Thunder 115, Kings 89
Nuggets from my notebook from Friday’s win over the Kings.
- Russell Westbrook’s monster dunk late in the second quarter. Was it the best in Thunder history? I say so. Kevin Durant agrees. The Thunder has had a lot of highlight-reel dunks over the (four) years, but this one has to be at the top of the list.
- It didn’t matter that Westbrook’s dunk didn’t come on someone, like Durant’s over Brendan Haywood, or Durant’s on Roy Hibbert, or James Harden’s on J.J. Hickson, or even Westbrook’s on Shane Battier and Mario Chalmers. What made Westbrook’s dunk tonight so great was three things: 1) how incredibly high he got, 2) how incredibly bad the pass from KD was and 3) the fact that Westbrook is, you know, a 6-3 point guard!
- I’m just going to copy and past what KD said of Westbrook’s flush. “I don’t want to give him too much credit. It was a great pass by myself (laughs),” Durant joked. “Nah, but that was one of the most athletic plays I’ve ever seen. I think it was probably the dunk of the year. But Blake Griffin has had a lot of those. But for a 6-3 point guard to be catching lobs like that, man, that was unreal.”
- Durant on what he thought when he let go of the pass: “I thought it was too short. I thought it was going to get tipped. But he turned a terrible pass into a great finish. That’s what he’s been doing for us all year. That was unreal.”
- KD on where the dunk ranks in Thunder history: “He had a few of them. He dunked on Battier. Battier was crucial. His first year when he dunked on Chalmers. And the one where he dunked off the backboard over (Marco) Belinelli was crazy. He’s had plenty of highlights. But this one was unreal because of how high he jumped and how much he cocked it back. At 6-3, I’ve never seen nothing like that. Nah. That was probably the best, his right there because he’s 6-3, man, and he dunked that like he was my height. It was a terrible pass and he cocked it all the way back, man. That was crazy.”
- If you don’t care about the dunk, are one of those basketball “purists” who roll your eyes and consider it just two points and you want me to move on, you’ve come to the wrong place. The NBA is in the entertainment business, and plays like the one you saw tonight are the reason folks pay what they pay to see these games. There might not be 100 people in the world who can do what Westbrook did tonight. Not only is it a big deal, but it was by far the most interesting thing to happen in this contest.
- And I’d actually disagree with anyone who says plays like Westbrook’s monster dunk is worth just two points. They’re momentum-changers. They get players hype. They get teams going. And they fuel crowds. Harden admitted as much a few days ago during an interview session prior to the Clippers game. Generally, highlight plays like those are followed by a run of some kind. It’s no coincidence, at least in my book, that the Thunder closed the half on a 9-2 run after Westbrook’s dunk. (more…)
Thunder 92, Bulls 78
Nuggets from my notebook from Sunday’s win over Chicago.
- It’s really a shame Derrick Rose couldn’t play. Instead of a potential Finals preview, we got 48 minutes of poo.
- Thunder heads aren’t complaining, I know. This is just what most of you probably wanted, a quick and easy blowout victory so everyone could rest up for what should be a physical battle against Memphis on Monday night.
- But it might have been better for the Thunder to be challenged a little more. OKC has struggled mightily with Rose in the past and there aren’t much better tests for pick-and-roll defenses than Rose and the Bulls. Given the current winning streak and how good things have been for the Thunder, it could have been useful for this one to have been more of a barometer game.
- Enough of all that. This was a great win for the Thunder. The Bulls came in 14-5 without Rose, and Chicago has some pretty solid wins without him. The Bulls are still plenty dangerous, and the Thunder took care of business. That was the first of many impressive things about this win. Said Thunder coach Scott Brooks: “At times, you can have a letdown when someone’s best player is missing. But he’s missed…10 games so we we’re prepared.”
- For anyone who has that friend who feels the need to discredit wins like this by the Thunder, here are four arguments you can fire at him or her: Feb. 4, March 3, March 13 and March 16. Those dates represent four Thunder losses. Each of them — San Antonio, Atlanta, San Antonio and Houston — was a defeat the Thunder took when the other team was without its best player (Manu Ginobili, Joe Johnson) or one of its best players (Kyle Lowry). Point being, wins under these circumstances aren’t always easy.
