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Put that one on file for Kevin Durant. Because if you want a game to help build an MVP resume, KD just turned one in.
With his All-Star teammate going 0-13 from the floor for just four points, Durant nailed big shot after big shot to put away the always pesky Grizzlies, 98-95.
This was quite the test for the Thunder. If you wanted to replicate the issues of last season’s playoff run in a real-game environment, this was it. The Thunder had to execute down the stretch after building and promptly blowing a 12-point lead. They had to overcome adversity and finish out a game against a good team. And they had to do it without Russell Westbrook being much of a factor.
(Sidenote: You can dog Westbrook for his 0-13 game if you want, but I WANT Westbrook taking those shots he missed. I WANT him pulling up for an eight-footer with four minutes left. He’s a freaking All-Star! He’s really, really good. It wasn’t his night, and this just fuels the fire for those that want to stick him with a cattle prod, but Westbrook played hard and was part of OKC’s win. Despite having the worst shooting game of his career, he calmly knocked down two big free throws to essentially ice the game.)
It came down to one important thing: Kevin Durant plays for the Thunder and not for the Grizzlies. While Rudy Gay is a great shot-maker himself, Kevin Durant he is not. KD was able to get to the free throw line isolated on Gay a couple of times and take him one-on-one for points. He made a nice runner and then a ridiculous fadeaway jumper that put the Thunder up five. He’s insane. I’ve watched him played something like 300 games and he continues to blow me away with his ability
The odd thing about this game was that the Thunder took care of the ball (only 10 turnovers) and made 10 3-pointers. You tell me that’s going to happening, and I’m thinking OKC wins by double-digits. But this was the Grizzlies and the Thunder can’t ever beat them without a fight. So Memphis grabbed 19 offensive rebounds and got all those extra possessions anyway.
Here’s a little perspective on how good this Thunder team can be or already is: They just won in Memphis — a Western contender, mind you — despite only getting four points from Russell Westbrook. Think about that for a second. It shows you the depth, the chops and the guts this Thunder team has got. You’re going to have to win a game like this in the postseason and the Thunder has shown that they can do it.
NOTES:
- Serge Ibaka started with back-to-back jumpers. Then disappeared until the last four minutes, playing a total of 22. Tonight, it felt like more of a Scott Brooks thing than an Ibaka issue. Because Ibaka was pretty productive during his time in the game. It just seems like Brooks trusts Nick Collison (or smallball) more than he does Ibaka in crunchtime, but Brooks came back with Ibaka after Collison picked up a foul and Serge responded with a huge block with 30 seconds left and OKC up four.
- KD started the game 3-9 in the first half and went 7-8 for 19 points in the second. Never count KD out. He heats up faster than a seat belt in summer time.
- The Thunder had 54 points at halftime. I swear watching the game, it felt like 34. Thabo and Perk for the love of Thunder were keeping OKC in it with 17 combined points.
- James Harden, stupid good. He had 20 points off the bench and seven rebounds in 28 minutes.
- Thought it was interesting that the Thunder had Thabo defending Rudy Gay and KD on Tony Allen. Obviously in an effort to save KD for offense. Guess it worked as KD dominated the second half while Rudy Gay went through a really tough stretch late after defending KD all night.
- It has to be noted that Mike Conley rolled his ankle on the first possession of the game and sat out for the rest of it. His replacement, Jeremy Pargo, played really well though putting up 15 points and seven assists.
- Daequan Cook was just massive in this one. He went 3-4 from deep and would’ve been 4-5 had he not had a heel out of bounds (I feel like I would step out of bounds ALL the time in that short corner). I can’t believe it doesn’t happen more often. . And it’s not just that, but he seems to have a knack for hitting that deflating 3 for the other team. They’re building momentum or it’s a dry spell for OKC and Cook drops a big one. Timely shooting is sometimes as important as 30 points.
- One thing I was impressed by from Westbrook: Even though he was playing awful, when he checked back in with 6:21 left, he was energized defensively and never lost his cool. Put yourself in his shoes. You’d be frustrated out the butt. But he kept team first and tried to just play his game and do his job. Some people were yelling, “Stop shooting!” but he took just 13, which is a really low number for him. He just didn’t get to the rim tonight and missed a bunch of jumpers.
- There was a though about whether Brooks might stick with Eric Maynor down the stretch for OKC. The Thunder were playing well and had a lead and Westbrook was off. But Brooks came back with Westbrook and the Thunder hit back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers to extend a lead from three to 12. There was nothing Westbrook did in those five minutes to blow the lead though. It was more about rebounding than anything else.
- There’s just something about Marc Gasol’s face…
- Cole Aldrich saw a little early playing time because of foul trouble and did well enough. Got on the floor, grabbed a rebound and blocked a shot.
- One thing Westbrook has got to figure out how to control himself around the rim. Like how Derrick Rose will slide seemingly in midair around a defender, Westbrook needs to develop that.
- Harden hides the ball so well by dragging it when he enters the paint that when defenders hack, they can’t help but hit his arm. It’s the subtleties of Harden’s game that makes him so good.
