LOS ANGELES – The Thunder’s performance through three quarters on Wednesday night was perhaps as good as the team has put together all season. The fourth quarter, it was the exact opposite.
It was a dominating and impressive two-way performance by the Thunder for most of the game, but a 26-5 run by the Los Angeles Clippers to end the game was too devastating to overcome. In the end it was a 103-98 defeat at the hands of the team looking up at the Thunder from one spot behind in the standings. Head Coach Billy Donovan was straightforward after the game, explaining that this type of loss provided an opportunity to shine a light on where the team must be better in order to be elite.
The Thunder had built a 22-point lead at one point and led 93-77 with 7:26 remaining, but the Clippers rattled off a 21-4 run to take a 99-97 lead with 1:12 to go on a DeAndre Jordan and-one finish. To end the game, the Thunder missed 12 of its final 13 shots – eight of which came from 17-feet or further – and turned the ball over four times. Meanwhile, all but six of the Clippers points came from either the free throw line or in the deep paint.
“We didn’t play the right way on offense and it carried over into our defense,” Donovan said. “We got stagnant and turned the ball over.”
“They made plays and we didn’t,” forward Kevin Durant said. “They were disciplined and we weren’t.”
Durant missed a short jumper on the ensuing Thunder possession, and Jamal Crawford banked in a leaner in the lane to put the Clippers up by four. Durant got fouled on the next possession and made a free throw, but after two J.J. Redick free throws, Russell Westbrook misfired on a three-pointer, thinking the Clippers were going to try to foul.
For the first three quarters it seemed as this one would be drama free, as Donovan’s group used an 11-0 run midway through the first quarter to take control, then exploded to a double-digit lead with a 14-2 burst to end the quarter thanks to a barrage of three-pointers from Dion Waiters and Kyle Singler. Despite a hot start from long distance, the Thunder managed to only hit 2-of-18 attempts in the second half.
A strong defensive effort in the first half was initiated from the opening few possessions, and by the time the first quarter ended, the Clippers only had two points in the paint. Continually getting stops and playing sound defense allowed the Thunder to be in prime position on the glass, as it racked up a 63-45 rebounding advantage on the night. Despite a major advantage in offensive rebounds in the first half, the Thunder allowed the Clippers to score 13 second chance points in the second half.
“We did everything in the second half that we did not do in the first half,” Donovan said. “The way we played in the first half and the first three quarters was great. We moved the basketball, we shared it and had great movement.”
In the end, the Thunder simply didn’t sustain its intensity, focus and discipline for long enough, and when poor offensive possessions piled up it turned into poor defensive positioning on the other end. It was a fatal recipe for the Thunder during that fourth quarter, and a reminder of the importance of every single possession in a 48 minute game.
“We need to sustain our gameplay for long stretches of time, keep plying the right way and doing the right things,” Donovan explained. “They already do this for long stretches, of time but then they have lapses like tonight.”
Watch: Thunder Highlights
By the Numbers
5 – Blocks for Kevin Durant on the night tying a career-high, as the Thunder made eight blocks as a team
27 – Fast break points for the Thunder, where it shot 9-for-15 on the night
63-45 – Rebounding edge for the Thunder on the night
The Last Word
“We need to make a decision, collectively as a group, from an accountability standpoint, what type of team we want to be. In order to do that, there has to be a high level of sacrifice by everybody and I think this is something our team is capable of.” – Head Coach Billy Donovan