- Brooks called the Thunder’s defense the best of the season. Hard to argue with that. OKC held Chicago under 40 percent shooting all game and ultimately hounded the Bulls into a season-low 33 percent shooting. The Thunder just swarmed to the ball defensively, using active hands to come up with deflections and disrupt every part of the Bulls offensive rhythm.
- Brooks: “I liked the way our guys got after the basketball. We challenged every pass. We challenged every shot. And we rebounded the ball better as the game went on.”
- The third quarter was arguably the most impressive period of the game for the Thunder. From very early on in the period, you could tell that OKC came out looking to build on its 10-point lead and put away the Bulls early. And that’s exactly what happened. The Thunder used a 20-5 run over the first six minutes of the period to blow open the game. Eventually, the Thunder led by as many as 30.
- No starter (from either team) needed to play a single second of the fourth quarter. That’s how well in hand this one was. And it should benefit the Thunder as the rested Grizzlies come in here next on what will be the second night of a back-to-back for OKC.
- Another sign of how completely dominant the Thunder was. Midway through the third quarter, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant had combined for 48 points. The Bulls had 44! Through three quarters, Russ and KD had 53 points. The Bulls had 51.
- I loved, loved, loved Westbrook’s aggressiveness to start the game. With Rose out, Westbrook went right at C.J. Watson. From all areas: in the post, in transition, in the pick-and-roll and with his mid-range game. Westbrook was again unstoppable all night. He started this one making five of his first six shots thanks to his jumper working. It set the tone offensively, and the Bulls simply didn’t have the firepower to keep up.
- Durant had his jumper working early, too. He started 3-for-3 and all three were gorgeous, Kevin Durant-type shots. Coupled with Westbrook’s effectiveness, and that stingy D, the Bulls never stood a chance.
- This is getting ridiculous. Westbrook took two more shots than KD. Mark my words. This is going to be a huge problem come playoff time.
- April Fool’s! The Thunder is 20-4 when Westbrook takes more shots than KD. And the average margin of victory in those wins is a whopping 12.4 points! (more…)
Thunder 103, Heat 87
Nuggets from my notebook from Sunday’s win over Miami.
- This was one of the best regular season wins in Thunder history. Taking on an elite team in a game that both sides knew had vast implications, the Thunder assembled a dominating performance that showed a nationally televised audience just how much of a threat it can and likely will be. Oklahoma City stuck to its style, matched Miami’s physicality, was dialed in defensively and played with supreme poise and patience offensively. It’s a mix the Thunder has yet to show on a consistent basis, leaving questions about where it truly ranks among the league’s best. But on Sunday night, for 48 minutes, the Thunder proved that, deep down, it does indeed have that magnificent mix to be a real problem.
- The Thunder’s discipline was without a doubt the most remarkable aspect of tonight’s win. Never before have we seen OKC play with such sustained discipline for 48 minutes. And it was on both ends. Thunder players stuck to their shell defensive principles, shutting off Miami’s driving lanes to the basket, and swarmed to the ball all night to get deflections and force turnovers. Offensively, the Thunder trusted each other. All. Game. Long. That poise and patience that the Thunder displayed led to unstoppable offense, characterized by ball movement and unselfishness that saw players routinely make the extra pass and get wide open shot after wide open shot.
- What you saw tonight is an example of exactly what type of team the Thunder is striving to be. That discipline is what defines great teams. At some point, the Thunder is going to get there. It’s not going to happen overnight, but this was a huge step in the process. Thunder coach Scott Brooks prefers to instruct by highlighting positives in film sessions rather than harping on negatives. After tonight, Brooks won’t find a better blueprint to show his guys in what he calls the “truth box.” Every night isn’t going to be like this. But the key is for the Thunder to start stringing together several games in succession of this type of effort.
- Nick Collison: “Instead of going into a big-time game like with our players saying, ‘OK, I need to make great one-on-one plays,’ we said we need to really run through our sets and execute so that we can get good shots. That’s something that we haven’t always done. Hopefully that means we’re learning and getting better at that stuff and hopefully it becomes the norm for us.”
- From the start, the matchups were going to be interesting to watch. Both teams played it straight up to start. Russell Westbrook was on Mario Chalmers. Thabo Sefolosha was on Dwyane Wade. Kevin Durant guarded LeBron James. Serge Ibaka defended Chris Bosh. And Kendrick Perkins was on Joel Anthony.