- Brian Davis Line of the Night: “KABOOM! KABOOM! KABAMM!!!”
Next up: Home against Dallas Thursday.
I personally liked either "Fans brought their whine to the game tonight." or "Can anybody in this building play this game? Is what Lionel Hollins has got to be asking." for the BDLOTN.
THe media needs to leave Westbrook alone talk about something else! Thunder 3-0
Got to watch my first game of the season on NBA TV... couple notes. Aside from a couple plays in the 4th, I firmly believed Russ would turn it on and only once thought he shouldn't have shot (one other time he was forced to with an expiring shot clock). A couple clumsy drives that led to turnovers late in the game, but those were byproducts of being left holding the rock with no movement from the rest of the team.
As for the altercation, I didn't catch that on TV, but as a player myself, I know what an 0 for night is like and I sure as heck wouldn't have had self control at that point. I would've yelled at everyone!
Where was Serge? he was there, doing his job when he was in. Big block in a tight game - thats where he's at. He missed a couple of wide open shots in the 2nd half, but they were open looks and he'll knock them down more often than not.
KD = sick! Wickedly Sick!
Lets beat up Dallas some more tonight! Weee!
Very impressive win considering our 2nd leading scorer didn't. Memphis was flat. Westbrook won't be around next season if he doesn't grow into a better leader.
If Westbrook stays as is he will be around. Management is trying to lock up Russ right now. Do you just make stuff up?
@Grolgar jconkin that is, not referring to you.
@Grolgar Must be an ESPN writer trolling the TrueHoop boards.
Westbrook had a rough night but I thought his shot selection was fantastic. Outside of 2 3s everything was basically within 18 feet and most around the paint. Not gonna complain about him taking those shots.
A lot will be made of his poor stat line and the altercation. Russ is a very emotional player, and especially when he feels like he's playing poorly those emotions are going to spill out. Happens to pretty much every player except Duncan. There is no feud. There is no problem between them.
The future of this team will be decided by a phrase Presti uses: long-term viability. Is a Durant/Westbrook pairing VIABLE(basketball wise and economically) long term. Can they play off each other without weakening one another? And the biggest issue: can they resign the supporting cast or surround them with a quality/championship caliber supporting cast with both guys getting max(or near max) dollars?
I thought his shot selection was terrible. 8 of 13 shots from 16 feet or further out, only 2 within 5 feet- the only distance he is actually good at besides the FT line.
@ThunderUp12
Honestly, I think over the next 5-10 years, we have he have a top 5 player at positions 1, 2 and 3.... We cant be like the mavs and get worse after we see the recipe for success. We even have one of the best benches in the league... we need to hold on to as many pieces as possible, but kd russ and harden definately. Making it through this adversity will ultimatley make them strong... I hope the owners know that in the NBA, money does buy love... cause if he cant afford to keep them together, that love will go as the players do....lastly, lets beat dallas...
and as bad as westbrook was, he was better than former 2 time MVP Steve Nash tonight, who had 4 pts, 1 assist, and 6TOs
I think what we are seeing from Cook(and what we'll see from this team) is confidence that comes from a playoff run and being a contender. They know how to close games out more, guys are much more confident in their abilities b/c the contributed to the run to the WCF. This team should be better at closing games out and shouldn't get too high/low when a team makes a run or hits a big shot.
Perfect example was in Minny. Wolves roared back, took the lead, crowd was energized and the team looked completely calm through it all. Granted the half-court offense is still "wtf?" at times but these guys are confident in winning games. Last year they thought they could win games, this year they come in expecting to win and knowing what it takes to win.
with this game, Harden is a top ten shooting gaurd in scoring... granted, its only been three games, but hey
My favorite part of the game...and maybe one of my favorite moments ever for the Thunder was when Perkins got a little hot headed and KD slapped him on the chest. I literally laughed out loud for a solid 5 minutes it was hilarious. I need to get that in an animated GIF.
this is off topic BTW, but im not too impressed with Shaq yet on TNT....
@RRRWHOAAAA i havent watched a broadcast with him yet. No quotable shaqtasticness?
@JimboSlice Naw, it may take him a while... He often doesn't say much, then what he adds is just piggy backing on others. When they are in the studio he tries to make up for this by jumping up and down a lot and running around the set, but its a little much. I used to think Chris Webber was pretty bad, but he has improved from last year. Shaq will probably do the thunder game tomorrow on TNT tho.
I think last year someone pointed out that Russell's jumper is much better when he releases at the top of his jump. It seems like this season, he's releasing on the way down. Anyone else notice this?
Like many others, I was screaming for him to not shoot tonight. However, I think we're seeing the after effects of him drawing the four charges against Minny. I think it screwed with his head, but hopefully it'll now be worked out of his system.
For as sloppy as the game was, I found it hugely entertaining. And the best like of the night was Grant. After the volley of three-pointers by Cook, KD and Harden, he said they were like game wardens; catch and release.
http://newsok.com/thunder-notebook-russell-westbrook-struggles-after-altercation-with-kevin-durant/article/3635701?custom_click=rss
Westbrook and KD supposedly had an argument on the bench. Thank God the NFL is still going or we'd hear about this for the next three days.
