By Michael Doutey
The season was all but over. The Oklahoma City Thunder were down 25 points in the opening moments of the third quarter in an elimination game. Down 3-1 in the opening round of the playoffs and the Thunder showed no life or sense of urgency. There’s been a dark cloud hanging over Oklahoma City since the Thunder fell behind 3-1 after two blowout losses in Salt Lake City. The Thunder fanbase was tired and frustrated by a team who just never lived up to preseason expectations. For a Thunder playoff game, tickets are hard to come by. 18,203 people pack into Chesapeake Energy Arena to give OKC one of the best home court advantages in the NBA. But in the lower bowl, there were lots of empty seats. It was noticeable. It looked and felt like it was a Wednesday night game in January and the Thunder opponent was Orlando, not an elimination game against division rival Utah.
There was no real life in the arena. Not in the sense of what Thunder fans have become known for. Not to rip on the fans, the team honestly didn’t give the fans much to cheer for. As the Thunder fell further and further behind, the fans grew more and more frustrated. At halftime, the fans were numb. You could sense the end was near. The team echoed this sentiment, falling behind 71-46 with 8:34 left in the third. I was mentally preparing for Thunder exit interview day, which is typically held the day after the season ends. I was pondering the future of this team. What was Paul George going to do? Is Billy Donovan on the hot seat? What moves can Sam Presti make to help this team? I was ready for the season to end.
In a flash, in true Russell Westbrook fashion, the Thunder roared back, tying the game 78-78 heading into the 4th quarter. It was like a switch was flipped in the arena. A crowd who has sat on their hands fuming all game were suddenly standing on their feet and screaming their heads off. Tonight’s 25 point comeback was the teams largest in history, regardless of regular season or post season. The comeback is something I’m still trying to comprehend. It happened in a blink of an eye and it is something we all will remember for a long time, regardless of how this series ends up.
Now, this singular game does not fix any of the issues the Thunder have or the worries I spoke on earlier. But the season moves on to a Game 6 and the Thunder have another opportunity to extend the series. Here are tonights five observations.
1. Russell Westbrook Showed Up in the Final Hour
Russell Westbrook had never made a stamp on this series. Going into the second half, Russ wasn’t Russ. Without any notice or warning, Russ came alive and roared back. He went into a zone few can enter. He was magic, scoring 33 of his 45 points in the second half. Russ played all 24 minutes in the second half, which he hasn’t done since Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals back in 2016. He had played like junk in the first half on both sides of the floor. But something switched in the final 20 minutes of the game. All the sudden he could do no wrong. He was on fire, hitting 5-9 from 3. He was back to his old self. Some of it was because Rudy Gobert was in foul trouble. But Russ finally made his stamp on this series. We’ll see if he can turn that into another performance on the in Game 6.
2. Paul George’s Best Game in OKC
This is the honest truth. I felt like this was PG’s best game with the Thunder. Even in the first half I felt like he was playing well. He was aggressive from the get-go, driving to the hoop regardless of who was defending the rim. He was fearless and a big reason Gobert and Derrick Favors were in foul trouble. PG was also great in the second half, scoring 21 of his 34 points in the second. He was great alongside Russ, maybe the best they’ve played in tandem together. It was a fluid game for the both of them. They worked the ball and found which one had the best shots or mismatches. They didn’t settle for just jump shots. They drove the ball and got to the rim. And once Gobert was out, that opened the flood gates and it continued even when he came back in the ball game. Watching the two together was nearly perfect for the first time in their time together on the floor. Melo only played 10 minutes in the second half. There was no trying to keep him happy with shots in the second half. I wonder if this is what they would have looked like all season if it was just the dynamic duo of Rus and PG instead of the Big 3 with Melo.
3. OKC Stepped Up on Defense
The Thunder defense was just abysmal in the first half, especially in the first quarter. The Thunder were way too relaxed and weren’t dialed in. In the first quarter, the Jazz would run an action and the Thunder wouldn’t rotate properly and the Jazz would find either Jae Crowder or Joe Ingles wide open for 3. The Jazz opened the game 7-10 from 3 and 8-16 at the half. The Thunder still weren’t really up for the challenge to begin the second half, falling behind by 25 after being down 56-41 at the half. But the Thunder showed some fight and pride, holding Utah to 43 points in the second half and held Utah to 5-22 from 3. The Thunder defense changed. It was a cohesive unit for the first time all series. They overwhelmed the Jazz, much like what Utah has done to OKC for much of this series. The Thunder offense was amazing in the second half. But it was their defense that set up this historic comeback.
4. Gobert and Favors in Foul Trouble
The Thunder from the outset were just tremendous at attacking the basket. They didn’t really shy away from that. They did some when things were going poorly in the second quarter. But the Thunder started getting downhill in the second half again and that was when Gobert and Favors got in foul trouble. That was huge, because Russ was finally able to get in the paint without worry of the Frenchmen swatting away his shots at the rim. PG was really good at doing that too. PG made the most damage, hitting 8-10 from the free-throw line and Russ was 6-6. But for OKC, having both of them in foul trouble at the same time was a huge advantage.
5. NBA, Where Amazing Happens
At halftime, I was a just like the fans. I was frustrated with the team. It was late and I had an early morning, thinking that I was going to have a long day ahead with exit interviews. I think many fans were thinking similar things at that point. But this was simply one of the best and most surprising things I’ve ever witnessed. A team who was dead in the water with a disheartened fanbase suddenly jolted back to life in unison. The arena was as loud as I’ve ever heard. For a half, we all forgot about tomorrow. We were tuned in and locked into the game, feeling every twist and turn the game had to offer. Being in the arena, or those that watched on TV, we all felt every possession like we were in the game ourselves. It was an experience we all will remember and it was a reminder just how special the NBA is.
With tonights win, OKC forces a Game 6 on Friday night. Tip will be at 9:30 in Salt Lake City for another elimination game for OKC.
