The Thunder had a massive comeback in its sights, but it was just too little too late as the Chicago Bulls ended up with all the holiday cheer.
During a Christmas Day showdown at Chesapeake Energy Arena, the Thunder fell 105-96 to Chicago in what was a hard-fought game, but ultimately one the Thunder played from behind throughout the entire afternoon.
After falling behind 11-0 over the first few minutes of action, the Thunder had to rally back from an eventual 13-point deficit in the first quarter to finally pull within two at halftime. After the break, however, the Bulls jumped on the Thunder with another quick 8-0 burst, ultimately building an 18-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Thunder Head Coach Billy Donovan stuck with a lineup of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, Enes Kanter and Anthony Morrow for the entire fourth quarter and this team rallied back to within six at 99-93 with 3:42 remaining. Unfortunately for the home crowd, the Bulls managed to get to the free throw line and the Thunder’s shots didn’t fall, leaving too large of a deficit to overcome.
“For whatever reason, we just appeared a step behind them tonight,” Donovan said. “We were always, from the jump, trying to play catch up.”
“We didn’t have any energy to start the game or the third quarter and they got us,” Durant said. “When shots don’t go in we still have to play defense and we still have to be smart out there. We weren’t smart tonight. We just made dumb plays all night.”
Despite some areas that team leaders like Durant addressed, there were some stretches where the Thunder played to its identity. It will look to those moments as examples for how to play moving forward. The Thunder’s 15-3 run to end the first half was ignited by two steals and two blocked shots and the crowd roared when Kevin Durant drained a three-pointer off a Russell Westbrook pass, and then when Westbrook found Serge Ibaka for an alley-oop dunk. When Andre Roberson found Dion Waiters for a fast break layup, the roof nearly blew off the building.
“To close out the half, the last four minutes we did a really good job defensively, got them to take shots you want to give up and we were able to rebound the basketball and get out on the break,” Donovan explained. “That was inconsistent for us tonight.”
“We didn’t try to get all the points back in one possession. When you try to do that it makes it worse,” Durant explained. “We stayed poised at the end of the second quarter. We grinded it out and got steals and got stops and got easy points on the other end.”
“We were just playing the right way,” Westbrook said. “A lot of it was energy. We finally put our minds to getting some stops and playing the right way and it helped out.”
The box score certainly told the tale of the stop-and-start night for the Thunder. In many of the major categories – points in the paint, rebounding and assists - the Bulls had the Thunder’s number. However, the Thunder outscored Chicago 26-16 in points off turnovers and 30-23 in bench points. There were some positives to take away, but for the most part, the Thunder recognized that it needs to put together a complete effort every single game moving forward.
“Our team played hard, but we just have to play smarter,” Durant said. “We had energy after the first six or seven minutes to start each half, but against good teams we have to bring it for 48.”
Watch Thunder Highlights:
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By the Numbers
6 – Steals for point guard Russell Westbrook to go with 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds
11-for-21 – Shooting numbers for Kevin Durant to net 29 points, in addition to nine rebounds and seven assists
25-13 – The Thunder’s scoring edge in the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter to give itself a chance late- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Last Word
“It’s amazing to play on this special day and for people to be a part of Christmas and to come watch us play ball is a dream come true. You want people to see your skills and see what you bring to the table as a basketball player, so for them to spend Christmas with us was a huge deal. We really appreciate it.” – forward Kevin Durant