Thunder dunk the Pistons, 96-94

Royce Young -

BOX SCORE

With 6:37 left, Russell Westbrook galloped up the court, knifed through a couple Piston defenders and assaulted the rim in only the way Russell Westbrook can. The Thunder were up 86-78, having overcome a sluggish defensive start which put them in an 11-point early hole, and appeared ready to coast by the hapless Pistons.

But as the debris continued to fall down to the floor from Westbrook’s detonation, it seemed as if the Thunder, like the rest of us, were still looping the Vine over and over instead of playing on. The Pistons quietly got a bucket. Then hit a 3. Then hit another 3. And with 2:17 left, Kyle Singler knocked down a wing 3 to pull the Pistons within one, 93-92, and the Thunder, a team desperate for wins by any measure, was now up against it.

And then Kevin Durant, Kevin Duranted.

The Pistons got mixed on a switch and Durant, who bounced back beautifully from his lackluster performance in Philly with 28 on 10-19 shooting, drilled a straightaway 3 to answer and put the Thunder back up four. That, though, was the Thunder’s last points of the game as the Pistons had an opportunity to win it with a wide open 3 from Josh Smith in transition with a second left. Short left, and the Thunder survived to get a critical win — their fourth out of five — to improve to 7-13.

Of course, much like the 76er game, context is relevant with the Pistons being 3-18 and now losers of 12 straight. They completely stink, but the Thunder aren’t afforded to be choosy with the way they win right now. The point is, this is a win, and not all that different from one we might’ve seen last year. It’s not like the full strength Thunder ruthlessly blow out every below average team on the road. There are a lot of close games in the NBA and the difference between winning and losing is the Thunder have Kevin Durant taking big 3s, and the Pistons have Josh Smith taking them.

In fact, I thought the Thunder looked very much like the Thunder tonight. They started sloppy and slow, playing poor defense with lazy rotations and unfocused energy. This type of game last year, you’d hardly raise an eyebrow at in the first half, knowing full well the Thunder would very likely find their gear at some point and overtake the Pistons in the second half. But coming off a month of a lot of losses where there’s not the same kind of confidence flowing in them, even an 11-point first quarter deficit was feeling like something to headbutt your coffee table over.

The lapse in the fourth quarter was bad, and nearly cost them a game which could’ve been devastating, but between Westbrook’s explosiveness, Durant’s calm 28, Ibaka’s tenacious 13-13 and four blocks, plus another quality game from the bench, the Thunder put together a mostly complete game. They’re like a guy that’s had the flu for the last two weeks, but is just now getting over it. They aren’t 100 percent, but they’re good enough to show up to work and put in a good shift.

The Thunder don’t have to be great right now. They just have to be good enough.

NOTES:

  • But seriously, that dunk.
  • Westbrook actually had another really good one in the first half, but it didn’t have the same kind of flash to it the one in the fourth did. Also, I couldn’t have been the only one scared he was going to break his hand again assaulting the rim like that, right? I think the rim actually came out worse though.
  • Did you think that Josh Smith 3 was going in? I sure did, even though everyone else in the NBA, Stan Van Gundy, and probably even Josh Smith didn’t think so.
  • Serge Ibaka was terrific. Not that you can expect nightly 13-13-4 games from him, but that’s the kind of impact he needs to have. From the interior defense to the energy on the offensive glass to the pick-and-pop jumpers, he settled back into what he’s really good at.
  • The Thunder had 16 offensive boards — 13 coming in the second half.
  • The Thunder outrebounded Detroit 50-39, which is really impressive considering the size the Pistons have. Ibaka, Westbrook (11 rebounds), Perk (seven), Collison (five) and Jackson (five) all were great on the glass.
  • Not great: Steven Adams. Just one rebound in 17 minutes. In fact, his last two games, he has one rebound.
  • Westbrook pushing creates so many points for the Thunder. Not just for himself, but either in him setting up someone else or just opening the door for a putback. I didn’t really realize that until he was gone and halfcourt possessions became such a labored event. With Westbrook pushing the pace, the Thunder get a lot of easy points.
  • Five straight excellent games for Jeremy Lamb. This one: 12 points on 5-8 shooting, 2-4 from 3 in 22 minutes. And he even got some crunchtime minutes out of it.
  • New substitution pattern for KD tonight. He checked out after about four minutes, then came back with about three minutes left in the quarter, then out after three minutes into the second, then back with five left.
  • Anthony Morrow is such a solid addition for the Thunder. He had eight tonight with two 3s, but it’s just the punch he adds to the bench. Having multiple capable scorers coming in, with the lineup options that provides, is big.
  • KD had 10 against the 76ers on Friday. He got 11 tonight in 10 minutes.
  • It’s amazing how consistently NBA referees miss block/charge calls. It’s a tough call, no doubt, but it seems they’re mostly guessing. I don’t have a solution to helping this, but players are moving so often and get rewarded. It’s an epidemic.
  • Black shoes and home whites. Perfection. Unofficially, the Thunder are 28-0 in that combo.
  • No minutes for Perry Jones. Have to wonder if his chance at the rotation has come and gone.
  • Jennings torched the Thunder in OKC a month ago. Westbrook wasn’t letting that happen again. Just six points on 3-6 shooting tonight.
  • 7-13 still looks bad, but that’s four of five and just 4.5 games out of eighth. Slowly but surely.
  • That was Scott Brooks’ 300th win.
  • It’s fun having Russ and KD back, isn’t it?

Next up: Bucks at home on Tuesday