- The Heat bring Udonis Haslem off the bench first in place of Bosh, and then Shane Battier later comes in for Wade. When Battier checked in, he played the 2 and guarded James Harden. And Battier gave Harden fits. We’re used to seeing Harden either dominate or simply struggle with his shot. It’s rare that a player shuts him down. But that’s what Battier was doing early, forcing Harden into dribbling into a crowd and hounding him into making terrible passes. Fortunately for the Thunder, the Heat had to have Battier on Durant a good portion of the time so Harden was able to get much of his against Wade.
- In the two-man game, Harden still had his way.
- It’s interesting that Miami is regarded as the team that best punishes teams for their mistakes. Yet it was the Thunder that blew open the game at the end of the first half by capitalizing on the Heat’s turnovers. With five minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Thunder lead 43-40. In the last five minutes of the quarter, the Heat had five turnovers and the Thunder converted four of the five turnovers into points to build a 55-42 lead with two minutes remaining in the half.
- The ball movement by the Thunder in the first half was perhaps the best we’ve seen all season. It was certainly the best we’ve seen against an elite team. OKC started the game with six assists on its first seven buckets and nine assists on its first 11 made field goals. The Thunder finished with 26 assists, one shy of tying its season high.
- The Thunder had just six turnovers at halftime, another example of the discipline with which OKC played. Miami had 11.
- Both teams combined to shoot 42-of-67 from the field in the first half. Apparently, that 63 percent clip was the best first-half shooting this year. (more…)
Thunder 149, Wolves 140
Nuggets from my notebook from Friday’s double overtime win over Minnesota.
- What. A. Game.
- This has to be the best game of the year…in the entire league!
- Thunder forward Kevin Durant: “That’s going to be a game that’s going to be played for a little while.”
- Thunder guard Russell Westbrook: “It’s fun, man. It’s one of those games you kind of just live for and try to have a good time.”
- Thunder guard James Harden: “It was definitely fun and exciting. It took too long, but I think all the guys are happy, especially us. We came away with the victory.”
- Wolves guard J.J. Barea: “That was an awesome game to be a part of.”
- Thunder coach Scott Brooks: “I’m sure the fans and the players enjoyed it more than me.”
- The Wolves started the game with two favorable matchups: Kendrick Perkins on Kevin Love and Serge Ibaka guarding Derrick Williams. And what does Minnesota do on its first possession? Run some action for Martell Webster, of course. And when the Thunder snuffed it out, forcing Webster to pass, he turned it over on a silly pass. Naturally, on the very next possession, the Wolves went to the other side of the court and tried to free up Wesley Johnson with an off-ball screen. Again, turnover.
- Once Minnesota stopped fooling around finally went to Love, you saw why the matchup was so tough on the Thunder. The guy is an absolute monster. The best power forward in the league, I’d say. He took Perk out to the 3-point line, just as we thought he would, and knocked down three straight 3s. Then, Love followed up on that by going inside to do what he does best, getting an offensive rebound and putback. That three-minute stretch set the tone for the rest of the game. It helped Love get comfortable and find his rhythm early. Once he did, there was no stopping him.
- Love finished with a career-high 51 points on 16-of-27 shooting to go with 14 rebounds in 49 minutes. He made 7-of-11 3-pointers and 12-of-16 foul shots. Love’s 51 set a new Thunder opponent individual high this season, besting the 48 former Warriors guard Monta Ellis scored on Feb. 7.
- Love on his career night: “Doesn’t matter now with the loss.”
- Westbrook also had a career-high, finishing with 45 points on 17-of-28 shooting to go along with six assists and four rebounds in 50 minutes. Westbrook scored nine of his 45 in the second overtime and was the catalyst in the Thunder putting a nail in the Wolves’ coffin.
- Here are Westbrook’s biggest plays from the final 2 1/2 minutes of regulation on.
- A 3-pointer to beat the shot clock buzzer with 1:41 left in regulation. Thunder 113, Wolves 108.
- A floater with 2:09 left in the first overtime. Thunder 122, Wolves 122.
- A huge offensive rebound and a jumper in the lane with 36 seconds left in the first overtime. Wolves 129, Thunder 126.
- A three-point play with 4:45 left in the second overtime. Thunder 132, Wolves 129.
- A coast-to-coast layup with 4:01 left in the second overtime. Thunder 136, Wolves 131.
- A backdoor layup with 2:37 left in the second overtime. Thunder 140, Wolves 136.
