Warriors embarrass the Thunder, 117-91
On Nov. 23, the Thunder played the Warriors without either Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook, and lost a heartbreaker by five.
On Dec. 18, Durant only played a half, and the Thunder lost another tight one, 114-109.
Tonight, they had both of them together available for the whole game, but neither showed up. Amazing to think the team that played without either of them in November gave a better effort than tonight.
Essentially, here’s your story: Westbrook (5-of-21) and Durant (3-of-16) shot a combined 8-of-37 for 36 points. The Warriors, who can score from everywhere and in bunches, weren’t bothered much by the Thunder’s defense, and steadily pulled away as OKC couldn’t keep up. It was a pretty straightforward butt-kicking.
The Thunder’s primary issue was showcased, too: They are completely bound to the performances of their two stars. If Durant and Westbrook don’t play well, neither does the team. Especially against a juggernaut like the Warriors. There was no rhythm, no feel and no energy from tipoff. Durant missed his first seven shots, missed four free throws and never could rekindle that Oracle fire he was throwing a few weeks ago. Westbrook was erratic, failing to finish anything inside and playing out of control for large stretches.
And then the bench. Reggie Jackson might as well been traded because he was mostly non-existent. Perry Jones stood around for 24 minutes. Kendrick Perkins did Kendrick Perkins things, which is good in a close game, but bad when his six points were actually helpful to the bench’s total output. Anthony Morrow put in 15 points, but a lot of that came in garbage time.
So. The real question: Should you freak out over this one? The Thunder dip back under .500, and did it in limp, lackluster fashion. After the climb they made to get to 17-17, you would’ve thought there would been some edge to their play, a little added zest to building off that momentum. Instead, they essentially accepted their beating and prepared to move along to Sacramento.
But, what’s somewhat important to remember that despite the ugliness of all that, this is one game in early January. And while they were outclassed by a team they’re supposedly a peer to, you’re allowed a few horrible games throughout the 82-game schedule. The Thunder didn’t make anything, and when things started to go wrong, they lost focus and quit playing together. It was just a gross game. Let’s move on.
NOTES:
- The Thunder shot 30.6 percent. That’s bad, you guys.
- They hit 5-of-28 from 3. That’s also bad.
- Bright side! Steven Adams almost had a double-double (10 points and nine rebounds).
- Serge Ibaka, not good. I’d list his numbers, but there’s not much to see anyway.
- In the third quarter, Andre Roberson had an offensive rebound fall to him in the left corner. His defender backed off him and Roberson pulled right away. His 3 rimmed out, but I liked the shot. If you’re going to spend hours each day practicing that, and you’re trying to get better, you can’t hesitate to take it when they’re giving it to you. You’ll never improve on it if you’re afraid to take them.
- So, Durant’s previous three games, he was 35-of-54 for 108 points in 90 minutes. Tonight, he was 3-of-16 for 14 points in 30 minutes.
- Even with how bad he shot tonight, Durant is still shooting 54.2 percent over his last four games.
- Grant Jerrett got up a couple more 3s in garbage time tonight. And also set a new career-high with four points.
- Jeremy Lamb also played. That is the end of this bullet point.
- Woo wee, Thunder Twitter was in full blown meltdown mode tonight. You would’ve thought they were playing Clemson. My favorite tweet, I think: “this team is complete and utter garbage.” Crazy, succinct, and to the point. What I really enjoy during a bad game, though, is inevitably someone tweeting me that this isolated, individual result will be what causes Kevin Durant to leave in 2016.
- One thing this loss does is ruin the whole “Thunder are 9 and 2 with Durant and Westbrook” thing. Because before, the two losses had footnotes to them, the first being in KD’s first game back and the second only having KD for a half. The third was just a beatdown.
- And that’s all I’ve got tonight. I spent most of the second half writing about Dion Waiters, so I didn’t watch much anyway.
Next up: At the Kings on Wednesday
