After swatting away an attempted alley-oop, Russell Westbrook’s eyes tracked a loose ball in the Thunder defensive end. Being up by 18 points in the fourth quarter didn’t matter. Westbrook hit the deck and managed to pitch the ball out to Kevin Durant, who did the rest to force a Phoenix Suns timeout and give the fans at Chesapeake Energy Arena something to cheer about.
“Coach (Donovan) talks about those all the time. You want to win the momentum-changing play category,” Durant said. “That was one of those plays. (Westbrook) did a great job. We turned defense into offense pretty quickly and that broke their backs a little bit.”
In a 124-103 Thunder victory over the Suns, Head Coach Billy Donovan’s club showed progress in an area it wanted to grow- turnovers, in addition to improvement in the middle of the game. After taking a 27-12 lead in the first quarter, the Thunder’s second unit didn’t play with the force it needed, allowing the Suns to get back into the game.
The second unit righted the ship to start the second quarter and the Thunder kept a small cushion going into halftime and through the third quarter, as the Thunder’s starters helped build a healthy 12-point lead to start the final frame. To start the fourth quarter, it was again the second unit’s opportunity to maintain that edge, and this time it did so, building the lead to as many as 15.
From there, it was time for the starters to return, and they put the exclamation point on this win, and then some. A 16-3 run mid-way through the fourth quarter, fueled by Westbrook and Durant, ensured that this one would end with a Thunder victory.
“It was good for us,” Durant said. “We hit them in the mouth early to start the third quarter and we just cruised on.”
On the night, the Thunder outscored Phoenix 64-40 in the paint while scoring 27 fast break points and 30 points off of the Suns’ 23 turnovers, thanks to 14 Thunder steals. Turning defense into offense has always been a hallmark of Thunder basketball, and it was the recipe for success tonight as well.
“We did a better job of being aggressive and not letting people come at us, which led to us doing what we do – getting out in transition and getting steals,” Westbrook said.
Donovan also credited the Thunder big men for pressing up higher on Suns ballhandlers to prevent drives, then closing out to shooters to force mishandles or bad passes.
“All those guys did a good job,” Donovan said. “When they get up their like that, at the level of the screener or just below it, it slows down that drive coming at them. In doing that, it enabled us to build back out and get some steals.”- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Second Quarter Bounce-Back Energy
At the end of the second quarter, the Thunder was reeling. Having just let a 15-point lead evaporate due to a 17-2 Suns run, the Thunder went into the huddle looking for answers and energy. Coming out of the break, the second unit provided both.
“The one thing you want from your bench is to hold serve, play well and play with each other,” Donovan said. “That stretch wasn’t a great stretch there, but I give those guys a lot of credit because when they got back in there they played at a much better level.”
“They did a great job tonight,” Westbrook said of the bench. “Coach (Donovan) challenged those guys to come out and play well and they answered.”
With back-to-back steals by D.J. Augustin, the Thunder set a defensive tone to start the quarter, then let Dion Waiters go to work. Waiters scored 10 points in the period, part of his 19 on the night on 6-for-9 shooting. He started it off with two free throws, then on the next possession Waiters knocked down a 16-footer, then two possessions later Augustin hit him for another jumper.
Seeing his guard was feeling it, Donovan called a play for on the next trip for Waiters, and the attacking combo guard drove the lane and drew a foul while nearly slamming the ball through the rim. For good measure, Waiters made a steal and delivered a two-handed slam dunk. The energy and effort exerted by Waiters sent a shockwave through the Thunder, and the crowd.
“We just needed a spark,” Waiters explained. “When we come in we need to be locked in. We can’t give up leads like that. I took it upon myself to try to get the guys going, motivate them and talk to them.”- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
By the Numbers
13 – Assists for Russell Westbrook, compared to just two turnovers, in addition to 21 points, six rebounds and four steals
19+ – Tonight was the first time in Thunder history that two players scored 19-or-more points off the bench (Waiters had 19 and Kanter had 21 on 9-for-10 shooting)
32 – Points for Kevin Durant on 12-for-19 shooting, in addition to 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals
52-33 – Rebounding edge for the Thunder, despite going against the Suns who ranked second in the NBA in rebounding heading into the game.- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The Last Word
“We need to go through these times. It’s vital for our success and it’s vital for our growth. We need to go through it. It’s not good going through it. It’s not fun, but we need to. The new system, new lineups and a different team, we need to go through some rough patches… We just want to keep building.” – forward Kevin Durant
