It was a cheeky move by Steven Adams that provided the game-turning play.
To free up just the right amount of space in the lane for Russell Westbrook, Adams did the best thing for the team to not set a screen for his point guard. Instead of running all the way up to the top of the key to put a body on Westbrook’s defender, Adams stopped short and muscled up his own defender, Anthony Davis. That left Westbrook’s defender, Jrue Holiday, flatfooted when Westbrook exploded into the paint, rose up and slammed home a dunk through a foul by DeMarcus Cousins.
“It was huge. That was a great call by Steven. He read that. He did a great job of screening and gave me an open lane,” Westbrook said. “It shows that he’s playing much better. He’s not just playing, but reading the game. He’s knowing what’s going on at all times and you can see that.”
“Here’s a player in the heat of a battle who can see some different things. He really made a great call.” Head Coach Billy Donovan said. “Give Steven a lot of credit for having the recognition and awareness for making that decision.”
“I didn’t even get to see it, which sucks. I just heard a bang. I missed it,” Adams sighed, realizing his back was turned to Westbrook’s dunk.
The big-time basket put the Thunder up 110-106 with 2:38 to go, far from out of the woods, but Cousins’ foul was his sixth of the night. One driving layup and four free throws and one more monster slam dunk from Westbrook ensued over the next five possessions, keeping the New Orleans Pelicans at bay as the Thunder ripped off its third straight home win, 118-110.
The entire game had been a back-and-forth affair, with the Thunder trying to put out two fires at once. In the first quarter, Davis scored 24 points for the Pelicans, then Cousins added 19 in the second quarter alone. In the third quarter, newcomer Taj Gibson entered the game and made an impact on the defensive end. Compared to the 43 they combined for in the first half, Davis and Cousins scored just 26 together in the second half as the Thunder out-rebounded New Orleans 53-35 and outscored the Pelicans in the paint 56-40 on the night.
“His length, his ability to know personnel and he knows who is in the game and knows how to guard people,” Westbrook said of Gibson. “He did a great job of that tonight.”
It wasn’t until well after halftime, about mid-way through the fourth quarter, that Westbrook initiated a mini 10-2 burst that gave the Thunder some breathing room. Westbrook sandwiched a jumper and two three-pointers around a pair of Enes Kanter free throws to give the Thunder a 105-95 lead.
“He’s doing an unbelievable job,” Kanter said of Westbrook. He’s playing his best basketball. He’s making everybody else better around him. That’s what a really special player does. That’s what a leader does.”
Westbrook scored 21 points in the fourth quarter alone, part of his 41-point, 11-assist, 11-rebound night, good for his 29th triple-double of the season and 66th of his career. This was also Westbrook’s fourth 40-point triple-double of the season. Early on in this game, Westbrook wasn’t shooting well from the field and turned the ball over too much, but he was repeatedly putting teammates in position to score, setting the table for his offensive game to open up in the pivotal final frame.
“He has an incredible ability, in terms of winning to flush what’s going on and focus on what he needs to do,” Donovan said. “It’s a unique quality that he has. It’s a tell-tale sign for how important winning his to him.”
“I was trying to be aggressive when I can,” Westbrook said. “Throughout games I have to find a better way to pick my spots. Tonight it was the fourth quarter.”
Two of the biggest beneficiaries of Westbrook’s drive-and-dish game in the first half were Steven Adams and Alex Abrines, both of whom scored 13 points from the starting lineup. The man who needed Westbrook’s play creation and confidence the most tonight was Kanter, who had to shake off a bunch of rust in his first game back from his broken arm on Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers. Tonight, his timing, physicality and touch around the bucket was back to normal, as the Turkish center chipped in 20 points off the bench to go with nine rebounds and three assists.
“It felt way better than Friday,” Kanter chuckled. “I feel way better out there. I feel like I’m so much more comfortable and have so much more confidence.”
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By the Numbers
4 – 40+ point triple-doubles for Russell Westbrook this season after his 41-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist night
53-35 – Rebounding advantage for the Thunder on the night, including 10- from Steven Adams and a 22-8 rebounding edge for the bench
56-40 – The Thunder’s points in the paint edge, where it shot 28-for-43 (65.1 percent)
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The Last Word
“Our guys battled, they fought and did a lot of really good things tonight. We got a lot of contributions from a lot of different guys.” – Head Coach Billy Donovan