Thunder show up on both sides, beat the Heat 93-75
(Sorry on the tardiness. I was, uh, tied up doing, uh, something.)
I suppose this one needs an asterisk.
Russell Westbrook got his triple-double double — 12-10-17 — but he needed four quarters to do it this time around.
It appeared for a time he was bound to be left on the bench three rebounds short of a triple-double, but the Heat trimmed the Thunder’s lead to 79-65 with 7:13 left. Westbrook re-entered, outscored the Heat 14-6 over the next four minutes, and then went back to the bench, trip-dub complete.
It was the first game since Jan. 31 that the Thunder failed to score at least 100 points, breaking a 22-game streak, but this turned out to be one of the more complete wins they’ve had in a month. The Heat are no offensive juggernaut — though they have been solid lately — but the Thunder stifled them for four quarters, holding them to 21, 17, 20 and 17. The Heat shot 39.5 percent, only took 15 free throws, and hit only 3-18 from 3.
“We took the challenge,” Brooks said. “Their backcourt is very good and they were playing very good going into this game. I thought we did a good job of guarding [Wade], just making his shots and catches tough. And then Dragic, we didn’t want to give him a lot of points in transition. I thought defensively our guards did a great job.”
And while the Thunder didn’t pile up points, the offense still hummed along nicely. Westbrook scoring only 12 was probably the main culprit in the mere 93 points, but Enes Kanter scored a Thunder-high 27 (with 12 rebounds), Mitch McGary had 14 (and eight rebounds) off the bench, Anthony Morrow added 12, and Steven Adams put up another double-double (fourth in five games), 10-10.
The Thunder have been playing at a ridiculous level offensive going on 50 days, and while a lot of it is a result of the upgrade in personnel, it’s also just obvious the evolution of the scheme is finally taking shape. It’s not that the Thunder are running some high level, complicated stuff, it’s just that with Westbrook’s playmaking, they can exploit so many defensive weaknesses. You’ve got Kanter in the sidescreen-and-roll, and if by some measure the defense adequately slows that, Westbrook can swing to the weakside where Anthony Morrow is lurking. The offense features a lot more movement away from the ball, with lots of dribble hand-offs, hard cuts, high post flashes and backscreens.
“Making baskets,” Brooks explained, and he wasn’t trying to be funny. “We’ve got a lot of moving players that can score. The guys that we brought in, obviously Enes [Kanter], and D.J. [Augustin], those guys can score.
“We’ve had some things we wanted to do to start the season, obviously things changed, but Russell, our guards are playing well, our bigs are rolling, passing,” he said. “We’re passing the ball much better, since January on. Obviously when you have more players to add to that offensive package, it helps.”
So much of this is centered around Kanter and what he’s providing Westbrook. It’s a dynamic pick-and-roll duo, with a big that can roll and finish, along with a guard who can shoot or get to the rim.
“We’re implementing new sets by the day to figure out how use his best post-ups, how he likes to catch them, and where he likes to catch on the move, if he likes to catch from a diagonal pick, or a cross screen, or a rip screen,” Brooks said. “We just have to figure that out as we see him play in games, but I think he’s done a good job and Russell’s done a good job finding him.”
The Thunder have 12 games left. They’ve sustained the offense long enough to make me believe this can last over the rest of the season. The question is the defense. If the Thunder can produce more of these efforts, they may just be alright after all.
NOTES:
- Kanter had his ninth Thunder double-double, and fifth 20-10 game.
- Dion Waiters came back to Earth a bit, scoring 10 on 4-10 shooting, but I would say that he played a reasonably intelligent game. Not much jumpshooting, some good attacking, a little playmaking (three assists) and some really solid defense on Dwyane Wade.
- Another Thunder injury, and it took less than two minutes to happen tonight: Andre Roberson sprained his left ankle and didn’t return to the game.
- On the Thunder’s offense: Yeah, Scott Brooks deserves some credit people. If this were most any other coach with any other reputation, people would be straight fawning over the job he’s done. You can’t just say it’s all Westbrook. The Thunder are now 40-30 and haven’t had Kevin Durant but for 27 games. Brooks has done a nice job this season. It’s fine to admit it. It really is.
- The next evolution of Thunder injuries is Anthony Morrow hurting a teammate during a celebration. It’s coming. Prepare yourself.
- Look, I know Kyle Singler has been not good in OKC, but if you think he’s trash, you seriously haven’t watched any NBA other than the Thunder.
- Russell Westbrook does a lot of crazy things, but taking rebounds away from Hassan Whiteside is up there for the craziest.
- Got to witness Nick Collison’s scooter skills after the game. Guy is the Ricky Bobby of scootering.
- I asked Brooks if the offense we’re seeing now is the one they worked on in camp: “I don’t really think so, because none of those guys were here. Throughout this season, we’ve been somewhat in scramble mode a lot of nights and days in practice. I just like what we’re doing.”
- Here’s Westbrook’s explanation of the offense: “I don’t know. I just know we come out every night and try at a high pace and a high level on both sides of the floor.”
- Dion Waiters on the offense: “Basically it’s just get and go. Make something happen. But if you don’t have anything, pull it out and run a play. That’s pretty much what it is. Coach tells us to rebound and go. That’s what we do. Push the tempo, keep the defense on their heels all night and if they get back, call a play and try to execute it.”
- The Thunder injury bug knows no limits: Their game ops director, John Leach, tore his ACL playing indoor soccer.
- Seeing Steve Novak in the alternate pajama jersey was everything I’d hoped for.
- Pelicans lost, so the Thunder are now three games up for eighth in the West.
Next up: Home against the Lakers on Tuesday
