SACRAMENTO – In the first two-and-a-half minutes of the game the Thunder made two steals, a dunk, forced another turnover and made three jump shots. It was an incredible 9-0 flurry that set the tone for the night, although Head Coach Scott Brooks’ team would have to battle the rest of the way before book-ending the win with another 9-0 run in the fourth quarter.
With stout defense and unselfish, free-flowing offense, the Thunder jumped out to a 34-20 lead after one quarter against the Sacramento Kings, then traded runs throughout the night, including the game-clinching one in the final frame to pull out a 104-92 road victory. The win made Brooks’ squad winners of seven straight, and nine out of its last ten.
The energy emerged from the same source that it has regularly during this recent stretch, with Russell Westbrook at the head of the defense and on the ball on offense. For the ninth straight game, Westbrook registered at least 20 points, five assists and five rebounds, this time racking up 32 points, seven assists and six rebounds to go along with four steals.
It was his steal and slam dunk on the very first possession of the night that got his team going. It was the way he relentlessly attacked for to score and distribute that kept the offense humming. Finally, it was the way he turned defense into offense and viciously finished at the rim that sealed the victory.
For the night, the Thunder shot 47 percent from the field as Kevin Durant finished with 26 points, Serge Ibaka had nine to go with seven blocks and Anthony Morrow went 3-for-5 from the field for ten points. On defense, the Thunder held Sacramento to 35 percent shooting in the first quarter, but that number would rise to 43 percent throughout the rest of the night as the Thunder had to hold on for victory.
"Defense, it's all about defense," said Thunder Head Coach Scott Brooks. "The first unit did a great job setting the tone.”
“Our guys have been consistent with the defensive intensity,” Brooks continued. “I thought Serge and Andre (Roberson) did a great job setting us up defensively to allow Kevin and Russell to score in transition."
"It was just focus (on defense) that helped us win," Ibaka added. "We were playing a good team, they were going to come hard. I was doing the best job I could helping my teammates in the paint."
The Kings took an 86-85 lead in the fourth quarter, but Reggie Jackson hit a floater plus the foul shot to regain the lead at 88-86 with just over seven minutes remaining. Steven Adams then dove on the floor to make a steal leading to a Westbrook layup. After trading stops, a Westbrook steal led to a Durant floater and then Westbrook followed it up with a jumper to push the Thunder’s lead to eight with just 4:23 to go. That little 9-0 burst in the face of adversity in a hostile environment proved to be just enough cushion to keep Sacramento at bay.
Westbrook said the team stuck together and held off that Sacramento push. "We got some stops. We stuck with it tonight. We did a good job of defending all night. My job is to help us win, to come out and be myself on both sides of the floor."
“We just stayed poised because we’ve been there before,” Durant said. “It’s not our first time. We knew if we kept playing, kept sticking to what we do and sticking to our identity which is defense and offense, we would turn the game around.”
Thunder Pressuring Side Pick-and-Roll Relentlessly
The Thunder’s defense is all about five men being tied on a string, doing their job collectively to the best of their ability, but often the reasons for success are more complex. On Tuesday night, one of the factors that led to the Thunder’s early defensive success was the way it attacked the ball-handler in the pick-and-roll, particularly due to the aggressiveness of Westbrook and Ibaka.
“I thought we did a great job of getting into the basketball,” Brooks said. “Russell was great on both ends. He does a great job setting that tone defensively. When he gets in a defensive stance, he’s hard to get around.”
“Serge did a great job, not only protecting the basket, but guarding the pick-and-roll,” Brooks continued. “You have to be able to do that as a big in this league because there are going to be 75-80 pick-and-rolls every game”
Particularly at the angle or on the wing, Thunder big men were active in working with Russell Westbrook to trap Darren Collison and other Kings ball-handlers out top, forcing seven first quarter turnovers. The Thunder’s three steals and all those forced turnovers led to nine points in the opening quarter alone, and on the night the Thunder forced Sacramento into 19 turnovers that led to 26 points.
Stats of the Night
9 – Consecutive games for Russell Westbrook with at least 20 points, five assists and five rebounds
19 - Turnovers forced by the Thunder defense, leading to 26 points
15,000 – With his second made field goal on the night, Kevin Durant became the second youngest player to eclipse the 15,000 point mark
The Final Word
“We’ve just been trying to get better every single every single day. I can’t keep preaching that enough. Defensively we’ve been locking in.” - forward Kevin Durant