In the Thunder’s victory Wednesday night over the New Orleans Pelicans, the word sensational might not have been strong enough to describe Russell Westbrook’s performance. The electricity that coursed through the Thunder point guard spread throughout the floor to his teammates, and it propelled the team to victory.
So what did Westbrook like the most about his 45-point night in New Orleans and his triple-double at home over the Orlando Magic on Monday night?
“Two wins,” Westbrook said. “That’s the most important at this stage. All that other stuff is irrelevant. We have to find a way to continue to get wins and win as a team… The game will tell you what you need to do to help your team win.”
At this stage of the season, the Thunder is supremely focused on getting better and growing as a unit, but also intent on racking up wins. In tonight’s tilt against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Thunder will have to capture some of the same elements that bred success two days ago and transfer them onto the floor once again.
One key component to the victory was the way the Thunder trusted the offense. In Thursday’s practice report, guard Anthony Morrow helped highlight an aspect of the Thunder’s offensive trust that was crucial to victory. The team’s ability to execute, even late in the shot clock, is a sign that it believes in the offensive system and that it can generate a high percentage shot no matter the circumstances.
“It’s a sign of us not relying on talent and just running our offense,” Westbrook said. “We’re running the plays that are given to us and running our sets. As you can see, we have more than enough time to be able to get into a set and find a good shot.”
Defense will be equally as important tonight for the Thunder, and while it all starts with stopping dribble penetration, the Thunder’s bigs will once again have their hands full. The combination of Steven Adams and Kendrick Perkins did their work early against Anthony Davis on Wednesday, forcing him away from the basket and, for the most part, into a jump shooter. That allowed Serge Ibaka to monitor the rim, staying close to Omer Asik but also acting as a deterrent to drivers throughout the night.
“Our bigs did a great job on their bigs last game,” Westbrook said. “They put a body on Davis and made him take some tough shots over Serge. Hopefully we can do the same thing tonight.”
Durant Back in Action
Kevin Durant missed four out of the past five games, playing 37 minutes in Memphis against the Grizzlies in the midst of a 3-2 stretch for the Thunder. His injured big toe didn’t quite respond the way he and the team had hoped after the Memphis game, so Durant missed the Thunder’s past two games, both wins over the Orlando Magic and New Orleans Pelicans. At shootaround, Durant waltzed over to the group of assembled media and said he was good to go for tonight’s matchup.
“The last four or five days I was able to get some good treatment in and rest it a little bit to be able to play tonight,” Durant said. “I’m excited to get back out there with the guys.”
Even though he wasn’t with the team on Wednesday in New Orleans, Durant still made his presence felt. After the game, Westbrook told Thunder sideline reporter Lesley McCaslin that Durant sent him a motivational text earlier in the day. It turns out that Durant also sent a quick word to a number of his teammates, including Perkins and Morrow, both of whom played extremely well in New Orleans. At shootaround on Friday, Durant teased that maybe his text messages were the reason behind the Thunder’s strong performance.
“I take full credit for that one, pumping him up a little bit,” Durant joked, in reference to Westbrook’s career night. “I just told him to go out there and lead, go out there and do what he does.”
Broadcast Information
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m. CT
Television: Fox Sports Oklahoma
Radio: Thunder Radio Network, WWLS the Sports Animal