“Stay! Stay!” Russell Westbrook shouted to Steven Adams, who was behind him in pick and roll coverage on the left wing. Adams obliged, hanging in the driving lane long enough to prevent penetration, yet extending his arms fair enough to deter an easy pass back to his defensive assignment. The Spurs were jammed up and one errant pass later, it was a turnover and once again Thunder ball.
Over the past week the refrain around the Thunder has been about how its communication on defense needed to be better and that getting defensive stops came down to collective action. Head Coach Billy Donovan’s squad demonstrated all of that tonight against one of the top teams in the league with a 102-92 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
The defensive communication, toughness and relentlessness was there for the Thunder for 48 minutes, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The Thunder held the Spurs to just 41.7 percent shooting and forced 14 turnovers that led to 17 Thunder points.
“We made an impact on the ball for 48 minutes,” Westbrook said. “Communication helps you defend, helps you rebound and helps you get out on the break. That starts with me.”
In perhaps the most balanced win of the season where five players scored in double figures and the Thunder shot 46.6 percent from the floor, every player who touched the floor made an impact.
In his second game back from injury, Victor Oladipo was as efficient as he’s been all season. In 28 minutes, the springy shooting guard knocked down 8-of-14 shots including 3-of-4 three-pointers on his way to 20 points, four rebounds and three assists.
“I’m just shooting the ball with confidence, that’s all,” Oladipo chimed.
Rookie Domas Sabonis was replaced in the starting lineup by Taj Gibson. It was no matter to the Lithuanian forward. Sabonis made the play of the game when he dunked over Dewayne Dedmon and kickstarted an 11-2 first half run. After receiving a drop-off pass from Doug McDermott, Sabonis soared high with his left hand, flushing the ball home and causing an explosion from the Thunder bench.
Westbrook could only elicit a syllable when reminded of the play.
“Ooh,” Westbrook whistled with a joyous smirk.
“He did a great job,” Oladipo said before referencing Sabonis’ move to the reserve unit. “It shows his character, and what type of person he is, to come off the bench and play the way he did.”
Semaj Christon came in off the bench and played 19 minutes of incredible defense, racking up three assists, two steals and zero turnovers while never taking shot.
“Unreal, man,” Westbrook said of the rookie point guard. “He changed the game for us on both sides. He defends at a high level. He ran the heck out of the team.”
“(Christon) does the little things that go unnoticed,” Oladipo added. “He knows what he’s good at, knows how to influence the game and what we need from him.”
Doug McDermott came screaming around curl screens at the elbows and then stopped-and-popped his way to 11 points, while Enes Kanter bully-balled his way to a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double. The Thunder’s reserves accounted for 34 points.
The player of the game, however, was the man who set the table for Steven Adams early, helping his big man register seven quick points in the first quarter. It was, of course, Russell Westbrook. Setting up his chess moves all night, Westbrook quickly got Andre Roberson a cutting dunk and fed Adams the ball down low while also working in his own offense.
“Russell did an incredible job of managing the game, getting other guys involved, finding shooters, picking his spots, getting ghte ball where it needed to go, rebounding and keeping everybody totally engaged,” Donovan said. “He got everybody going in a very positive way.”
Westbrook’s elbow jumper from Oladipo kick-started a 9-0 first quarter Thunder run, then the Thunder point guard did the helping during the game-changing 15-4 burst in the second period. Noticing that Doug McDermott had just hit a jumper the possession before he checked in, Westbrook immediately whipped a pass to his sharpshooter on his first play back on the court, resulting in a splashing corner three-pointer.
After halftime, the Thunder’s lead never dipped below five, and in the fourth quarter eventually elevated to as many as 20 when Westbrook stepped to the line and knocked down two free throws. Those final two points of his night came in the midst of “MVP” chants raining down from the Chesapeake Energy Arena crowd, and resulted in his 31st triple-double of the season in a 23-point, 13-rebound, 13-assist effort.
Westbrook tied Wilt Chamberlain for the second most triple-doubles in a season all-time, and has now recorded a triple-double in his career against all but two teams, Charlotte and Chicago.
By the Numbers
2 – Teams in the NBA that Russell Westbrook hasn’t had a triple-double against (Charlotte, Chicago) after he tied Wilt Chamberlain for second all time for triple-doubles in a season at 31
8-for-14 – Shooting numbers for Victor Oladipo on his way to 20 points, making him 7-for-9 from three since returning from injury
48-40 – Rebounding advantage for the Thunder on the night, aided by 10 from Enes Kanter to go with 14 points
The Last Word
“It was a big win for us. Now we have to build on it and do what we did well and carry it over. The little things we didn’t do so well, we have to get better at them.” – guard Victor Oladipo
