By Nick Gallo | Thunder Basketball Writer | mailbag@okcthunder.com
Like a cornerback jumping a wide receiver’s route, Russell Westbrook darted from behind the three-point arc into the passing lane. In a blink of an eye he had the ball at the rim, cocking back a monstrous one-handed dunk, re-introducing the rims at Chesapeake Energy Arena to another season of Thunder basketball.
In the fifth preseason game for the Thunder on Sunday night, it was a heavy dose of Westbrook, a huge impact from Steven Adams and an all-around strong effort on both ends of the floor that led to a 112-94 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Finally healthy, besides Cameron Payne and his broken foot, the Thunder was able to pick up a rhythm and some on-court unity to match the off-court bonding that has taken place so far this season. Adams, Andre Roberson and Enes Kanter returned to action tonight, each playing at least 19 minutes and making a big impact on the outcome.
“I feel like we did a great job of moving the ball, sharing the ball and playing with each other and playing for each other most importantly,” Roberson said. “The chemistry is coming along. We’re in a good position right now.”
An early 6-0 burst by the Thunder helped jump start the action, highlighted by a Westbrook banking runner, a Victor Oladipo driving layup and a Westbrook to Adams alley-oop dunk. That flurry was momentarily halted by a timeout, but the Thunder rattled off another eight straight points after the break and broke the game open, never to trail again.
Outside of a brief 8-0 run by Minnesota in the second quarter, the Thunder completely controlled the action, shooting 50 percent from the field, holding the Timberwolves to 40 percent shooting and owning the glass 47-37.
The most notable aspect of the victory from the Thunder’s standpoint was the way the offense hummed, even though shots from behind the arc weren’t falling. The Thunder managed to rack up 23 assists and get seven different players into double-digit scoring, thanks in part to the team’s spacing, its big men facilitating getting the ball from one side of the floor to the other and some well-timed backdoor cuts.
“We want to create some cutting and moving,” Head Coach Billy Donovan said. “Some of those reads last game were there that we didn’t see. There are certain things that we’re doing that we didn’t do a game where they’re seeing opportunities to make different reads. Our cutting and our moving based on how the floor was spaced, guys made some really good cuts and generated offense for us.”
“We’re just working on our offense, reading guys and knowing how to play off of each other,” Westbrook said. “We did a good job of that tonight.”
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Adams Dominant at the Rim
Steven Adams didn’t have inside position, but as the ball bounced off the rim and soared high into the air, he re-adjusted and readied himself. Reaching and extending to get the most out of his seven-foot frame, Adams snared the ball out of mid-air with one hand down over the top of his defender, quickly collected himself and rose up to slam the ball through the net.
“Grown man game is all I can say,” Westbrook chuckled when asked about Adams’ incredible play. “He makes sure his presence is always felt in the middle.”
After missing the past three-and-a-half games with a sprained ankle, Adams returned to form seemingly without a hitch. He hooked up with Westbrook early and often on rolls to the rim for easy baskets, knocked down his free throws and dominated the offensive glass, where he racked up six of his 11 total rebounds. On the night, Adams scored 20 points, blocked four shots and added an assist and a steal.
“He’s just a freak, bro,” Oladipo said of his teammate Adams. “He’s a bruiser. Guys like that are always rewarded.”
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By the Numbers
7 – Players who scored in double figures for the Thunder on the night, including 48 bench points
20 – Points for Steven Adams, which would be a career-high if tonight’s game was a regular season tilt
50.0 – Shooting percentage for the Thunder on the night, aided by 23 assists, including 10 from Russell Westbrook
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The Last Word
“I still think we’re trying to figure out each other a little bit. It’s going to come, we just have to continue to keep building.” – guard Victor Oladipo