@vjmartin3 thunder got the internet going nuts... all over twitter... oh yea @rrrwilson if anyone else tweets, im down with #teamfollowback...
Does anyone have video of the argument?
"
Durant patted Westbrook on the head when the two took the court out of the timeout, and the two seemed to communicate well throughout the rest of the game."
most important part of the story, but it looks like it might be lead story tomorrow anyway.
Are those of you commenting REALLY Thunder fans or do you just like to bitch and moan about stuff? The Thunder are 3-0! There is going to be something to complain about every single game. RW might get that spot more often than others, but they still won the game. Does he need to change things up when he has off nights? Yes. I find it interesting that it seems so many people disagree with Royce.
@jallenmorris Aiight Mr. Rogers
the Thunder are 3-0... and their offensive efficiency is league average at best so far and the defensive efficiency is close to 10th best. it is early but those are not impressive marks.
@Crow offensive eff is 11th and defensive eff is 10th
@Crow ahhh indeed
@yunghawg@Crow thru 2 games, i was projecting it thru 3.
@jallenmorris you dont have to agree with everything royce says to be a thunder fan but yes i do agree way too many people where whining when we were winning pretty much the entire game! the best thing royce said in this was how we could win a TOUGH ROAD GAME even with russ not bringing his A game (or B, or C.....)
@yunghawg I totally agree with you. I've lived in Oklahoma for 10+ years. I attended a non-state school here for college. I'm an OU fan, but I cheer for OSU also. Some Thunder fans seem to have the OU mentality (not all OU fans) that winning them all isn't enough. It drives me crazy. I guess my solution is to not visit the comments section.
This was a very good road win and we won in a way that we'll see more times in the season than we want to see. There will be nights where Harden will come in and stink it up. Other nights where Perkins goes for 18. There will be nights where Durant can't hit anything (though it seems like he's figured out how to bring himself out of a slump.)
@jallenmorris we love the team, but there is much needed constructive criticism. Brooks is out of his mind sometimes and often drives everyone on here nuts...
@jallenmorris Some people show their fandom in different ways. Some like to root for the home team and hope for the best and cheer for the wins, and that's fine. Some fans like to obsess of every tiny detail of the team and analyze it to death and think all the time about how to make the team better. One kind of fandom expression doesn't make you a 'better' or 'truer' fan than the other.
@SammyThunderer@jallenmorris Well said, SammyThunderer. Hubby drives me crazy during the games by nitpicking and criticizing every error while I'm just trying not to pass out from holding my breath.
@jallenmorris I'm a Thunder fan - true blue. I don't like to gripe, but I just can't stop myself sometimes. Good thing Royce doesn't ban me
In these 3 games Harden is our second best player.But Brooks cannot give him a right position.He draws more foul than russ who always gets offense foul.At this point he should control ball more when all of players are cold.
I think those offense fouls is one reason Russ shoots more from mid range.
BD quote of the night (on durant's reverse one-hand slam in the 1st(?) quarter: "NASTY NASTY BUSINESS!"
@yunghawg That was my original selection actually! But KABOOM! topped it.
Energized defensively must mean gambling for steals and not running through screens to allow Pargo to torch you in the 2nd quarter, then not putting a hand in Gay's face on the baseline shot he took in the final minute. I understand you don't wanna give an and-one to a larger shooter, but at least try to stay in front of him. Russ will be fine, but he's gotta stay mentally sharp enough to feed Durant/Harden/(even Cook) when he has an off night.
I don't like the strike and the lockout and don't care who won or lost in all that. We get less games this year which is a sad outcome. But I think I am really liking the condensed schedule. If we don't get injuries. The pace for games is really kinda cool in a way.
@GeoLogger Yep. . . getting kind of spoiled by having a game nearly every night.
I know the mavs have had some problems but a win tomorrow night would be huge.
@Old Man Game Agree. I know it's early, but I can't help but think the Mavs might be in a semi-desperate face-saving mode.
only 30% of teams have a PG who shoots 13+ shots a game and only a third f those had winning records.
@Crow Well, the Thunder are one of those 1/3 with a winning record, so what's the deal?
This game was weird, it was like no one wanted to be there. Like they wanted to do just enough to win and then get back to the plane.
I disagree. Russ did not play well. Did not shoot well. Did not defend the backup PG well. He needs to learn how to do other things. If hes not shooting well be a true PG. Get the ball to people who are shooting well. Play better Defense if your offense is off. Dont wait till the last 2 minutes.
Westbrook is an All-star... whose eFG% last season was 183rd out of 209 guards & guard / forwards named to the All-star team in the last 20 years. his eFG% this season would put him in last place by a mile.
@Crow Damn.
his TS% was much better but if somebody says they want him taking shots, awful midrange shots and off balance ones at that, then you can look at eFG%.
make that scoring possessions used rather than FGAs
bottom 10% of recent All-Star guards as a shooter and yet his FGAs per game last season were in of the top 10% of those same All-Stars.
@Crow disgusting