- A fast break dunk with 1:15 left in the second overtime. Thunder 144, Wolves 138.
- Durant in a word tonight: clutch. He finished with 40 points and made big shot after big shot first to keep the Wolves at bay, and then to keep the Thunder in it. KD added 17 rebounds (one shy of a career high) and five assists in 52 minutes.
- Here are Durant’s biggest plays from the final 2 1/2 minutes of regulation on.
- A jumper off a curl with 2:21 left in regulation. Thunder 110, Wolves 106.
- A crossover and stepback 3 from the top of the key with 3.9 seconds left in regulation. Thunder 116, Wolves 113.
- A great show in help defense, sliding over and forcing Love into a traveling violation with 16.1 seconds left in the first overtime. Wolves 129, Thunder 126.
- A 3 from the right corner over Love with 10.1 seconds left in the first overtime. Thunder 129, Wolves 129.
- The Dirk with 1:34 left in double overtime. Thunder 142, Wolves 138.
- A pair of free throws with 55 seconds left in the second overtime. Thunder 146, Wolves 138.
- A steal against Love with 51.9 seconds left in the second overtime. Thunder 146, Wolves 138.
- Out of Durant’s biggest plays listed above, I’m going with No. 3 as the biggest. It might have just been the play of the game. If Durant doesn’t slide over and scare Love into shuffling his feet, the Wolves win this game.
- Once again, you witnessed history, Thunder heads. With KD and Russ both finishing with at least 40 points tonight, it marked the first time in NBA history that a pair of teammates both scored at least 40 points twice in the same game in a single season. The other game was that overtime classic against Denver last month. (more…)
Thunder 114, Clippers 91
Nuggets from my notebook from Wednesday’s win over the Clippers.
- The player of the game on this night goes to Russell Westbrook. His defense on Chris Paul set the tone from the start and shaped the complexion of the entire game. Westbrook was as locked in as we’ve ever seen him, giving second and third efforts on pick and rolls and refusing to get taken out of the play at any point throughout the night.
- Said Nick Collison of Westbrook’s D: “He was really focused and he was great for us. When he can control the point of the ball, we’re so much better defensively.”
- Westbrook said the Thunder’s embarrassing loss to the Clippers on Jan. 30 was his motivation for his inspired play. “We definitely (wanted) to come back after a loss last night and come back and get a little payback from what they did to us earlier in the season.”
- Not trying to be a Darnell downer by any means here. This was as good of a game as the Thunder has played in weeks. But this team needs to get to the point where it can come out with this type of effort without payback on the brain. We know the Thunder can get up for big-time players and big-time games. But what we have yet to see is OKC come out with that same focus consistently when game No. 48 of the season is just game No. 48. That’s an ultra important step in this team’s maturation.
- One last thing from me on Westbrook’s defense. Where is that effort every game? He showed tonight that he could, without a doubt, be the league’s best defensive point guard. But he’s been disappointing on that end pretty much all season, allowing opposing guards to have their way with him and, as a result, make things extremely tough on the entire team’s defense. I asked Westbrook how he can duplicate tonight’s effort on a nightly basis. “Easy,” he said. “Just come back and do it again.” Of course, I couldn’t let Westbrook get off that easy, because we all know that if it were that easy he would be doing it. And that certainly hasn’t been the case. (This is the part some of you might have caught on the post game broadcast. I didn’t know they were live.) “Oh, wait a minute, Darnell,” Westbrook said. “I’ve done it. (Tonight) was a good defensive game, but I wouldn’t say I haven’t done it all season. But I’m going to consistently try to do that.”
- Thunder coach Scott Brooks on Westbrook’s D: “From a statistic point of view, Russell looks like he had just a very average game. But I thought this was one of his best all-around games. He was guarding one of the premier point guards in the league, a guy that can manipulate the pick-and-roll game as well as anybody. And he did a very good job with that. He controlled the team and he controlled the game on both ends of the floor.”
- Westbrook was so good tonight that he caused Paul to temporarily lose his mind. Normally, it’s other guards getting under Westbrook’s skin and forcing the Thunder’s point guard into bad shots, bad turnovers and bad decisions. But, surprisingly, it was Westbrook who got the better of Paul. The final minute and a half of the second quarter said it all. In that span, Paul had two turnovers and took two terrible shots, missing both. He was a wreck, even flying around on defense in desperation mode. The best part was that Westbrook maintained his composure throughout the entire stretch and continued to make solid plays, winning plays even. Big time performance by Westbrook.
