Thunder go cold in Memphis, 100-92
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Sitting under his basket with 10 seconds left, Russell Westbrook pulled off his mask. Jeff Green had just (inadvertently) hit him square in the chin with a flying knee.
“Hey, you know,” Westbrook said. “It is what it is. It is what it is, man. I don’t complain. I get hit, move on to the next.”
As he always does, Westbrook got up, and stepped to the free throw line. The Thunder, down seven, weren’t about to engineer a miracle comeback in Memphis, but after making his first, Westbrook fired his second free throw high in the air, intentionally missing it back rim. He went up over everyone on the floor and in one motion turned and found sharpshooter Anthony Morrow for a wide open look from 3.
Morrow himself seemed surprised by the play, and missed wide left on a shot that could’ve at least made the final few seconds interesting. Instead, the Thunder were forced to accept the inevitable, watching the Memphis Grizzlies hand them a deflating 100-92 loss, sending their postseason hopes back severely in question.
The Thunder played a pretty good game, in reality. They battled the Grizzlies inside, they defended at least moderately well for long stretches, and on the road against a good team, had a chance in the final three minutes. Enes Kanter gave them 24 and 17. Kyle Singler had his best Thunder game with 13, hitting 3-4 from 3. But Westbrook shot just 5-20, scoring only 18 points with seven assists. Anthony Morrow hit only 1-6 from deep. Dion Waiters went 3-11. Not enough.
It was the little things. The Thunder missed 10 free throws (Westbrook five). They hit only 4-17 from 3. There were four or five loose balls they couldn’t come up with. They played really well for stretches, and really meh for others. And watching the way they reacted postgame in the locker room, specifically Westbrook, they just looked worn and tired.
They have six games left. They play at home against the Rockets and Spurs next, and have to find a way to at least split those two. Really, they probably need both. The loss to the Mavs wasn’t supposed to happen, and with this one tonight, the Thunder’s postseason hopes are serious peril. Westbrook has struggled over his last 10, shooting just 35 percent. His turnovers aren’t coming down. He says he’s fine, as you’d expect, but the burden he’s carrying both mentally and physically has to be exhausting.
“I know what you’re getting at, and I don’t know what your angle is, but he missed some shots, and he’s missed some shots the last couple games,” Scott Brooks said. “He plays hard. He’s going to get tired after every game. That’s what he does. That’s what an NBA player should do.
“That has nothing to do with his minutes,” Brooks continued. “His minutes have been good all year long and we’ve monitored them. He missed some shots. Every time you have a bad shooting game, or a couple bad shooting games, it’s not because you’re tired. It’s just things don’t fall. He competes, he leaves everything on the floor and I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Westbrook may be tired. He should be. He’s been killing himself for this team the last two months. But it really doesn’t matter. Because without him performing at ridiculously high levels, it’s pretty much over for the Thunder. It’s either you do it, or you don’t.
The Thunder aren’t done suddenly. Don’t overreact. This would’ve been a terrific win, no question, but the Pelicans have the Blazers, Warriors and Grizzlies ahead themselves. This thing is going to come down to the wire for sure, and the Thunder now need help. And it starts by helping themselves on Sunday against the Rockets.
NOTES:
- Brooks on Westbrook: “He does finish the game with an empty tank. And I like that about Russell. He’s not going to leave anything in the tank. He’s going to give everything he has. [Against the Mavericks] he probably played a couple minutes too many, and we’ll try to do a better job of monitoring that. But prior to that the minutes were at a pretty good number.”
- Westbrook: “I’ve been playing the same way for seven years,” he said. “So, ain’t nothing changed now. I’m alright. I’m fine. We just lost the game. We gotta get back to it Sunday.”
- Mike Conley: “I think that’s the biggest thing people don’t understand is that his motor is unbelievable. I don’t understand how he could go for 40 points and 17 rebounds and like 17 assists. It’s crazy to have that kind of energy. And to do that every night, it’s gotta be tough. But he’s built for it and he’s able to take on that responsibility. And that’s why he’s one of the best in the league.”
- A pretty interesting wrinkle from the Grizzlies tonight has been using Jeff Green on Russell Westbrook a lot. Mostly because of foul trouble for Mike Conley, but it was effective.
- Green: “My job was to stay in front of him and make every shot tough. If coach was going to put me on Russell, my job was to take on the challenge of staying in front of him and doing my job.”
- Green on Westbrook: “His game has changed so much since I’d been there. I’ve watched him play since Day 1 and grow into one of the best players in the league. That’s my guy. I love watching what he’s become and what he has been able to do in his career. I was just out there trying to defend him like the rest of the league has been trying to do.”
- Anthony Morrow on Westbrook: “He’s one of the most mentally tough guys I’ve ever seen in my life. And physically tough as well. Obviously it’s our job to continue to have his back through anything. He has our back, he’s looking out for us, and it’s a family organization, so we’ve just got to continue to stay in gear, continue to push him, continue to motivate him and he’ll do the same for us.”
- Dave Joerger made an interesting pregame comparison, saying the Thunder (specifically Westbrook) are playing similar to the D’Antoni Suns: “He makes, to me, 90 percent of the plays where guys are, similar to Phoenix in their heyday, they’re just finishers. Whether they’re finishing from behind the 3-point line or the rim, he’s the maestro that everybody’s playing off. Just catch and shoot or catch and finish.”
- You guys see Nick Collison on the bench tonight? Dude looked ready for the front office RIGHT NOW.
- Thunder showed zone in the fourth, and it confused the Grizzlies greatly, although Zach Randolph hit a 3 to bust it.
- Kanter got an X-Ray on his neck, just for precautionary reasons. They were negative, and he said he’s fine.
- Joerger this morning at shootaround: “You just gotta – well, there’s no ‘Just gotta’ with Westbrook. He’s smoking unbelievable.”
- Nick Calathes is a really good bad player.
- Zach Randolph almost killed D.J. Augustin tonight. Like for real.
- Westbrook on the final stretch: “We just gonna have to do it. If we don’t do it, we go home. It’s simple.”
- That was my first game in Memphis. Their fans were very heckle-y, but they were advertised to me as loud and very intense. Up until the final four minutes or so, I thought the arena didn’t have any energy. The only time they got fired up was when Westbrook would gripe at a ref. So to that guy that wrote that weird thing last year ripping Thunder fans, I’d say as objectively as I can, that you’re way wrong.
- If you’re wondering, Central BBQ > Rendezvous. Not even close. And Central comes highly regarded by the Thunder as well. Mitch McGary, Scott Brooks and a number of team officials ate there today.
Next up: Sunday at home against the Rockets
