Serge Ibaka made a steal on the sideline, one of three for him on the night, and all he saw ahead of him was open hardwood, a defender and Steven Adams. The most unlikely pair of Thunder starters to be leading a fast break executed it to a tee, with an Ibaka bounce pass resulting in a wide open Adams layup.
It seemed like the Thunder was in the open floor just like that all night in a 113-91 home win over the Utah Jazz, its sixth straight victory. Turning defense into offense proved to be the decisive factor on Thursday night, as the Thunder absolutely rolled from start to finish, never trailing in the contest as they swept their Northwest Division rivals rival in a season series for the first time in team history.
“They did a great job tonight from start to finish,” Head Coach Billy Donovan said. “Andre (Roberson) did a terrific job on Hayward. Being in the right position and using our length and positioning, we were able to generate a lot of turnovers, which was really helpful.”
Donovan’s club gave itself a cushion with a strong close to the first half, when it scored 11 of the final 14 points over the last 3:46 of the second quarter. Kevin Durant started things off with a jumper, then there was a flurry of scoring with a Russell Westbrook free throw, a Westbrook steal leading to a Durant fast break dunk, an Adams dunk, an Ibaka jumper and a Westbrook layup after an Ibaka steal. All of the sudden, it was 50-39 Thunder at halftime.
“Just being in the right position, reading the passer, getting their hands up, deflecting balls and rotating generated some steals for us,” Donovan explained. “Our bigs did a really good job of getting up in pick and roll coverage and forcing their guards to have to make plays in crowds and in traffic. We did a really good job on the weakside of pulling across, getting into gaps and passing lanes and getting our hands on balls.”
Those forced turnovers and run-outs were the lifeblood of the Thunder’s offense all night long, and they also had the effect of playing right into Donovan’s game-plan to speed up the game against a Jazz team that likes to milk the clock and set its defense. On the night, the disruptive Thunder unit made 13 steals, forced 18 turnovers (scoring 32 points off of them) and scored 22 fast break points.
“We weren’t out denying, but we were at the three-point line, we were closing out and we were helping,” Donovan explained. “We generated some deflections and generated turnovers. Those turnovers led out to us getting out on the break.”
“We kept them on the perimeter. We covered up the paint,” Durant said. “They’re a big pick and roll team. We used our length and when we do that we can get easy points and it ignites our whole offense.”
The Thunder burst out of the gates after halftime as well, with an 8-0 run that swelled its lead to as many as 23 in a continuation of the team’s play entering the break. The Jazz, fighting for their playoff lives, had one more run in them, a 14-3 burst that cut the Thunder’s lead to 68-56 with 2:27 to go in the third quarter.
The Thunder had a response, and it ended up being the knockout punch before the fourth quarter even began. Cameron Payne got the team back on track with a corner three-pointer off a Randy Foye dish. On the ensuing two possessions, the Thunder’s defense ignited the Thunder yet again, as Dion Waiters and Kevin Durant made back-to-back steals, both of which resulted in a Waiters run-out layup. Thirty seconds later, Enes Kanter pulled down a defensive rebound and pitched it ahead to Durant, who sank a run-up three-pointer at the third quarter buzzer to push the Thunder lead back out to 81-60.
“That’s the most important time in the game for us, those little games within the game, which are the last three minutes of each quarter,” Durant said.
It was coast mode from there, as the Thunder continued to play strong basketball and maintain a more-than-comfortable lead throughout the fourth quarter. Josh Huestis got his first game action of his NBA career, knocking down a three-pointer, which elicited a massive celebration from the Thunder bench.
“It felt amazing. It’s something I have been thinking about for a long time,” Huestis said. “There were a lot of emotions. I didn’t know what to do. It’s something I’m going to remember for the rest of my life.”
“That’s what’s great about this team. Everyone supports each other and everyone is family. Those are all my brothers,” Huestis continued. “The fact that they had that kind of reaction for me making that shot, it shows how tight we are and close we are as a team.”
Led by Kevin Durant’s 20-points, eight rebounds and nine assists and Russell Westbrook’s 15 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, the Thunder shot 54.2 percent from the field and dished out 27 assists as a unit. Six different players scored in double figures on the night, including 24 combined from Adams and Ibaka and another 33 from Kanter and Waiters off the bench.
“On the offensive end of the floor, we really moved it. They really load up the paint,” Donovan explained. “The one guy who opened up a lot of things for us offensively was Serge, just with the way he moved the ball and got it from one side of the floor to the other with as much as they provide help. It generated a lot of closeouts and open shots for us.”
Watch Thunder Highlights:
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50 Wins Again
With its record now at 50-22, the Thunder reached the 50-win mark for the fifth time in the past seven seasons. The Thunder recorded 47 wins in the shortened 66-game 2011-12 season. As a result, the organization now has its six season since 2009-10 with a winning percentage that equates to a 50 win season. Only the San Antonio Spurs have more such seasons in that time frame, with seven. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
By the Numbers
6 – Thunder players who scored in double figures, including 52 points off the bench
32 - Points off 18 turnovers that the Thunder forced on the night, leading to 22 fast break points
57 - Consecutive games for Kevin Durant in which he’s scored 20-or-more points, a career-high- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Last Word
“I’m happy for them because they’ve worked hard to continue to grow and develop as a team… Today was another step where we’re becoming more consistent over 48 minutes.” – head coach Billy Donovan