- The Clippers had just two dunks tonight. Only one was off a lob pass. That was a direct result of the Thunder’s defense, which started with Westbrook’s ball pressure. By comparison, the Clippers had eight dunks in that Jan. 30 debacle.
- Now, about Derek Fisher.
- (more…)
Spurs 114, Thunder 105
Nuggets from my notebook from Friday night’s loss to San Antonio.
- Early in the third quarter this one had the look and feel of the road game at Orlando. The Thunder was dead in the water and should have been finished. But they kept chipping away and chipping away. Then all of a sudden it was a game. Only this time, there was no magic left in the tank.
- Spurs forward Danny Green, of all people, had the play of the game when he sealed the win on a stolen inbounds pass from James Harden to Russell Westbrook. It gave the Spurs a 111-105 lead and iced it.
- Tim Duncan’s play just before that was a close second for play of the night. Duncan answered a huge 3-pointer by Kevin Durant with a turnaround jumper and the foul. He missed the free throw, but the bucket put San Antonio ahead by four with a minute left. Big time answer. If the Spurs don’t get that, I’m not sure they win this game.
- Interesting that for two years Thunder coach Scott Brooks has insisted on having Thabo Sefolosha in the game late to inbound the ball. There was a time when many questioned that decision. But two games into Sefolosha’s return from a foot injury, Brooks opted for Harden to inbound it rather than inserting Sefolosha. And we saw it backfire. Harden made a lazy pass and it ended up being the ballgame.
- Royal Ivey was playing his tail off, but Brooks could have replaced Ivey with Sefolosha and gotten his best inbounder into the game.
- Brooks on the personnel decision for the inbound pass: “I thought of that. I believe that Thabo is one of the best at throwing the ball inbounds. That’s a tough thing to do and it showed tonight. That was a tough play. It was not a good pass by James. But it’s something that we have to get better at because with Thabo, there’s times when he’s not going to be able to throw it in.”
- Brooks said he’s trying to limit Sefolosha to about 14 minutes a night while he continues to get acclimated.
- Defensive rebounding. My goodness. What is it going to take for the Thunder to close out possessions? In the first quarter, the Thunder was out-rebounded 18-7. The Spurs had as many offensive rebounds as the Thunder had total. And San Antonio converted those into 10 second-chance points. For the game, the Spurs out-rebounded the Thunder 49-37 and grabbed 15 offensive boards.
- Those 15 offensive rebounds led to 24 second chance points.
- No Manu Ginobili in this one. The Spurs were resting him as he continues to recover from a hip injury. Word is he’ll play tomorrow at Dallas.
- Don’t look now, but the Spurs are just three games back of the Thunder for first place in the West. Good thing Spurs coach Gregg Popovich doesn’t care for home court advantage or seeding. He said before the game that it’s proven that his teams can win or lose from anywhere. Doubt we can say the same about the Thunder. OKC needs home court. (more…)
Thunder 115, Suns 104
Nuggets from my notebook from Wednesday’s win over Phoenix.
- Sixteen minutes. That’s all the Thunder played tonight. Sixteen minutes of good basketball. The first 32 were crummy.
- This game was the epitome of the Thunder’s inconsistency. We’re watching a team that’s good enough to sleepwalk through the first 32 minutes of a game before showing up and getting serious. But everyone associated with this team knows that formula won’t work when it matters most, i.e. in the playoffs. That’s why Thunder coach Scott Brooks and players like Nick Collison and Royal Ivey and Kendrick Perkins are preaching consistency now.
- Ivey: “We got to be more consistent. In the first half, we weren’t that good in defending. We can’t just turn it off and on all the time. We got to come in thinking the first five minutes are very essential in the first quarter and the third quarter.”
- Ivey rescued the Thunder from what would have been a horrible home loss. When the Thunder went small midway through the third period and Brooks inserted Ivey with five minutes to go in the third, it completely changed the face of the game. Ivey’s defensive intensity was contagious and it sparked the turnaround. Said Brooks: “It’s amazing. He has 17 minutes, doesn’t score, doesn’t get an assist, doesn’t get a rebound but he had a big impact on the basketball game just with his toughness.”
