OKC Thunder vs. Charlotte Bobcats Game Grades
Mar 8, 2013; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Bobcats shooting guard Gerald Henderson (9) goes up for a shot against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at Time Warner Arena. The Thunder won 116-94. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
The Oklahoma City Thunder destroyed the Charlotte Bobcats again last night 116-94 on the road to improve to 46-16 on the year.
The Thunder came out with little energy but it didn’t matter. Charlotte led 29-28 after the first quarter but then the Thunder would go on to score the first 19 points of the second quarter and run away with it.
OKC outscored Charlotte 62-37 in the second and third quarters and as expected, did not need to play their starters in the final period.
The Thunder are off today before hosting the Boston Celtics tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. EST.
Here are the Game Grades:
Kevin Durant – 24 minutes, 19 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists – B+
Durant came out very passive in this one and only scored two points in the first quarter and had just seven at the half. It didn’t matter of course as Durant was doing his best job to get his teammates going. Durant could have easily ended up with a triple-double had he played more.
Russell Westbrook – 25 minutes, 11 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds – B
Westbrook was just like Durant early on passing more than looking for his own shot. He shot okay and didn’t go to the free throw line at all.
Serge Ibaka – 24 minutes, 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks – B+
Ibaka was the catalyst early on scoring eight of the team’s first 13 points. He was very aggressive and showed off a few nice moves inside. He missed both of his three-point attempts and other than that went 5-for-6 from the field.
Kevin Martin – 20 minutes, 11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist – B-
Martin went just 4-for-10 from the field but made half of his six three-point attempts. It was a good game for him to find his shooting touch as he has been struggling of late.
Kendrick Perkins – 23 minutes, 5 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist – B
There wasn’t much for Perkins to do in this one other than keep Charlotte off the offensive glass. He accomplished that with ease.
Thabo Sefolosha – 25 minutes, 13 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist – B+
Sefolosha along with Ibaka carried the scoring load early on. He had five of the team’s first 13 points. He made 5-of-6 shots for the game and all three of his three-point attempts. Like Martin, it was a good game for Sefolosha to see his shot go in a few times.
Nick Collison – 11 minutes, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists – B+
Collison was solid as usual and picked up a couple dimes which is always a good sign that the second unit is running their offense efficiently. It just feels like Collison doesn’t want to waste his time with games like this.
Reggie Jackson – 25 minutes, 9 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds – B+
Jackson finished at the rim and knocked down a few jumpers too. He ran the offense nicely getting five assists to zero turnovers. It’s hard not to get excited whenever he checks in these days.
Hasheem Thabeet – 22 minutes, 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks – A+
You could tell Scott Brooks wanted to give Thabeet a lot of run last night and Thabeet responded with possibly his best game of the year. He made 4-of-6 shots and even hit a turnaround jumper out of a post-up. He had four offensive rebounds including one of which was a tip slam. Then he blocked three shots and of course nearly fouled out with five personals.
Derek Fisher – 14 minutes, 13 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds – A
When Fisher goes 5-for-6 from the field and makes all three of his three-point attempts, it’s hard to be mad about him playing a lot. Until Fisher can do this against a quality opponent, it will be troubling every time he takes the floor.
Perry Jones, III – 12 minutes, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block – B
Jones knocked down a nice open jumper from the top of the key and got a dunk off a nice dime from Jackson for his other field goal. It’s nice to see the second unit running the same offense that the first does.
Ronnie Brewer and Jeremy Lamb played the final seven minutes of the game and didn’t do much. Lamb knocked down a three and scored five points.