There were tenuous moments as the faithful in Chesapeake Energy Arena stayed on their feet for the final minutes, but when it was all said and done and time to celebrate the New Year, Thunder fans had plenty to cheer about.
Sealing a 110-106 victory over the Phoenix Suns, the Thunder moved to 7-1 on its traditional “Opening Night” home game, this year to commemorate the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016. It was far from an easy win for the Thunder, however, as it never led by more than nine and had to shrug off the feisty Suns squad deep into the final minutes of the game.
“Even when we got out and up by seven or eight, consecutive turnovers got them right back in the game,” Donovan said. “They made a lot of tough two point shots, especially over some outstretched arms.”
As it continues to try to improve its defense, the Thunder’s offense was dominant once again, racking up 29 assists on its way to 52.5 percent shooting, with ten different players registering an assist and ten players scoring at least five points.
Phoenix rattled off seven straight points to make it 89-87 with 9:58 left in the fourth quarter, but the Thunder’s second unit responded. Dion Waiters made a steal and found Cameron Payne for a fast break dunk, then Waiters grabbed a defensive rebound and sprinted to the middle of the floor and hit an open Kyle Singler for a three-pointer in the corner which made it 94-87 Thunder and brought the house down.
“It was a great look by Dion,” Singler said. “Throughout the whole game he was driving the ball well. He was in transition and found me. It was a great pass by him and it felt great to get that one to go in.”
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Singler was a vital element of the Thunder’s win, racking up seven points, four rebounds and two assists in 12:50 of action. It wasn’t just his statistical contribution, it was the way he came off the bench after having not played in the first half, or any consistent rotation minutes since November 20. The mental and physical effort exerted by Singler to stay sharp and be ready when his number was called was remarkable.
“You have to stay locked in to what we’re doing out there on the court,” Singler said. “Just to be out there on the floor with the guys and compete was really great.”
“He was being a professional. We have a lot of guys on this team who are great pros,” point guard Russell Westbrook said of Singler. “When their number is called they’re always ready. Kyle was a prime example of that tonight. He did a great job coming in and giving us great minutes and playing with great intensity.”
The Thunder’s work wasn’t done yet, as its nine point lead slowly trickled away to a 100-100 tie with 3:43 remaining. The teams traded stops and the Thunder made the last one, as Waiters made an incredible defensive rotation to help down on a rolling Tyson Chandler, force a travel.
On the ensuing Thunder possession, Westbrook scored on a jumper from the left block to break the tie, and after a Chandler bucket, Durant hit a fall-away jumper with 1:17 to go to put the Thunder up 104-102. Donovan’s group forced a miss, as Durant hauled in the rebound, and on the other end Singler snagged an offensive rebound and immediately dished to a streaking Durant for a dunk, the game’s dagger bucket with 31.7 seconds to go.
“It felt good to win. Whoever made the shot, we just needed the W,” Durant said. “Kyle was huge for us and really big in the fourth quarter for us and we need that extra push. He made a great pass to me and I tried to finish.”
All that was left was for Westbrook to drain four clutch free throws, and Thunder fans were free to celebrate New Year’s with a smile.
“We closed the game the right way. We hit some shots and got stops when we needed it. And obviously making some free throws helped us as well.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Westbrook's Dominance, Efficiency a Factor
The Thunder had to battle all night long to stay in the game, and if hadn’t been for Russell Westbrook, there may not have been much of a chance to break away in the fourth quarter. The Thunder point guard scored 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting to go with three assists in the first nine-and-a-half minutes of the game, keeping the scoreboard moving for his team.
“I was just trying to pick my spots, get out in transition and play with some pace,” Westbrook said.
Westbrook started the action by getting others involved, with all three assists coming in the first three minutes of action. After that, however, he went into full-on attack mode, but within the flow of the offense, scoring three out of his next four baskets off of assists. Twice on the night, Westbrook dove on the floor to tip a loose defensive rebound out to a teammate, helping the Thunder regain possession.
Westbrook continued to roll in the second half, finding his spots to attack, generating shot opportunities for himself and teammates. The perennial All-Star always wows with his athleticism and aggression, but tonight it was also because of his precision, efficiency and recognition of personnel. For the night, Westbrook finished with 36 points on 12-for-19 shooting in addition to 12 assists and five steals.
“It was a good night for him. He was making shots,” Durant said. “He was just efficient, he had the ball in his hands and made good decisions. He controlled the game as the point guard.”- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
By the Numbers
12-for-19 – Shooting numbers for Russell Westbrook, who scored 36 points, had 12 assists and made five steals
23-7 - The Thunder’s advantage in fast break points on the night, aided by 12 steals and 23 points off of turnovers
31-15 - The Thunder’s edge in bench points for the Thunder on the night as ten different players scored at least five points- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Last Word
“There were some good moments and bad moments, but I think with their ability to create off the dribble that caused us some problems on the defensive end of the floor. But we found a way to win the game at the end and made some plays.” – Head Coach Billy Donovan