WASHINGTON – The Thunder dug itself a hole early on Monday night, falling behind 22-6 to the Washington Wizards. Turns out, that wasn’t the most devastating stretch of play for Head Coach Billy Donovan’s team in a 120-98 loss to Washington.
During a nine-minute stretch that spanned the end of the first half and start of the second half, the Thunder missed 24 consecutive field-goal attempts and turned the ball over five times. Encompassing that portion of play, the Wizards outscored Oklahoma City 38-7, blowing open what had been just a three-point margin with 7:35 to go in the second quarter.
Shortly after Washington’s John Wall and Otto Porter Jr. checked back into the game with 7:26 to go, the Wizards raced out to its jaw-dropping run. The Thunder simply couldn’t put the ball in the basket, and Washington pushed the pace in transition to seek out layups and open 3-pointers.
“What made it really difficult tonight is that we didn’t shoot the ball well and we didn’t defend at a high enough level against a team that offensively scores from all five spots,” Donovan said.
Thunder turnovers, 15 to be exact, didn’t help the cause. The Wizards turned those giveaways into 20 points. The Wizards scored 26 fast-break points, capitalizing more on the Thunder’s rough 35.4 percent shooting from the field than anything else. Snaring defensive boards and racing into the open floor was a wash-rinse-repeat cycle the Thunder couldn’t escape.
“Anytime you miss a lot of shots, you’re going to generate a lot of fast break points,” Donovan noted. “Whether its great defense or you just missed an open shot, it’s always going to create transition situations.”
The tone was set right from the outset. The Thunder, coming off of games at home against the NBA’s previous two defending champions, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, simply didn’t have it from the outset. The Wizards ripped off nine straight made shots to start the game, including four three-pointers before the 8:28 mark of the opening stanza.
“We dug ourselves a hole and we were constantly playing catch up from there,” Donovan said.
Giving up that many points to start the game creates a near-impossible task not just for the remaining time in the corner, but for the game in general. In the back half of the first quarter and the start the second quarter, however, the Thunder managed to battle back. An Anthony Morrow 3-pointer and Victor Oladipo fast break dunk were springboards for a 28-16 Oklahoma City spurt that allowed the team to make it a contest once again at 38-34 Washington with 11:47 to go in the second quarter.
The teams traded baskets for a few minutes after that, as the Thunder’s second unit was able to generate high-percentage looks, racking up assists on six straight made shots. Once the Wizards starters returned, however, they threw an avalanche of punches that left the Thunder staggering. It’ll be on to the next one for Donovan’s group, with just one more game remaining before this weekend’s All-Star festivities in New Orleans.
To get back on track, the Thunder will have to rest up, get into the film room and onto the practice floor and bring it for all 48 minutes against the New York Knicks on Wednesday at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
“There’s a mental toughness that needs to be built up,” Donovan said. “If you’re not making shots and the ball isn’t going in the basket, it’s hard to keep running back there and defending and grinding. Over a period of time that’s challenging but that’s something you have to build towards where you can understand the most important things like coming down the floor, move the ball, attack the paint, extra pass, generate a good shot. We have to live with the result but then we have to get back and be able to guard.”
Highlights: Thunder at Wizards - Feb. 13, 2017
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By the Numbers
23-6 – The Thunder’s advantage in second chance points thanks to a plus-seven rebounding advantage
26-12 – The disadvantage for the Thunder in fast break points on the night, in part due to 15 turnovers that led to 20 points
48 – Bench points for the Thunder on the night, as none of the starters played in the fourth quarter
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The Last Word
“Part of this group’s growth curve and learning process in my opinion, because they are young, is the ability from one night to the next to emotionally get to where they need to get individually.” – Head Coach Billy Donovan