Oklahoma City takes care of business against Philly to go to 10-8
A ho-hum 117-106 win over a 5-14 team shouldn’t feel important. It should feel like business. But these have been the type of games Oklahoma City has sleepwalked through. So it is important, but at the same time, it’s not. Make sense? The game never really felt in doubt and for 48 minutes the Thunder played well and didn’t looked flat at any time. I think that means they’re getting better. Right?
I don’t know who was the most important player tonight. Kevin Durant and his 33 points, five rebounds and three steals? Russell Westbrook and his new career high in assists (15) to just two turnovers? Or Nick Collison who was 8-9 from the floor with 18 points and seven rebounds in just 20 minutes? I don’t know who gets the gold star, but all three were key in tonight’s win.
But what was that one shot the Thunder kept making where you got three points instead of two? What is that thing? Durant kept making them (5-7 from 3), Jeff Green hit them (3-6) and even Mike Wilks nailed one. As a team, OKC hit 12-24 from deep. Good thing too because Philadelphia shot extremely well, hitting 50 percent from the floor and 14-23 from 3.
The major, most glaring difference in the box score came on the boards. OKC pulled down 18 offensive rebounds and outboarded Philly 43-29 overall. Having Nick Collison and Nenad Krstic back obviously helped. Nobody dominated the glass (Collison led with his seven), but the key was Samuel Dalembert led the Sixers with just six. OKC owned the glass and as a result, took 11 more shots. Read more…
