By Michael Doutey
The Oklahoma City Thunder find a way to come from behind and take down the Phoenix Suns 124-116. The Thunder got punched in the mouth in the first half and had no response. It seemed like the Thunder were destined for another curious loss to a sub .500 team. Instead, the Thunder turned on the defense in the final quarter and gutted out another ugly victory. But, a win is a win, no matter how aesthetically displeasing it is to watch. With the Western Conference as competitive as it is, the Thunder will absolutely take the win and run to Portland. With another ugly win under OKC’s belt, the Thunder have now won five of their last six games. Here are tonight’s five observations.
1. 4th Quarter Defense Saves Thunder
The Thunder decided to not pay defense for the majority of the game. OKC gave up 37 points in the first quarter, 67 points at the half and 99 points through three quarters. Then the Thunder woke up and played stellar defense in the fourth, allowing just 17 points. The Thunder were peake Thunder defensively. They were in the passing lanes, hounding their man, rotating beautifly, got back in transition and made everything incredibly difficult for the Suns. It was the best defense the Thunder has played since February 7th in a blowout win over the Warriors. But the Thunder really remind me of a college student who has had an entire semester to write a paper that was due before the final exam, but they waited until the night before to start the paper. If you are like me, you know how this goes all too well. The paper is sloppy, rushed and isn’t your best effort. But, you get a passing grade and it gets the job done. That has been the Thunder defensively this season. They scramble at the last minute to get get wins. They play sloppy, in a rush and it isn’t their best effort. But the Thunder get the job done, and for now, that is all that matters.
2. Russ Comes to the Rescue
Russell Westbrook had an up and down game. He was out of control for large portions of the game. He was taking ill-advised shots, gambling on defense, turning the ball over and force feeding Carmelo Anthony the ball in the mid-post, which effectively drove me crazy. But in crunch time, Russ becomes Hero Zero. He took over the game.
He was in complete attack mode, getting down hill using the high pick-and-roll. He was getting to the bucket with ease. But with under a minute to play and the game tied at 116, Russ was trying to drive to the basket when he was cut off. Russ backed up the the three point line and cooly swished through a three, giving the Thunder the lead for good. He also grabbed two key offensive rebounds on the next possession that helped ice the game for the Thunder. Russ finished the game with 43 points, 14 rebounds (doing his best Steven Adams impression by grabbing seven offensive rebounds) and dished out eight assists.
3. Strong Bench Play Continues
The Thunder bench has been an issue all season long. But this week, the Thunder bench has really come into their own. The bench combined for 48 points Monday against Orlando. Friday night, the bench combined for a solid 33 combined points. The second unit was lead in scoring by Jerami Grant, who continues to play well for OKC. He scored 11 points on 4-8 shooting and hit one of his two three point attempts. Alex Abrines knocked down a couple three’s, including one early in the the fourth which gave OKC a lead. Raymond Felton scored five points in limited action. But the big surprise of the night was rookie Terrance Ferguson. Ferguson scored eight points in nine minutes, hitting all three of his shots, including nailing both of his threes. The Thunder have needed the bench to start playing well and they come up big with another solid outing in tonight’s Thunder win.
4. Melo Inefficiencies Continue
Melo has not adjusted well to his new role in OKC. He’s having one of the worst seasons of his career from a efficiency standpoint. That continued Friday night. Melo scored just 14 points on a frustrating 6-18 shooting and missing all three of his three point attempts. The Thunder were inexplicably force feeding Melo in the mid-post and letting him go to work. But that work didn’t exactly help the Thunder. Melo has trouble scoring at the rim. He doesn’t have the lift to score in traffic. He needs to be relegated to a catch-and-shoot only role. The Thunder need him to step up and stretch the floor. He can unlock the Thunder offense if he can consistently be a threat in that role. OKC needs that version of Melo, because he is a wasted space otherwise because he is not a help on the defensive end of the floor.
5. The Wild Wild West
The Thunder started the day in 7th in the West, but now find themselves in the 5th slot. With the Timberwolves losing in Utah, Portland is now 3rd, San Antonio is 4th, OKC 5th, Minnesota 6th (3-6 are all tied at 12.5 games back of 1st, just to show how crazy things are) New Orleans 7th (a half-game back from 3rd) and Denver sits in 8th. We are certainly in for a heck of a finish to the season in the West in the Thunder are in the thick of it.
OKC is back in action Saturday night in Portland for a massive game. OKC will lose the season series with Portland with a loss, will gain a full game lead over Portland with a win and could find themselves in 3rd in the West with a win. Tonight’s big game is set to tip at 9 p.m. inside the Moda Center.
