Thunder show off their depth in handling Denver, 117-93
Being around greatness is hard to describe. Sitting feet away from something special as it happens, witnessing real time magic on a basketball court, you just have to try and remove yourself from the moment a bit to try and step back to really appreciate it.
Red Panda, was back.
Meanwhile, in the non-halftime entertainment, the Thunder beat down the Nuggets 117-93 behind a clinical we’re-a-lot-better-than-you kind of performance with Kevin Durant yawning 25 points on 8-11 shooting, Russell Westbrook putting up 15-9-8 in 25 minutes, Serge Ibaka having his best game with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while the Thunder bench, led by D.J. Augustin and Dion Waiters, took care of the mopping up.
It was just a very matter-of-fact game, the kind you’d want to draw up following that marathon in Orlando if you’re Billy Donovan. It was an eight-point game at halftime, but an 18-4 run out of the gates in the third put things out of reach, and then it was just about packaging things up nice and clean, which the bench did very well.
“One of the things that can happen is you get a big lead going into the fourth, you lose focus and lose the things you’ve been working for for three quarters and I appreciated that the second unit came in there and played well in the fourth and played well when we got up,” Donovan said. “That to me was encouraging because that’s hard to do.”
The significant takeaway here: 32 total assists. Last season’s top mark was 31 and while taking a snapshot in a blowout isn’t exactly the best way to analyze differences, there’s no question there was a stronger focus on that, especially tonight. The little things are sticking out most to me. Like Ibaka making a simple extra pass to an open D.J. Augustin for 3 instead of taking a decently open 18-footer. There’s a considerable amount more of side-to-side passing, working the ball from one place on the floor to the other through big men in the high post. Ibaka had four assists tonight; that’s not a coincidence.
Other than that, this was a simple, straightforward beatdown. Westbrook and Durant were very good, the supporting pieces produced, and the opposing team didn’t have the firepower to keep up.
On to Houston.
NOTES:
- Dion Waiters appears to have moved back to the middle of the free throw line. He went 3-of-3 tonight. This concludes your Dion Waiters free throw update.
- I was really interested to watch Waiters in the fourth. He had three points on 1-5 shooting with two assists after three quarters, and honestly, I felt like he had played a very solid, impactful game off the bench. Smart decisions, moved the ball, played hard defense and created opportunities. But in garbage time, I’m sure there was a temptation to gun for some buckets and pump the stats a bit. Instead, he laid back, took what came to him and finished the quarter 2-of-3 shooting to end up with 10 points on 3-of-8 plus three assists.
- If you glance at the box score tomorrow morning, you’re going to assume Waiters was meh. But really, I felt he had one of the bigger influences on the game, specifically in the second quarter when he sparked a 12-1 run with some active defense and a couple nice passes that led to baskets.
- It would appear Donovan prefers Waiters over Morrow to this point. The two haven’t played much together, and in most situations, Donovan is going with Waiters. Morrow played 16 minutes, largely in mop-up duty.
- One big benefit to having a guy like Enes Kanter is he’s going to bully opposing garbage time guys, and there’s not a ton of risk of letting a 26-point lead slip to 10 or something where you have to consider bringing back starters. He had his second double-double — 12 and 10 — and did it basically by bulldozing the Nuggets’ bad players in the fourth.
- D.J. Augustin had 14 on 5-of-8, including 4-of-5 from 3. He scored a quick 11 points and set a solid tone, especially for the second unit.
- Cameron Payne and Mitch McGary made their season debuts, obviously Payne’s NBA debut. Not a lot to speak of there.
- KD got a little feisty again pregame about his health and such. Asked about playing in his first back-to-back and four-in-five this week, he popped, “I’m really tired of y’all talking to me like I’m a 19-year vet, man. I was out a year, not even a whole year. I’m all right. I can play those minutes. It’s not like I’m struggling the next day. I want to play every minute, but I can’t do that. I feel great to play as much as coach wants me to play. I’m not 39 years old.”
- Andre Roberson scored his first points since that opening bucket against San Antonio. And not only that, he had 10, which included a corner 3, plus seven rebounds.
- I wish I could’ve had a Vine of Will Barton’s face when Roberson made his running jumper in lane. It was as much of a WTF face as you could possibly have.
- Kyle Singler played 20 minutes. I don’t have much more to say about him.
Next up: At the Rockets on Monday