There was an adjustment made, but once the Thunder got rolling on Friday night, it looked like its normal self.
In a 102-85 home victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, the Thunder played without Kevin Durant as he recovers from a hamstring injury. That caused a shift in minutes played, and Anthony Morrow replaced Durant in the starting lineup. The sharpshooter got off to a hot start, knocking down two 3-pointers in the first six minutes of the game, and he finished with 12 points.
“He’s a complete professional,” Head Coach Billy Donovan said of Morrow. “I have a lot of confidence in him.”
“It was just to come in and do what I do,” Morrow said of his mindset. “I was going hard in practice, pushing myself in my individual workouts and team workouts. I was staying locked in and engaged, just being ready for the opportunity.”
The 76ers hung around for the first 33-and-a-half minutes of this one, and when the Thunder lead was cut to 62-61 late in the third quarter, Donovan called a timeout. Out of the break, the Thunder played like a team with a renewed resolve. Russell Westbrook posted up and made a shot over the shorter Phil Pressey on the left block, then on the ensuing defensive possession, the Thunder point guard made a steal and leading to a slam dunk.
Enes Kanter then blocked a shot and Serge Ibaka dove on the floor for the following loose ball, resulting in a jump ball that he won. Kanter then cleaned up a miss with an and-one finish in the lane before Dion Waiters swatted a shot to stop a Philadelphia drive. After the teams traded stops, Westbrook stopped and popped, capping a 9-0 run and giving the Thunder all of the momentum heading into the final quarter.
Fueled by an unbelievable effort in transition, both in turning defense into offense and preventing Philadelphia from getting out and running, the Thunder molded this game into its style throughout the night.
The Thunder held Philadelphia to just 34.9 percent shooting from the field, a 20-for-55 shooting night in the paint and a 5-for-17 mark from the 3-point line, which led to a 24-3 edge in fast break points, stimulated by Russell Westbrook’s career-high 17 rebounds.
“I learned over the summertime that when I rebound and start the break, it’s better for our team,” Westbrook explained. “It gives the opposing teams problems when I’m able to do that and push the break. It gets us easy points.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Collison a Game-Changer
The Thunder’s starting group couldn’t really get it going, and the 76ers had made a push to take a six point lead heading into the break between the first and second quarters. Needing a spark, Nick Collison utilized energy, intelligence and grit to change the game for his team. Despite not playing just 14 total minutes in the previous three games, Collison was ready when his number was called and made a huge impact.
“Part of the reason of going with Nick is to stabilize our tame,” Donovan explained. “He’s a veteran guy. I felt like we needed to get some stops and he did a really good job of coming off that bench and getting control of the game.”
Collison started the second quarter with a mid-range jumper, then drew an offensive foul on Philadelphia’s Jahlil Okafor with solid post defense. A few minutes later, Collison stepped in on a driver and took a charge, negating another 76ers possession. His effort and basketball IQ raised the entire team’s level of play, and for the night he finished with six points, eight rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot.
“It was huge, the charges changed the game,” Westbrook said. “It was his physicality and awareness and him just being Nick and doing what he does.”
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By the Numbers
17 - Rebounds for Russell Westbrook, a career-high, in addition to 21 points and 11 assists
24-3 - Edge in fast break points for the Thunder, where it held the 76ers to just four shot attempts
48-40 - The Thunder’s advantage in points in the paint, where it held Philadelphia to just 20-for-55 shooting - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Last Word
“Our post players did an unbelievable job of contesting shots and rebounding the basketball after the shot was taken. You have to give credit to those guys. Eventually our pace of the game wore on Philly and helped us out.” – forward Kyle Singler