OKC Thunder vs. Golden State Warriors Game Grades
Feb 6, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson (15) attempts a shot against Golden State Warriors guard Charles Jenkins (22) and Warriors guard Kent Bazemore (20) during the second half at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
The Oklahoma City Thunder easily got past the Golden State Warriors last night 119-98 to improve to 37-12 on the season.
The Thunder jumped on top of Golden State early as the Warriors looked fatigued having to play their second road game in two nights.
The Thunder led 67-49 at halftime and never looked back.
The Warriors trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter but the reserves of OKC were able to extend their lead at the start of the final quarter.
OKC will be off today and play next Friday night at home vs. the Phoenix Suns.
Here are the Game Grades:
Kevin Durant – 31 minutes, 25 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists – A
Durant was in distributor mode as he has always been when playing the Warriors this season. He had 19 total assists vs. the Warriors in the first two games this season and could have had much more than four last night if Kendrick Perkins could finish shots inside. Durant made it look easy scoring for himself too, shooting over 50 percent from the field again and making 2-of-3 threes. He also had two steals and two blocks in the game. The one blemish was five turnovers.
Russell Westbrook – 30 minutes, 22 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds – B
Westbrook was much better than he was the last time he played the Warriors. He went 3-for-16 in that game which the Thunder lost. Westbrook was getting to the rim with ease last night taking advantage of the tired legs of the Warriors. He also led the Thunder with four steals.
Serge Ibaka – 32 minutes, 15 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks – A
Ibaka led the way with six blocks and also had a career-high four assists. The ball movement as a whole was fantastic for the Thunder who had 29 assists in the game. Ibaka made 70 percent of his shots including another corner three as he put together one of his best all-around games of the season.
Kevin Martin – 26 minutes, 21 points, 4 assists, 2 steals – B+
Martin made exactly three 3-pointers for the fourth straight game last night. When he is doing that, his entire game becomes better. He got run outs and a few backdoor cuts for hoops and also distributed nicely with four dimes.
Kendrick Perkins – 23 minutes, 6 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks – B+
Perkins continues his strong play of late but somehow manages to post a minus-4 plus-minus last night. The rebounding and interior defense was great and he made 50 percent of his shot attempts as well. He blew a couple of Durant assists though.
Thabo Sefolosha – 30 minutes, 6 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists – B
Sefolosha was all over the place on defense but it again took awhile for him to find his shot. He has been really aggressive lately taking threes but he only made 2-of-6 last night. He had a steal and blocked two shots.
Nick Collison – 23 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal – B
Collison made 4-of-5 shots and of course ended up with the best plus-minus on the team.
Reggie Jackson – 19 minutes, 12 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds – A+
This was probably Jackson’s best game of the year. He scored a season-high 12 and made all four of his field goal attempts inside the 3-point line. His assists are starting to pick up too as the game just looks like it’s really slowed down for him.
Hasheem Thabeet – 11 minutes, 2 points, 2 blocks – B
Thabeet’s two points came on a nice feed from Perry Jones for a dunk in traffic. He always manages to block a few shots no matter how short he is on the floor.
Perry Jones, III – 7 minutes, 0 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist – C
Jones made the great assist to Thabeet but missed all three of his shots. He is still learning the offense and where to go. When he gets more confident with his jumper, it should open up the rest of his game too. He’s passive out there a lot still but that should change with time.
DeAndre Liggins and Eric Maynor each played the last four minutes of the game which was ultimate garbage time.