thoughts to help those guys individually — and our team collectively — be better," Donovan said. "When you're generating those kinds of thoughts, you want to be including the players. I want it to be more of a unified, cohesive group that's working together."

Oklahoma City has never been more unified and cohesive than it is right now. And because of it, the Thunder is on the verge of a trip to the NBA Finals.