The main attraction of the evening was obviously Russell Westbrook and the possibility he had to rewrite history twice. First, he could have done it as a record of triple-doubles in a single season and consequently, he would have the guarantee to average a triple-double for a full season.
He was able to rewrite “only” one part of history. Westbrook’s final stat line is 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists.
Before entering tonight, the Suns lost 13 consecutive games. They are in full tanking mode but, thanks to a very questionable approach to the game by Oklahoma City, and to the absences of Andre Roberson and Alex Abrines, they found themselves with the chance to steal a win. They took it and defeated the Thunder 120-99.
Oklahoma City played one of its worst first half of the season and that basically cost them the game. After 24 minutes the Suns were already leading by 24 points: 71-47.
However, almost unexpected, the Thunder came out strong after the long break and they cut the lead to only 12 points. That was the biggest push of the game for Oklahoma City though. From there on the Suns took over again and the Thunder weren’t able to make a comeback.
Thoughts and Stats:
- Russell Westbrook will average a triple-double for a full season while also scoring more than 30 points per game. This is just insane and it should be, hands down, MVP worthy.
- Despite a very good stat-line, Westbrook didn’t play a very good game today. He did not shoot the ball well (6-25 from the floor and 2-12 from behind the arc) and he was lost most of the time on the defensive end.
- It’s a bit hard to celebrate this type of record after tonight. The Thunder played a terrible game and the way they tried to get Westbrook the triple-double in the final minutes was pretty sad. Donovan let Westbrook play even when the game was obviously out of reach and Russell tried everything to get the final two assists. It didn’t work out. Maybe for the better.
- It is still crazy to me that people do not realize what Roberson does every single night for this team. This game against Phoenix is another example of how much his defense is important for the Thunder.
- I don’t know what is wrong with Steven Adams but he did not play well also tonight. He finished with a double-double (12 points and 11 rebounds) but he shot only 4-10 and missed few easy buckets under the rim.
- Another player, who’s very important for the Thunder, that was particularly off today was Oladipo. He finished with only 7 points while shooting 3-8 and a painful 1-5 from the FT line.
- Devin Booker is already a very good player and he is going to be awesome pretty soon. Too bad the Suns drafted him one position ahead of the Thunder in the draft two years ago.
- Thunder Stats: FG% 36, 3P% 22, FT% 72 – 48 rebounds, 13 assists, 1 steal, 9 turnovers.
- Suns Stats: FG% 51, 3P% 44, FT% 83 – 45 rebounds, 16 assists, 6 steals, 7 turnovers.
- The Thunder are now 45-34 and they are pretty much locked in the 6th spot.
Up Next:
The Thunder will play in Denver, against the Nuggets, on Sunday afternoon at 4 P.M. CT
