OKC Thunder 109 — Charlotte Hornets 90
There are no excuses in the NBA. You play the schedule and suit up whoever’s healthy or available. Charlotte was minus Al Jefferson and Nicolas Batum on the second night of a back to back but nobody cares in the heartless grind of an 82 game marathon regular season.
Never give a sucker an even break and kick him when he’s down…which is exactly what OKC’s trending Thunder did Saturday night in Charlotte while posting an easy 109-90 road win.
OKC took care of business coming out of the gate with an opening 13-2 flurry, led 66-54 at the half, then answered a couple of obligatory second half NBA runs by the Hornets until Cam Payne and OKC’s second unit ultimately shut the door in the opening six minutes of the fourth period by expanding OKC’s lead to fifteen points.
Six Thunder players scored in double figures being led by Kevin Durant’s 29 points and Russell Westbrook’s relatively quiet 16 points. Fellow starter Serge Ibaka chipped in a 10-10 free throw night and four of OKC’s fifteen blocked shots.
Durant could be my No. 1 Star of the Game, but part of me wants to give it to rookie Cameron Payne and the OKC bench which scored 44 points on the night and looked in sync from the moment Payne set foot on the floor. So–I’m going to give my No. 1 Star to OKC’s bench.
Payne played 20 minutes garnering 7 points and 3 assists. But it’s his smooth, poised ball distribution and shot making which has turned this unit back around of late. Payne was excellent.
Anthony Morrow continued his hot play of late scoring 12 points and stretching the floor with his three point shooting.
Enes Kanter was good scoring in double figures as was Dion Waiters who scored 10 points and had a season high 5 assists. It was a good night for the Thunder bench in general.
OKC held Charlotte to 34.5% shooting from the field. Only three Hornets scored in double figures with Kemba Walker leading the way with 32 points. Jeremy Lamb played 25 minutes going 3-12 in the game and was not a factor.
The Thunder improve to 24-10 on the season and appear to be melding the starters and bench just a little better each game as Billy Donovan learns more about his team.
Sacramento Kings in Oklahoma City on Monday night.
Mike Jackson