- I called Ivey’s final numbers the best, worst stat line imaginable. And the great thing about Ivey is he doesn’t care. “It’s not about stats with me,” Ivey said. “Straight energy. I can affect the game without scoring. The shots didn’t go down. But I’m not worried about when my shots go down. When my shots go down, it’s extra. I’m worried about wins and losses and winning. If I can contribute in that kind of way, I’m happy.”
- What Ivey has done over the past three weeks has been amazing. The guy played a total of 27 minutes in the first 28 games of the season but has stepped right in and supplied stout defense and timely shots when called upon. “When you see a guy like that working, you have no choice but to do the same,” said Russell Westbrook. “If you’re not then everybody’s look at you like you’re crazy.”
- You know Ivey had to be pretty special to overshadow the night Westbrook, Kevin Durant, James Harden and Serge Ibaka had. Russ, KD and Harden each had at least 30 points, and Ibaka was two points shy of a 20-point, 20-rebound game. Those are video game numbers. It’s every bit as impressive as the Nuggets game in which KD scored 51, Westbrook scored 40 and Ibaka had a triple-double with blocks. My mission on Thursday is to find out when the last time a team had three 30-point scorers and a 20-20 guy.
- Brooks wasn’t impressed with his quartet’s numbers. “You have to play both ends of the floor, and I don’t think that they played the defense that they needed to in the first half,” Brooks said. “It’s great that they played well. That’s their job is to play well. But their job is also to play defense in both halves.” (more…)
James Harden, Nick Collison Out Tonight
The inside of the Thunder’s locker room an hour before Monday’s game against New Orleans looked like a battlefield.
Eric Maynor’s right leg was attached to some rehabilitation machine.
James Harden’s left ankle was fixed to simulated ice.
Nick Collison and Lazar Hayward weren’t even in the building.
This is what it’s come to for the Thunder, a team that has finally caught the injury bug in this shortened season of attrition.
Harden (ankle) and Collison (quad contusion) will each miss their first games of the season with ailments. Kendrick Perkins, who returned from a one-game absence caused by a knee injury, sustained a minor foot injury Sunday but is a go. Hayward will miss at least a week after sustaining an orbital floor fracture Friday.
“We have enough,” insisted no-excuses Thunder coach Scott Brooks.
“When you play an NBA season, you’re going to be banged up. You don’t want to play when you’re injured, but you have to play when you’re sore.”
The injuries, though, come at a time where the Thunder must also muster the strength to get over Sunday’s emotionally-draining overtime thriller over Denver. Oklahoma City outlasted the Nuggets 124-118 in an historic performance by Kevin Durant (career and NBA-season high) 51 points, Russell Westbrook (40 points) and Serge Ibaka (14 points, 15 rebounds and 11 blocked shots). They became the first trio in NBA history to finish with at least 40 points, 50 points and a triple -double.
Now, the Western-Conference worst Hornets come to town for the second game in as many nights for the Thunder. And even though New Orleans has been the face of this season’s rash of injuries, the Hornets are coming in hot, having won three straight, making this one appear to be the perfect trap game.
“That’s always in the back of your mind,” Brooks said of concern that his team won’t get up for the Hornets. “But like I tell these guys all the time, we have a job to do. You have to do it every night. Every game night you have to come out and give everything you have. And hopefully that’s good enough to win the game.
“My job is to find the right mixture of guys to find that energy to win the game.”
Brooks said Cole Aldrich will get Collison’s minutes. Royal Ivey figures to continue to play meaningful minutes. It wouldn’t even be a shock, considering the circumstances, to see Ryan Reid in there when it counts.
“Who knows what tonight’s going to bring,” Brooks said.
Thunder 124, Nuggets 118
Nuggets from my notebook from Sunday’s win over the Nuggets.
- It took Kevin Durant 4 1/2 years to record his first 50-point game. It’s going to take some time for that to sink in for me.
- The story in this one was the Thunder did something no other team in NBA history has ever done. That is have a player with 40 points, a player with 50 points and a player with a triple double. Russell Westbrook had 40 points. Serge Ibaka had a triple dip with 14 points, 15 rebounds and 11 blocked shots.
- Durant and Westbrook became the first duo to score 40-plus points in the same game since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in February of ’96.
- Ibaka’s 11 blocks were a career high and set a new franchise record.
- Here’s something our man Berry Tramel pointed out to me that is truly amazing about this game. Nobody else on the Thunder played well. Think about that for a second. That’s hard to do in this kind of barn burner.
