It was an entertaining game on Monday night as the Thunder dropped a hard fought 93-90 decision to the Indiana Pacers. Russell Westbrook was once again spectacular with a line of 27 points, 18 rebounds, and 9 assists in what should have been his 26th triple double of the season. But it’s kind of hard getting those ten assists when those around you aren’t making shots. It’s even harder winning on the road against a playoff caliber team when you don’t have enough players on your team pulling their link on the proverbial chain. I’m not related to Russell Westbrook, but I had to write this in my first paragraph.
But having written all that, OKC did have the ball with seven seconds left and Westbrook did get two good looks on shots which would have tied the game. Good looks which just didn’t go through the net.
But my take from this is OKC led 52-41 at half, but could only score thirty-eight points in the entire second half. For the game, OKC shot 38% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc. Westbrook scored eleven points alone in the fourth quarter, which means the rest of the team scored 27 points in 24 minutes of play in the second half.
Just not enough help for Westbrook is my primary take on this game. Victor Oladipo went 4-16 from the field. Sabonis didn’t score a point and quite frankly should be demoted from the starting lineup given his recent play. Cameron Payne was equally horrific scoring two points, but more importantly he made an inexcusable play on the Thunder’s final possession of the first half which in essence was either a four or five point swing in the game. Just horrendous execution on that play by Payne. Simply put, if Payne can’t play at a higher level than this I’m not sure Semaj Christon shouldn’t be playing those 14 minutes or so. Add to the fact, Anthony Morrow played fourteen minutes and didn’t score a point.
So here’s my stat of the night….Sabonis, Payne, and Morrow played a combined 37 minutes and scored a combined 2 points. Unbelievable. I’m not trying to crank on Sam Presti, but Westbrook needs some help. Get the dude some help scoring the ball.
Indiana’s bench scored 35 points, OKC’s scored 21 points.
A bright spot was Andre Roberson. He had his second straight double double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Good for Andre. Keep praying for his shot.
Bottom line…OKC competed hard, but just didn’t get enough offense from the rest of the team. This singular component makes it hard to envision the Thunder being anything more than a seventh seed and a first round exit against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Thunder drop to 30-23 with their next game being at home versus Cleveland on Thursday night.