More ThunderMagic between the Thunder and Magic
These kind of games are the worst.
Here it is, all about Russell Westbrook and his relentless, incredible performance, coming up an assist and a rebound short of 20-20-15 (he had 24 points, 19 rebounds and 14 assists), and then Kevin Durant messes it all up with a game-winning 3 with 0.5 seconds left, 117-114.
How do you write about this stuff?
Let’s just start with the quick summary: So, fast-forward to 29 seconds left — and trust me, the first 47 minutes and 31 seconds were pretty good — where Westbrook bumrushed his way to the rim to tie the game at 114-114. The Magic got an iso with Victor Oladipo — who had 37 — covered by Serge Ibaka. Oladipo drove, Ibaka swatted it off the glass, and while he was flashing his thumbsdown, Billy Donovan was signaling play on.
Dion Waiters tossed it to Durant, who walked it up the court, rocked Tobias Harris a couple of times and uncorked a 28-foot fireball to win it.
“I saw they were off-balance a little bit and he didn’t know what was going to happen, if a screen was coming, I saw he kept turning his head,” Durant said. “Left-to-right cross, been working on that since I was six years old. Just felt confident in that shot when I let it go.”
Donovan made the snap judgement to let the game play out, something Durant really liked.
“I just feel like it’s easier for a team to put in their best defenders or set up a play defensively, a scheme to stop you,” Durant said. ” And at the end of the day, most of the time you’re going to shoot that type of shot anyway. The shot I took is what you’re really gonna get after a timeout anyway. Ten seconds to go, coach would’ve just given me the ball and I would’ve dribbled the clock down and tried to get a shot. Without having to set up or give them any time to think about the play it kind of caught them off guard and off balance a little bit once we went ahead and just got the points at the end.”
It was an odd game for Durant, who had one of those quiet 37-point nights as only he can do, with him jamming a finger in the first half, and clearly being bothered by it. He was even more bothered by some of the officiating in the third quarter, looking visibly frustrated with a sequence of no-calls. But he gathered himself, stayed in the game, and once he saw a 3 go down with six minutes left in the fourth, he was ready.
“That’s a part of life, that’s a part of basketball, man,” Durant said of the in-game adversity. “There’s going to be bumps in the road and how you respond is what makes you tough. I just tried to respond tonight.”
Oh yeah, Westbrook. Who had TWENTY-FOUR, NINETEEN AND FOURTEEN. Even Donovan went almost six minutes before being asked about him, because it was that kind of stupid game. Westbrook was his classic relentless self, just doggedly playing out each possession, never giving up on any rebound, any loose ball, any… anything. Donovan summarized it best, pointing out a possession where Westbrook was jumping for an offensive board against Aaron Gordon and Nik Vucevic, jumping two, three times for it, and not stopping. Why wouldn’t he jump for it? How else would he get the ball?
Just read the whole quote from Donovan:
“He’s doing a great job, in my opinion, of balancing himself, everybody else, having an awareness of what’s going on, who hasn’t had a touch, creating opportunities, reading the way the defense is guarding our team and him. But the thing that stands out to me more than anything else is his will in what I’d call 50-50 plays. There’s sometimes where there’s no scouting report. There is no offensive call. There is no screen. The ball’s on the glass. His quickness, his drive, his perseverance, his toughness — like there was one play he was in the lane and he was jumping up with Aaron Gordon and Vucevic, he didn’t come down with it, but the effort of two, three jumps. Running across the floor and picking up loose basketballs.
“He’s always engaged in the game. He’s got an incredible fire to him, an incredible competitiveness to him and he’s able to pay that hard. And he also did a great job composure-wise of running our team. He’s really a unique, unique player. I love being around him every day. All these, not just Russell, but just his will to just chase it physically every single possession is just remarkable.”
It takes a special kind of player to put up 24-19-14. And it takes a special kind of team for that guy to end up being the afterthought of the game.
NOTES:
- I don’t know what it is about these two teams, but they play some bananas games. I mean, seriously.
- Durant and Westbrook against the Magic this season 152 points, 47 rebounds and 29 assists.
- Defensively, the Thunder were a disaster in the first half, losing focus all over the place. Though the Magic did shoot it well, hitting 10-16 on non-paint 2s.
- That was a thing I was willing to go for, until they came out and kept torching OKC in the third quarter.
- Then Jason Smith his a big contested corner 3 and I started leaning the other way again.
- But it really was a poor defensive effort. No question. The Thunder struggled with the space and penetration the Magic created, and while there’s no doubt they hit shots — even Scott Skiles said that postgame, “Well, we made some shots,” he said when asked about the offense — the Thunder showed those classic defensive flaws.
- For a minute there, Westbrook looked to have a legit shot at a 20-20-20 game.
- If you’re wondering, the last 20-20-20, or the double-triple-double if you will, came from Wilt Chamberlain in 1968. He had 22-25-21.
- First quarter, Billy Donovan called out “baseline flex,” and the Thunder executed beautifully, with Westbrook backcutting for an easy layup setup by Durant. It was a nice play. And it seems like so long ago.
- Let me tell you, Steven Adams was STEAMED about that foul when he blocked Oladipo late in the fourth.
- Pretty impressed with Donovan’s ability to think on the fly in not calling a timeout on that last possession. He said postgame he was thinking about a timeout, then Waiters took a dribble so he changed his mind right away (the Thunder wouldn’t have been able to advance it).
- Westbrook had himself a ridiculous first half: 16 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists. I typed that note obviously not knowing it would turn into 24-19-14.
- I am such a Mario Hezonja fan. I desperately want him to be good.
- Donovan’s criticism of the officiating during the first half: “You guys need to get together at halftime because this has been really inconsistent.” He was really animated in the third, yelling on consecutive possessions, “CALL A FOUL.”
- Durant is fine with the finger thing. He got it taped again postgame, but he’s good.
- Westbrook on if he’s looking forward to Saturday. “What’s going on Saturday?” he said. You play the Warriors. “Oh, shit,” he said, laughing. “Yeah, yeah, I mean it’ll be a good game. Like I’ve said before, I really just take it one day at a time, enjoy this win tonight, go home, enjoy my family and get ready for Saturday when that comes.” Westbrook was pretty adamant after that he truly was thinking about something else and just didn’t have the Warriors on his mind yet.
- No, it wasn’t an impressive performance. The Thunder really could’ve, and maybe should’ve, lost this one. But it was no question an awesome game. And can you blame them if they took their eye off it just a bit and looked ahead? Because I’m pretty sure they were.
Next up: At the Warriors on Saturday