- Denver is a really good team. You can’t take anything away from the Nuggets. They play hard and they never quit. But this one shouldn’t have come down to this. The Nuggets came in missing Nene, Danilo Gallinari and Rudy Fernandez. OKC should have won by 15.
- Nobody’s going to want to hear this, but this game is a classic example of why Charles Barkley is always bagging on the Thunder. It was perhaps the most entertaining game this season. No doubt about that. But for the Thunder to struggle with an injury-plagued Nuggets team, playing on the tail end of a three-game road trip, and need overtime, at home, and a statistical feat that’s never been done in the history of the NBA doesn’t exactly scream championship caliber. Again, it was a great game. Tons of fun to watch. But it shouldn’t have come to this.
- A lot of people already are using this game as proof that Durant and Westbrook can co-exist, saying ‘See! I told you so.” Slow down. It’s one game. In the regular season. Against an injury-plagued Nuggets team. I’m not saying they can’t co-exist. Not even close to suggesting that. But you’d be jumping the gun if you used this one instance as the final shred of evidence that there won’t be any issues down the road. Let’s wait and see what happens come playoff time, because there are clearly on-court issues that need to be ironed out.
- Durant admitted after the game that him and Westbrook are improving in that department, though. “I think this year we’re starting to play off of each other a little bit better,” Durant said. “We were trying to find each other. Our teammates were trying to find us. We didn’t force anything. That’s the best part about it.” (more…)
Rockets 96, Thunder 95
Nuggets from my notebook from Wednesday night’s loss at Houston.
- The Thunder played about as bad of a first quarter as it could possibly play. It was sloppy. It was raggedy. It was, well, ugly. OKC couldn’t make a shot, couldn’t stop the Rockets and couldn’t stop turning it over. By the end of the period, the Thunder trailed 29-13, setting a season low for points in the opening period, and made just 6-of-24 shots while allowing Houston to hit 11 of 22.
- Russell Westbrook was the only Thunder player with a pulse in the first quarter. When the Thunder trailed 26-10, Westbrook had eight of those points. Kevin Durant had the other two.
- Some will criticize the Thunder for late-game execution after this one. Count me out. The Thunder got some pretty good shots on goal if I may borrow a soccer reference. They just didn’t go in. As I wrote for Thursday’s paper, there are some who will use this game as evidence that a “jump-shooting team” always will struggle in close games. I didn’t think that was the case.
- The Thunder was 0-for-9 in the final 2 minutes, 10 seconds. The last attempt was a desperation launch by Westbrook. So excluding that, only three of the final eight misses were 3-pointers. Of the other five, one was from 16 feet, one was from 15 feet, one was a 10-foot runner, one was a blocked layup and one was a missed tip-in. That’s not what I would call settling.
- And by the way, the Thunder came into tonight’s game 5-1 in games decided by four points or less.
- Thunder coach Scott Brooks said he was satisfied with the late execution. “Down the stretch, we missed some shots that were good looks. We normally would make a few of those. We had good rhythm in that fourth quarter, and then we just couldn’t make a basket. But they were good looks. The execution was good.”
- I found it sort of funny how Brooks altered his choice of words a minute later after more reflection of what exactly his players got down the stretch. “At the end of games, those are great looks. Not good looks. Those are great looks,” Brooks said. “Our guys are going to make those shots more times than not.”
- I could not agree more with Westbrook on this close loss. “It happens like that sometimes. It wasn’t a bad loss. We fought. It wasn’t like we gave up or anything.”
- My only gripe about the late-game execution is that it’s all Durant and Westbrook. It’s like the Thunder forgets there’s this guy named James Harden who happens to be the team’s best playmaker. Harden had one shot in the final 2 minutes, 10 seconds, a missed 3. He was 4-for-4 in the quarter’s first 9 minutes, 50 seconds.
- Harden was turnover prone tonight, as was pretty much everybody in this one. But Harden had three of his five giveaways in the final quarter.
- The Thunder had 22 turnovers as a team, and the Rockets scored 26 points off them. Durant had four turnovers, and Westbrook had six. It’s absolutely amazing how bad this team is at taking care of the ball. The Thunder already ranked last in the league in turnovers coming into tonight. OKC only stretched bumped its average to 17.1 per game after tonight.
- Brooks put it best: “I don’t know how we do it. We’re in every game and we give up the ball too many times.”
