A rarity in this series against the Dallas Mavericks, a Thunder offensive possession had been stymied.
Great defense by the absolutely desperate, back-against-the-wall, Mavericks had put Russell Westbrook in an impossible position. A half-dozen feet behind the 3-point line with no time left on the shot clock, Westbrook heaved. The ball hit the spot between the rim and the backboard, and a crashing Andre Roberson seemingly knew where the ball would land, snagged it, and dropped it in the bucket.
“I just stayed with the game, saw the opportunity and went for it,” Roberson explained. “Usually my job is to be the first person to get back, but I took a gamble and it paid off. I’m glad I could do that and spark the team in any way I can.”
The crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena roared, and spurred the team on to an 11-1 run to end the game, a 118-104 victory and a 4-1 defeat of the Mavericks in Round 1 of the 2016 NBA Playoffs.
The next three minutes of the fourth quarter went by furiously, as Kevin Durant forced Dirk Nowitzki into a miss on a post-up, using every inch of his wingspan to impact the shot. On the next Thunder possession it was again second chances that allowed the ball to find its way to Durant, who knocked down a mid-range jumper while being fouled.
Nowitzki picked up a technical on the play and Durant sank both free throws, providing the home crowd the exhilaration that Game 5, and the series, was in the books.
It wasn’t easy for the Thunder, however, but closeout games rarely are. The Mavericks went with a bigger starting lineup, began the game by switching everything and then changed up defenses throughout the night. Springy youngsters like Justin Anderson and Dwight Powell were different challenges for the Thunder to deal with, but in the end Head Coach Billy Donovan’s group found a defensive groove, holding Dallas without a field goal over the final 4:08 of play.
“They’re a hard team to guard with Dirk,” Donovan said. “We decided mid-way through the fourth to do some switching, and I thought that helped us get some stops.”
Even though the intensity was high, the Thunder went wire-to-wire in all four of its wins, and its plus-18.3 margin of victory was the fifth-highest in the postseason in the past 10 years. The Thunder is now the only Western Conference team to win each of its past five opening round series, and one of just three NBA teams to win nine-or-more postseason series since 2010.
They were led, of course, by Westbrook and Durant who had sensational nights once again in a gut-check situation. Those two, along with Serge Ibaka became just the third set of teammates behind Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen and Magic Johnson and James Worthy to win 40 playoff games before the age of 28.
Durant went 11-for-24 from the field and rained in 33 points and seven rebounds, including the crucial four-point play. The limitless forward’s counterpart was efficient and daring, scoring 36 points on 13-for-23 shooting, grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds and dishing out nine assists. Westbrook’s tempo, offensive versatility and overall skill level were overwhelming to behold, and both of their contributions as leaders flowed within the structure of what the Thunder offense needed to accomplish against an ever-changing Mavericks defense.
“They pressed us, played zone and double teamed us,” Durant said. “They stayed tight on our shooters on the perimeter. It allowed Russ to get downhill and make decisions. He made great decisions all series and guys finished.”
“They tried to find ways to hide guys and do different things. Our job is to be able to expose them,” Westbrook said. “I just tried to stay in attack mode all night long and stay aggressive.”
Game 5 Thunder Highlights:
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Adams a Force on Both Ends
On the stat sheet, you’ll see that Steven Adams recorded a playoff career-high with 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting along with 10 rebounds for his second playoff double-double of his young NBA journey. What lurks beneath the numbers though is the way Adams played on both ends of the floor, battling ruggedly under the rim on rolls and offensive putbacks, then turning around and serving as an incredibly versatile defender.
In this series, Adams was asked to do a lot of things on defense. He guarded Zaza Pachulia, Salah Mejri, David Lee and Dwight Powell inside. More importantly moving forward, he defended Dirk Nowitzki for extended stretches on the perimeter and even switched onto guards as small and quick as Raymond Felton and JJ Barea.
“One of the things that was encouraging to me in the series was that I’m not so sure at the beginning of the year that I would have put (Adams) on Dirk Nowitzki or put him on some guys we’ve been able to put him on,” Donovan said. “He’s played a lot of different smaller people and did a great job.”
“Steven is evolving defensively to be one of those unique centers,” Donovan continued. “He has such flexibility, such good feet and he’s really smart defensively. He did an incredible job in this series all the way around.”- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Defense to Offense Advantage
Two of the most vital aspects of every Thunder game this season have been the way it protected the ball by limiting turnovers and then how it handled transition situations in both directions. The Thunder’s identity is to turn defense into offense, getting out into the open floor and running for high percentage shots. Tonight, it did exactly that and prevented Dallas from pulling the reverse on them.
Donovan explained that the Mavericks were crashing the offensive glass and trying to stay home on the defensive end to finish out possessions with stops, but the numbers don’t lie. By the night’s end, the Thunder outscored Dallas 17-3 in points off turnovers and 18-0 in fast break points. Donovan’s group had just nine turnovers compared to 24 assists, and got 10 transition chances compared to Dallas’ two.
“That’s one of our strengths, getting the ball and pushing it,” guard Dion Waiters said. “Russ did an unbelievable job of keeping the defense on their heels on night. He made plays and found guys. That’s what we need him to do.”
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By the Numbers
15 - Points for Steven Adams, his career-high in the playoffs, on 5-for-8 shooting to go with 10 rebounds
17-3 - The Thunder’s edge in points off turnovers, as it turned the ball over just nine times compared to 24 assists on the night
18-0 - Advantage in fast break points for the Thunder on the night- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Last Word
“After Game 2 we stuck together through everything… We did a great job of sticking together and won the series.” – point guard Russell Westbrook