Thunder survive the Suns, 110-106
The Thunder beat the Suns and Russell Westbrook had 36 points, 12 assists and five stea– oh man, did you see both teams get mad at each other after the game!?!
As things tend to be between the Thunder and Suns, it got a bit heated, with Westbrook and P.J. Tucker having an animated conversation following the final buzzer. Westbrook blocked Devin Booker to seal the game, pulled out Serge Ibaka’s thumbs-down move, and Tucker and the Suns had things to say.
Unlike last season’s New Year’s Eve game, Westbrook was actually in the game for those final moments. Last year, he was ejected right before halftime and that’s when Kevin Durant dropped 44 in a 137-134 win. This time around, Westbrook was around for the entirety of the proceedings, and completely obliterated Phoenix through and through. He started out 7-7 shooting and just continued on.
Durant was kind of off, and by kind of, he shot 9-21 and had 23 points. But he certainly wasn’t entirely himself, missing some good looks. He did come up with two big ones late, a go-ahead jumper with 1:17 left and a dunk with 31 seconds left. That’s kind of been his thing this season. Play sort of meh at times, but still hit the biggest shots.
Allow me to repeat myself from my ESPN.com story: While Westbrook and Durant were steadfastly good, they also were the only two players in double-figure scoring for the Thunder. On the surface, that’s the top heavy trend the Thunder are trying to break away from, but there was a strange balance to them still. They had 29 team assists, with 10 players recorded at least one. They had 10 players score, all with at least five points. Kind of odd. Kind of good? I guess?
I feel like this has kind of become a recent theme, that the Thunder win, but reveal troubling issues within it, but at the same time, as always, it’s far better to try and learn from mistakes in a win rather than the alternative. The defense has slipped lately, which is annoying, because it had been pretty good in the last month.
The homestand finished 3-1, which is fine, but really should’ve been better. Yeah, that’s 15 out of 19 for the Thunder, which is good, but there still appears to be an inconsistent nature to their performances. They’re just not entirely… there.
NOTES:
- Durant has gone into a bit of shooting slump — by his standard — the last six games. Those six, he’s shooting just 9-35 from 3.
- Westbrook was asked about his exchange with Tucker, and before he could answer, Durant, who was standing a few feet away, said, “Man, don’t feed into that, man. Don’t start.” Westbrook shook his head. “I don’t know, man,” he said.
- Westbrook asked if he had a little more of an edge tonight: “Why would I have an edge? It ain’t like they won the championship or something. I have an edge every night, man. Go out and compete regardless of who it is.”
- Donovan if Westbrook was more fired up: “I don’t know if he was more keyed up in this game or not. To me, he’s always like that.”
- Durant and Ibaka had a pretty extended conversation that took place through a defensive possession and into an offensive one in the second quarter. Durant yelled, “Pass the ball!” to Ibaka after he drove the lane and ended up taking an awkward lefty hook shot. Ibaka said something back, and Durant told him he was coming back to him on the next trip down.
- Dion Waiters took maybe my favorite shot of the season to end the first quarter: A pull-up transition 2-on-5 3 with 27 seconds left… with a three second differential on the shot clock.
- How about Kyle Singler with the positive minutes. He played the final 13, finishing with seven points, four rebounds and two assists. He even had a dagger assist, setting up Durant for an emphatic dunk to put OKC up four with 31 seconds left.
- Here’s the thing about Singler: It’s the same as it’s always been; he can play. He just hasn’t. It’s been a confounding issue as to why he’s struggled so severely, but there is something to say for falling out of rhythm and struggling with confidence, especially when you’re a role guy that sees between eight and 15 minutes routinely. In Detroit, he was a starter for a lot of the time, playing close to 30 minutes. If he had a slump, he played his way through it and found his rhythm again. Hard to do that when you play six minutes one night and nine the next and only take three shots in those two games combined. He can still be a solid role player for the Thunder, because he is a decent defender to use, it’s just about, well, not sucking.`
- My favorite moment of the game in hindsight: P.J. Tucker hit what he thought was the go-ahead 3 with a few minutes left and stared down OKC’s bench for like 45 seconds. Turns out, he had a toe on the line. So he just tied the game.
- Really the best word to describe Cameron Payne is “feel.” He has it. Lots of it. Another quality performance from him. In 15 minutes, seven points and four assists. He can run a team.
- Before Payne checked in for the first time tonight, Durant walked over and said, “They’re talking lots of s—. Let’s go,” and gave him a tap on the chest.
- Devin Booker has the face of an eight-year old.
- Nothing sucks the energy out of the arena like Rumble trying to orchestrate a chant. Those are bad Stop doing those.
- The dark shoes improved the blue alternates. Only slightly though.
Next up: At the Hornets on Saturday
