Every day in practice at the end of a drill, Thunder center Steven Adams plucks the basketball with his right hand, and fires it like a football to a streaking Russell Westbrook, who tries to tap his toes in along the sideline, like some alternate reality quarterback-to-wide receiver touchdown in the back of the end zone. On Tuesday night, Adams’ arm cannon came in handy after a loose ball, when he fired a strike from five feet beyond the three-point line directly into the waiting hands of Andre Roberson for a wide open slam dunk.
“Steven’s a great passer,” Westbrook said with a knowing grin. “He’s made some big-time passes, especially when the shot clock is going down .... They practice that stuff with the bigs.”
The emphatic, eyebrow-raising play came in the midst of a Thunder 18-4 rampage in the second quarter of the Thunder’s 118-94 Game 4 victory over the Golden State Warriors, as Head Coach Billy Donovan’s club took a 3-1 lead in these Western Conference Finals. Plays like the one Adams made, after tracking down a loose ball, were emblematic of the ball movement, trust and hustle on Tuesday, and more importantly, the development of the Thunder’s overall skill and scheme over the course of the season.
“You’re not always going to play a perfect game,” Donovan said. “You have to have some resiliency and some toughness and some fight to you. I think our team has it.”
After an emotional blowout win at home in Game 3, the Thunder returned to Chesapeake Energy Arena and picked up right where it left off, utilizing a 16-0 run midway through the first quarter to take a 22-8 lead with 5:42 to go in the period after a Russell Westbrook three-pointer, on a second chance possession.
The Thunder forced five of Golden State’s whopping 21 turnovers in the first 6:09 of play, setting the tone for a stymieing defensive effort that held the Warriors to just 41.3 percent shooting on the night, including 6-for-20 from the two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry.
“We did a good job of keeping our hands up and trying to make them score over us,” Durant explained. “We’re big for our positions from point guard to center. Using our length is what we try to emphasize throughout the whole year.”
Golden State finished off the first quarter with an 11-2 burst, however, and managed to pull back to within 32-30 with 10:07 to go in the second quarter. Behind some bouncy energy on both ends from Serge Ibaka, two beautiful assists by Adams and some timely shooting by Durant and Westbrook, the Thunder slugged right back with that 18-4 burst, building a 66-46 lead with 1:55 to go when Dion Waiters in the secondary break dropped off pass to Ibaka for a hook shot in the lane.
After halftime, the Warriors again made a desperate push, playing an extremely high level of defense that disrupted the Thunder for a very long stretch. In fact, the Warriors cut that 20-point deficit down to just 80-74 with just 4:48 to go in the third quarter, but it was Westbrook’s time to shine.
“I know my energy and my aggression can kind of impact the game and that’s what I try to do, especially in that quarter where shots weren’t falling for us," said Westbrook.
The game-changing play came when the Thunder point guard was blocked on a layup and fell down, then hustled to get back into the play and make a steal on an entry pass. Somehow, the full-throttle Westbrook was able to turn and sprint, beating three Warriors to the basket for a timeout-inducing finger roll layup. Westbrook finished with his fifth postseason triple-double, and it was the first time he scored 30-or-more points in back-to-back playoff games, as he scored 36 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out 11 assists and made four steals.
“Russell plays with incredible passion,” Donovan said. “He has such great force and great will. He’s a really high basketball IQ player. He sees a lot of things going on out there. His effort and his energy throughout the course of the entire game, with our team, was terrific.”
“I thought my energy was good tonight,” Westbrook said succinctly after deflecting credit and giving it to his teammates.
The Thunder’s lead swelled to 10 on the bucket, which came just a minute after the Warriors threatened, and Golden State never cut the Thunder margin below seven after that, or below nine in the fourth quarter. That’s when the Thunder flexed its muscles on defense, holding Golden State to just 12 points and erasing any chance of this series being even heading back to Oakland.
Game 4 Thunder Highlights:
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Roberson at Center on Offense
The Thunder wasn’t necessarily out of the woods yet when it started the fourth quarter, because the Warriors are known for making any lead unsafe. In congruence with its defense, the Thunder also took advantage of an offensive wrinkle it has been employing over the past two games that made the Warriors pay.
Despite not doing it much in the regular season, Donovan utilized third-year guard and defensive ace Andre Roberson at the dunker spot and as a screen-and-roller on offense, effectively turned him into the center. During three fourth quarter possessions, Roberson knocked down a three-pointer off a loose ball play, then laid low on the block to receive a pass from Durant when two men converged on the Thunder forward.
“We just tried to make an adjustment,” Durant said. “He did a great job of setting screens, he did a great job of rolling, making plays, finishing and just being under the rim. The ball was just finding him.”
“We have to be prepared for him to do that again and he has to be ready when he gets the ball to be aggressive,” Durant continued.
On the following play, Roberson screened for Westbrook and turned to the rim when his man tried to trap the Thunder point guard. The ball hit Roberson in stride and he finished at the rim with easy. A few possession later, Roberson drove baseline and hooked up Westbrook with an easy bucket in the lane, then found Serge Ibaka with a hook shot after receiving the ball in space.
“I’m just taking what’s given to me,” Roberson said. “They are throwing different defenses at us so I have to cut, move, screen and keep the defense on their heels.”
For the night, Roberson scored a career-best 17 points to go with 12 rebounds, five steals, three assists and two blocks. No other player has matched those numbers against the Warriors in the past four seasons.
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By the Numbers
5 – Postseason triple-doubles in Russell Westbrook’s career, including tonight’s 36-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist effort
17 – Points for Andre Roberson on the night a career-high in the Playoffs and more than his regular season career-high, to go with 12 rebounds, five steals, three assists and two blocks
72 – Points scored by the Thunder in the first half for the second straight game, the first time a Playoff team has done that since the Los Angeles Lakers in 1987
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The Last Word
“It was just sticking to the game plan. Our focus was really high, we didn’t get discouraged by any runs or mistakes that we made. We just had to overcome those and immediately respond. That’s pretty much what determined the game.” – center Steven Adams