PHILADELPHIA – After five months with no NBA hoops, dials in Oklahoma tuned to Fox Sports Oklahoma on Wednesday night as fans had the joy of Thunder basketball re-enter their lives for another season of heart-stopping action.
They got exactly what they tuned in for, as the Thunder used three massive defensive stops in the final 30 seconds to stifle a fired up Philadelphia 76ers club and come away with a 103-97 victory to kick off the 2016-17 campaign.
Head Coach Billy Donovan’s group managed to start off the season 1-0, but it certainly wasn’t easy because of the electric play of 76ers center Joel Embiid and veteran point guard Sergio Rodriguez. In fact, most of the game was back and forth or in Philadelphia’s control until the closing minutes. With 6:17 remaining the Sixers pulled ahead 87-81 on a three-pointer from Robert Covington, which seemingly put the Thunder behind the eight ball on the road in front of a raucous and hostile crowd.
Victor Oladipo, however, checked back in and responded in a big way. Shrugging off a tough shooting night, Oladipo snagged a rebound and hit a step-back jumper, then got downhill on the next possession to score at the rim to once again make it a one-possession game. Before that flurry Oladipo was just 2-for-12 from the field, but had the confidence and poise to hit two of the most important buckets of the night.
“He really deeply cares and holds himself to a very high standard,” Donovan said of Oladipo. “His greatest strength is his motor and defensively ability. Regardless of what’s going on offensively, he has to stay with the defense.”
Shortly thereafter, Donovan rolled out a closing lineup of Oladipo, Russell Westbrook, Steven Adams, Enes Kanter and Andre Roberson, which throttled the 76ers down the stretch, outscoring Philadelphia 11-2 in the final three minutes. Westbrook, who finished with 32 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, scored nine out of 12 Thunder points on a straight-away three, two nasty post-up jumpers from the right wing over Gerald Henderson and then a pair of free throws to help the Thunder take a 99-97 lead with 35 seconds to go.
“It’s just taking my time, being patient, poised and managing the game,” Westbrook said, explaining his flurry. “It’s part of my job, to be able to manage the game at a high level and that’s a huge thing for me moving forward with this team.”
That set up the final defensive sequence for the Thunder, which was as impressive as it was wild. Embiid squared up on Adams on the left wing, but the Kiwi big man held his own as the rookie phenom drove baseline, forcing a miss.
“He’s a really smart defender,” Donovan said, praising Adams’ ability to stay down and protect the rim. “He’s good on his feet. He understands angles, positioning and getting his size, length and strength into the game without fouling.”
The ball went out of bounds off the Thunder on the loose rebound, and after a timeout Henderson got the ball out top and attacked off the right elbow. Roberson had blanketed Rodriguez over the previous few minutes but on this play he tracked Henderson the whole way and swatted his shot attempt into Kanter’s waiting hands.
“We took them out of some things they were hurting us on and a lot of that had to do with Andre’s aggressiveness,” Donovan said.
The ensuing three-on-one fast break resulted in a Kanter put-back layup.
After one more timeout by Philadelphia, Westbrook prevented Embiid from firing off a three-pointer, forcing a drive to the paint where Oladipo patiently, sliding over in plenty of time to put his body on the line just outside the charge circle. The refs whistled an offensive foul on Embiid, and that sealed the sweet opening night victory.
“Everybody down the stretch defensively had a hand in the play,” Donovan said. “That was a real positive for us.”
“Top form from them,” Adams quipped, referencing Oladipo and Roberson.
Thunder Identity in the Fourth
On the ropes to the end of the third quarter and even into the final frame, the Thunder responded by playing more towards its identity than it had during the first 36 minutes. On opening night, it’s to be expected for the offense and defense to be a bit out of sync, but as Donovan’s club settled in, they found a groove.
“We kind of went away from how we wanted to play,” Adams said postgame on Fox Sports Oklahoma. “Thankfully we pulled together and made some good plays down at the end, but it shouldn’t get to that. It was good that we stuck together and came back. That’s a positive.”
Whether it was making the extra effort on defense, communicating better or keeping the ball out of the middle of the floor, the Thunder managed to make scoring tough in the fourth. On offense, the ball and bodies moved, setting up easy entry passes early in the shot clock for Westbrook to go to work on the block.
“The encouraging part was just coming down the stretch defensively, when we needed to get some stops, we did,” Donovan said. “We executed coming down the stretch offensively. Russell made some great shots to give us the lead. Getting the ball to him in a specific area of the floor, we did a good job of executing and moving and getting it to him there.”
By the Numbers
+10 – Rebounding advantage for the Thunder, helping the team to a 46-32 lead in points in the paint
23-9 – The Thunder’s advantage in fast break points, in addition to a 15-6 edge in points off turnovers
32 – Points for Russell Westbrook on 11-for-21 shooting, in addition to 12 rebounds and nine assists, just shy of his fourth-straight triple-double against the 76ers, which would have been the most consecutive triple-doubles against one team since Wilt Chamberlain did it in 1968
The Last Word
“There were some really good positive moments and there were some moments that weren’t so great. Those are the teaching moments we can learn from. Even though the game for us didn’t get off to a great start, we were playing the right way. We were doing some good things.” – Head Coach Billy Donovan
