The Thunder was intentional in its play. The Thunder was precise in its execution and wise in its decision making. The Thunder was focused and connected. The Thunder won, and won big.
In a 128-94 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at Chesapeake Energy Arena, Head Coach Billy Donovan’s club put together a complete, solid 48-minute effort – something the team has been striving to achieve for over the past couple weeks.
“Tonight they put a complete game together,” Donovan said.
Through the first 7:14 of play on Monday night, it looked like the Thunder was going to be in for a dogfight for four quarters with the Blazers. Portland was scoring at will, hitting from the three-point line and on the other end, the Thunder was missing shots. A few possessions after a Donovan timeout, with the Blazers leading 22-16, the game was flipped completely on its head.
Durant went to the free throw line after getting fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three shots and Enes Kanter checked in and immediately scored on bucket in the paint off of a Westbrook dish. Westbrook hit a jumper on the next possession after a Blazers turnover, and the quarter was capped by a Durant three-pointer, a Durant old-fashioned three-point play and two more Durant free throws after a Cameron Payne steal. Meanwhile, Portland didn’t score a single point over the final 4:46 of the period.
“We came out a little slow, trading baskets back and forth,” Westbrook explained. “We had to eventually lock down and we did a good job of that.”
“I think it was communication. We talked about it this morning and our mindset was just defense,” Kanter said. “The most important thing for us right now is the defensive end and I think we did a really good job on it tonight.”
When the teams regrouped on the floor after the break, it was more of the same for the Thunder: crisp offense combined with stellar defensive effort. Randy Foye hit a three-pointer off a Kanter pass. From there, just about everyone seemed to get in on the action, as Kyle Singler knocked down a floater, Anthony Morrow buried a pair of three-pointers and Westbrook found Ibaka on a mid-range jumper.
On the other end of the floor the Thunder forced miss after miss and closed out possessions with defensive rebounds. By the time the burst was over with 4:31 to go in the half, the Thunder led 56-30. In the span of 12 minutes, the Thunder outscored the Blazers 40-8.
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Dizzying Box Score
The number one thing the Thunder cares about when it looks at the box score at the end of each night is the final score, but this game had quite a few statistical anomalies that told the tale of the game. To start, the Thunder’s defense forced Portland into 34.1 percent shooting, the lowest mark of any opponent so far this season. The Blazers also shot just 7-for-27 from the three-point line, a huge factor heading into the matchup.
On the offensive end, the Thunder shot 59.0 percent from the field and 9-for-17 from the three-point line, with seven different players scoring in double figures thanks to 31 assists. A huge point of emphasis lately for this Thunder club has been turnovers, and Donovan’s team delivered by turning it over just 13 total times, including just six times over the first three quarters.
“Those two guys have the ball in their hands a lot,” Donovan said. “They really care and work hard. Some of the turnovers that we’ve had, they take that personally. They take responsibility and want to do a better job of taking care of the basketball. They are more mindful of that.”
Russell Westbrook registered his league-leading 12th triple-double of the season with 17 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes. In fact, he nearly set the all-time NBA record for fastest triple double ever when a rebound escaped his grasp late in the first half when he had only played 16 minutes.
“As our point guard, I’m sure he was just worried about how we were playing,” Durant opined about Westbrook. We had a great groove going on and cruised on to a great win.”
Kevin Durant scored 15 of his 20 points in the first quarter, while Serge Ibaka and Steven Adams combined for 28 points on 12-for-16 shooting. The bench totaled 60 points on the night, with Kanter leading the way with 26 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes.
“He made himself available on a lot of pick and rolls and was scoring down there on offensive rebounds,” Durant said of Kanter. “That’s what we need him to do for the rest of the season.”
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By the Numbers
11-0 - The Thunder’s edge in points off turnovers through the first three quarters, as it only turned the ball over six times
34.1 - Shooting percentage the Thunder forced the Blazers into for the night, including just a 7-for-27 mark from the three-point line
60 - Advantage in bench points for the Thunder on the night, led by Enes Kanter’s 26 points
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The Last Word
“It was a great game by our team. We did a great job of coming out and competing at a high level. It was a good win for us.” – point guard Russell Westbrook