TORONTO – Andre Roberson kept moving his feet and positioned his body in between DeMar DeRozan and the basket. As the shot clock wound down, Roberson forced DeRozan into a fall-away, mid-range jumper that clanged off the iron. Russell Westbrook grabbed the tipped-out rebound at the 3-point line and you could probably guess what happened next.
Westbrook’s one-man fast break and two-handed flush was two of the Thunder’s 27 points in transition during a 119-100 win over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night, and it was emblematic of how the game went for all 48 minutes. Against the second best team in the Eastern Conference, Head Coach Billy Donovan’s club was absolutely terrific on both ends of the floor as the Thunder earned its eighth straight victory and improve to 52-22 on the year.
That’s the longest winning streak of the season for the Thunder and it’s the longest current streak in the NBA right now, and it’s an indication of how connected Donovan’s team is playing on both ends as the playoffs approach. Coming into tonight’s game, the Thunder’s list of objectives was long, and for the most part it executed on all facets of the game plan. The overall team defense limited the Raptors to just 40.9 percent shooting, and held the Raptors dynamic trio of Kyle Lowry, DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas to just 17-for-49 shooting (34.7 percent) on the night.
“We did a pretty good job of being disciplined, staying down and not putting them to the line an enormous amount of times,” Donovan explained.
The tone was set very early tonight, as the Thunder punched Toronto in the mouth right out of the gates with a 15-3 start to the game. He defense was ferocious, as Donovan’s group forced Toronto into 1-for-8 shooting and two turnovers to begin the game.
“We came out and responded well,” Durant said. We know we can’t ease into the game. We have to impose our will, especially on the road.”
“We tried to come out and make a statement from the beginning,” Durant added. “Everybody was locked in and it got us off to a good start and got us going.”
It was basically all uphill from there for the Raptors, who made brief runs in the second, third and fourth quarters that were snuffed out. Toronto did manage to take a one-point lead at 31-30 early in the second quarter, but the Thunder responded with an 11-0 burst of its own thanks to a monster two-handed dunk by Westbrook and a selfless extra pass on the perimeter by Serge Ibaka to a wide open Dion Waiters for a corner three.
“Serge has done a great job. He’s playing well,” Donovan said. “The thing I’ve been really pleased with from him, and he’s put a lot of time and effort into this, is that he’s really moving and passing the basketball and is generating and creating good shots.”
“The one thing we have to be able to count on is his defense and his ball movement from a passing standpoint,” Donovan continued. “If he does those two things, it really impacts our team in a positive way. The defensive ability to switch, show and have rim protection; he did a lot of different things that aren’t going to show up in the stat sheet.”
The major concerns coming out of halftime were the nine first quarter free throws and 11 first half offensive rebounds the Thunder surrendered. After the break, however, the Thunder spent the final 24 minutes limiting Toronto in both crucial categories. In fact, the Raptors grabbed just one offensive rebound and nine free throws over the final two quarters. That halftime adjustment was an excellent response, and a signifier of the maturity of this Thunder team.
“When you point out things to them, they always give good effort and they try to do it,” Donovan said. “It was good to see us jump out and respond the way we did in the third quarter.”
In the third quarter the Raptors made a slight push, but Andre Roberson helped the Thunder respond with a crucial corner 3-pointer off an expert dish from Durant. In the final frame, Toronto cut the Thunder’s lead to just 101-87 with eight minutes to go, but Donovan’s group responded as Westbrook managed to fly in after missing a free throw, catch, scoop and put the ball back in without ever coming back down to the floor.
“That was unreal. You have to time that right and be as athletic as him,” Durant said, shaking his head. “I don’t know if there’s anybody in the league who can do that. You have to make that free throw, but I’ll take the two points and the acrobatic play instead. He’s a freak of nature, man.”
On the next possession, Westbrook knocked the ball loose and forced the Raptors into a shot clock violation, and the Thunder cruised from there.
“There are going to be runs in the game. They made a little run at us there in the fourth quarter,” Donovan explained. “We knew it was going to happen. It was good to see our guys respond and get back in control of the game.”
Offensively, the Thunder put together yet another outstanding performance, hitting 47.7 percent of their shots including an 11-for-26 mark from behind the 3-point line. Waiters and Roberson combined to go 5-for-6 from distance as seven different Thunder players scored at least seven points. Durant led the way with 34 points despite a below average shooting night, to go with eight assists and eight rebounds.
“I was really pleased with us offensively,” Donovan said. “We shared and moved the basketball and created and generated a lot of good shots for each other. We were really unselfish.”
Russell Westbrook again racked up a triple-double, his 16th of the season to put him one shy of Magic Johnson’s 17 in the 1988-89 season. He also matched Michael Jordan’s record of seven triple-doubles in one month. On the night he scored 26 points on 10-for-16 shooting to go with 12 assists and 11 rebounds.
“I like to win the game and make sure my teammates feel good about themselves,” Westbrook said succinctly.
Thunder Highlights:
By the Numbers
15 – Points apiece for Serge Ibaka and Dion Waiters, as the Thunder got five players into double digits scoring
16 – Triple-doubles for Russell Westbrook on the season, and seven in the month of March, with a 26-point, 11-rebound, 12-assist performance
27-11 - The Thunder’s advantage in fast break points on the night, including a 22-2 edge in the first half alone
The Last Word
“We just want to keep growing, getting better and improving. Defensively we’ve made some significant and positive strides in a good direction.” – Head Coach Billy Donovan