Gameday Blog: Thunder at Boston Celtics
GAME RECAP
Date: 11/19/10 Time: 9:19 p.m.The Thunder never doubted itself. And it never felt sorry for itself either.
Down two starters, on the road against a championship-ready team that was undefeated at home, a team that it already lost to a few weeks ago – it didn’t matter to the Thunder.
Friday’s 89-84 win over the host Boston Celtics was about perseverance. The Thunder judges itself on how it responds to adverse situations and, without the services of Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, this was its biggest one of the early season.
No, the game wasn’t pretty. It was gritty on the defensive end and sloppy at times offensively. But a win is a win, and road wins, this one the Thunder’s fourth of the season, don’t come easily.
The Thunder led nearly the entire game. The offense looked crisp for three quarters. But the fourth was a different story, as Oklahoma City mustered just two field goals, the final one coming with 9:27 left to play.
Defense and free-throw shooting got it done for the Thunder.
PLAYS THE BOX SCORE WON’T SHOW: Russell Westbrook’s rebound and ensuing coast-to-coast fast break layup to begin the game was a quick reminder, if one was needed, of just how fast the Thunder point guard is…Royal Ivey’s long jumper from the corner in the second quarter showed up in the box score. But the fact that he did it almost the moment he checked into the game was impressive. Ivey came ready tonight…The running bank shot Westbrook hit out of a timeout was a momentum killer and silenced the crowd midway through the third quarter…Ivey’s three-point bank shot with the shot clock running out gave the Thunder its first double-digit lead of the game in the closing seconds of the third quarter….Ivey made a great defensive rotation to take a charge in the chest from Rajon Rondo midway through the fourth, making up for the shot clock violation the Thunder had on the previous possession.
PLAY OF THE GAME: The second-to-last defensive possession of the game was critical, and the Thunder executed it perfectly. Up by a point with 38 seconds to go, the Thunder made all the right defensive rotations as the Celtics tried to get the ball in the hands of veteran sharpshooter Ray Allen for the shot. Allen eventually got it, took it and missed, thanks to the defense contesting the shot.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Russell Westbrook led the Thunder from start to finish. He showed leadership. He played with moxie. And his athleticism and explosiveness was on full display. Westbrook finished with 31 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals. During one timeout, Head Coach Scott Brooks talked about players staying within themselves. Westbrook, along with his teammates, did just that.
STAT WORTH REPEATING: The Thunder shot 6-for-9 from behind the arc against the Celtics, which is noteworthy if only for the fact that Oklahoma City entered the game shooting 26.5 percent from three-point range this season. Another stat worth repeating: the Thunder shot 27-for-32 from the foul line, including all 10 of its attempts in the fourth quarter.
LAST WORD: “Controlling the game was the most important part of our game plan and Russell did a phenomenal job.” – Brooks on the game’s tempo
UP NEXT: The Thunder will wrap up its brief road trip on Saturday at the Milwaukee Bucks. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. on FS Oklahoma and the Thunder Radio Network.
THUNDER HOLDING ON
Date: 11/19/10 Time: 8:34 p.m.The Thunder has missed its last 11 shots from the field and still owns an 85-81 lead over the Celtics with 2:46 left. While it's been quick to pull the trigger from the perimeter, OKC is still shooting well from the charity stripe at 82.1 percent.
FOURTH QUARTER NOTES
Date: 11/19/10 Time: 8:20 p.m.The Thunder has kept the Celtics out of the paint this quarter and owns an 83-76 lead with 6:54 left to play. The Thunder has continued to step up on both ends of the floor. Offensively, it's still shooting better than 50 percent from the field and has made 6 of 7 from behind the arc. OKC's bench has combined to score 23 points.
THIRD QUARTER WRAP
Date: 11/19/10 Time: 8:04 p.m.The Thunder will take a 77-69 lead into the fourth quarter. Both teams have continued to shoot well above 50 percent from the field, but the Thunder has made a difference at the free-throw line, where it's made 19-for-24 shots. The Thunder has continued to defend well, though, limiting the Celtics to just one shot on the offensive end. OKC has a 27-17 edge on the glass, despite going up against a trio of seven-footers in Shaquille O'Neal, Semih Erden and Kevin Garnett.
THIRD QUARTER QUICK HITS
Date: 11/19/10 Time: 7:53 p.m.The Thunder has responded from every shot from the Celtics, every big basket and every run. What we're seeing now is the Thunder starting to attack the rim and get to the free-throw line, where the Thunder leads the league in shooting percentage. OKC has made 17-for-20 from the foul line.
Another thing that's stood out about the way the Thunder has played is its work on the defensive glass; Boston has just one offensive rebound tonight.
WESTBROOK LEADING THE WAY
Date: 11/19/10 Time: 7:40 p.m.Westbrook has done a fine job of controlling the tempo tonight. Right now, we're seeing him be very assertive on the offensive end. On one play, he sliced his way through the lane for a layup. The next, he was pushing the ball down court after a Boston miss. Westbrook's got 17 points, six assists and four rebounds.
HUSTLE PLAYS
Date: 11/19/10 Time: 6:51 p.m.Nick Collison is getting some love on the ESPN broadcast right now, and deservedly so. The veteran big man just positioned himself perfectly for an offensive rebound, eventually got it back and scored a layup. The Thunder is up, 33-32.
THUNDER OFF TO SOLID START
Date: 11/19/10 Time: 6:38 p.m.D.J. White just had a put-back at the buzzer to give the Thunder a 25-23 lead heading into the second quarter in Boston. The Thunder has gotten something from everyone so far; six of the eight players who have logged minutes have scored. The Thunder has shot 10-for-17 from the field so far.
Boston has been riding Shaquille O'Neal in the post; the big man has 10 points so far.
HARDEN WITH A THREE
Date: 11/19/10 Time: 6:31 p.m.The three-pointer James Harden just drained after he stepped into a pass on the right wing was very encouraging. With Durant and Green out, others will have to step up on the offensive end. We also just saw Ibaka get involved offensively. The game is tied at 21 with just over a minute left.
EARLY NOTES
Date: 11/19/10 Time: 6:23 p.m.Without leading scorer Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, the Thunder is still hanging tough early on against the Celtics, who are undefeated at home.
With a starting lineup of James Harden, Thabo Sefolosha, Russell Westbrook, Nenad Krstic and Serge Ibaka, the Thunder trails, 11-8, midway through the first quarter. Westbrook has six points for OKC.
A LOOK AT THE CELTICS
Date: 11/19/10 Time: 11:42 a.m.The Thunder begins a back-to-back set tonight in Boston against a Celtics team that has yet to lose at home this season.
The Celtics have started the season 5-0 at home, while the Thunder is 3-1 on the road.
“We’ve just got to come out and play hard,” forward Kevin Durant said. “I think if we do that we’ll continue to build on what we’ve been doing these last two games, I think we’ll be alright. We’ve got to continue to keep working every day and come out in these games with a sense of urgency on the defensive end and hopefully we’ll pile up some wins.”
The Celtics beat the Thunder at home, 92-83, on Nov. 7 behind Ray Allen’s 19 points and Rajon Rondo’s 10 points and 10 assists.
A few Celtics stories worth checking out:
The Boston Herald has a nice piece on rookie Semih Erden’s transition to the NBA and the bond he’s formed with veteran Shaquille O’Neal….
Reserve guard Delonte West made his season debut Wednesday against Washington…
Celtics great Bill Russell will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the White House announced on Wednesday.
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