Durant lights the Nuggets as OKC keeps climbing, 124-114
I need to add some kind of plugin or something because it won’t let me just make this recap 40 fire emojis. Which is what it should be with what Kevin Durant did in Denver tonight.
Let’s just start there. Forty points on 13-19 shooting, 7-12 from 3. And it wasn’t just the raw numbers — it was the emphasis each one of missiles had. The Nuggets had cut a 22-point second quarter lead to eight. Durant hit back-to-back 3s, and then punctuated things with two more for a cool 14 points in the final 2:34 of the first half.
The Nuggets were hanging around in the third, and Durant splashed down from 26 and 27 feet on consecutive possessions. Each bucket he had was a shot across the bow, a message sent directly to the Nuggets that no matter what, they didn’t have a chance in this game.
It’s not that anyone has forgotten what Durant does. It’s just that often times, with the way this season has gone and the doubts it’s cast over the team, everyone needs a little reminder. With No. 35 on the floor, the Thunder are dangerous at every moment. Like he said postgame talking to Lesley McCaslin, he just needs to make one and he feels like he’s hot. Every Thunder fan that has watched him play the last seven years knows exactly what that looks like. He hits one and he’s feeling good. But if he hits that next one? Then it’s over. Brace yourself. Winter is coming.
Durant’s detonation left Russell Westbrook’s 26 points on 8-14 shooting plus nine assists and five rebounds a bit overlooked, but as the Nuggets hung around, he was the one throwing the final daggers. A couple perfect midrange pullups and a couple setups for Mitch McGary and Durant and the Thunder held off the Nuggets from ruining what was supposed to be a very successful Thunder evening.
But that is something to consider here: While we were all watching the Durant show, OKC’s defense was apparently caught up in it, because the Nuggets quietly stayed in the game when the Thunder should’ve been icing it. Denver scored 41 points and shot 16-20 from the floor in the second quarter. Had Durant not lit the world up, OKC would’ve completely blown its lead.
And it was more of the same in the third quarter as the Nuggets scored 33. Luckily, the Thunder matched that. The defense was better in the fourth, but it’s a dangerous game to play relying on exceptional shot-making like that. The Thunder’s offense was excellent for most of the game, creating good looks off good player movement, heavy screening and sharp passing, but what made it all work is that shots from all over dropped. They hit 53.8 percent from the field and 12-24 from 3. That’s great stuff, but that’s not a typical Thunder game.
Durant was fabulous, Westbrook was terrific and Mitch McGary followed up his breakout on Sunday with a second straight double-double, dropping 17 points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes, as he even earned closing minutes tonight. But still, it was a weird game because with the Thunder feeling dominant, it also felt like they were flirting with the disaster of completely giving it away. The Nuggets never got closer than six, which happened just 90 seconds into the third quarter with a 9-0 run, as the Thunder had a proper response to every push. But a couple of those run-killing shots don’t drop and this game might’ve gone a different direction.
It didn’t, though. The Thunder won, which was expected against a listless Denver team, but there aren’t any apparent guarantees right now. With the Pelicans losing, the Thunder are tied with them in the standings (but behind by virtue of the tiebreaker). They’re 1.5 games behind the Suns. It feels like their push is finally beginning and with a big home game looming Wednesday against Memphis, they have a chance to make a tangible statement that they’re on their way back. For real this time.
NOTES:
- So. Mitch McGary. Honestly, this performance was better than Sunday’s, I thought. Against the Clippers, he played mostly off unbridled, unmatched energy, and then padded stats a bit in garbage time. Tonight, he went against a decent frontline in Kenneth Faried, Jusef Nurkic, Darrell Arthur and J.J. Hickson. He hustled his way to a few buckets, but he was really effective in the pick-and-roll and active all over the boards. Plus, he saw crunchtime minutes, which wasn’t only surprising, but also a great choice by Scott Brooks. McGary is a unique option and if his defense holds, he could be closing a lot more games.
- That play where McGary inbounded and took off in a FULL SPRINT with Westbrook feeding him only to finish with his layup rolling out was almost my favorite of the night.
- I think I love the Ibaka-McGary frontcourt tandem. You’ve got a good roll big in McGary that can catch and finish, and you’ve got Ibaka spacing on the weakside. Creates a ton of room on the floor.
- Now, Ibaka wasn’t all that excellent tonight — seven points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 24 minutes — but he was strapped with some foul trouble and Brooks leaned on Nick Collison a lot, who quietly played a TREMENDOUS game in help defense. Seriously. Re-watch the tape of this game and just lock on Collison. He cut off so many opportunities for the Nuggets with his help defense.
- Via ESPN Stats and Info, the Thunder’s 106 points through three quarters is their most through three quarters since the team moved to Oklahoma City.
- Unofficially, I think the Nuggets had six airballs in the first quarter. What was that all about?
- How about the two offensive bad guys teaming up for a dunk in the first quarter? Perk to a cutting Andre Roberson for a dunk. In fact, the first eight minutes of the game, all five starters had scored and not just that, Roberson was the leading scorer with nine.
- Roberson finished with a new career-high 12 points, and did it on 5-6 shooting (2-3 from 3). And his defense on both Randy Foye and Arron Afflalo was fantastic.
- Psst. Since Jan. 1, Roberson is shooting 39.1 percent from 3 (9-23). And 51.1 percent from the floor (24-47).
- Dion Waiters tonight. Oooooooooooooooof. He was 1-8 with three turnovers and somehow, it felt way, way, way worse than that. And yet he was still a +8. Timed up his playing terrible with being on the floor with the right guys tonight.
- Durant came up a little bit gimpy late in the fourth quarter. He grabbed at his left foot. So yeah, can’t wait to hear what that’s about tomorrow.
- They showed a montage of Durant’s 3-point assault and one constant in most the clips was Perk, setting a bunch of great screens.
- How’d the Thunder do without Steven Adams? Hard to really judge from just this game, but the offense didn’t appear to struggle much at all, particularly with the new starting five. A couple rough patches here and there, which is to be expected, but really, the Thunder looked fine.
- Reggie Jackson: Five points on 1-3 shooting with four assists in 19 minutes. But! I thought his body language looked good and he wasn’t noticeably off.
- Anthony Morrow was instant offense in 13 minutes tonight — nine points on 4-6 shooting (1-2 from 3).
- Last three games, the Thunder’s turnover numbers have been way down. Something to watch.
- This is a real thing to think about as the deadline approaches: Do you make a deal for another big if you can get him if it means you compromise McGary’s playing time? Two games certainly doesn’t prove him, but that kind of move has stunted growth in the past (see: Lamb, Jeremy). In some ways, McGary is his own midseason acquisition and might make the Thunder reconsider being aggressive at the deadline.
- Michael Cage either can’t see or he has not idea which player is which. He actually confused McGary for Ibaka tonight.
- KD picked up a flagrant one and a technical on the same play for shoving Kenneth Faried to the ground and then throwing the ball at him.
- Can I play the what-if game? Oh come on, just for a second? If the Thunder hadn’t lost to the Knicks and could’ve beat the Pelicans, they’d be 29-23, currently in the playoffs and not at the mercy of any tiebreaker.
Next up: Home against the Grizzlies on Wednesday
