For the entire season, I will be bringing you week-in-review articles every weekend. This one is going to be for the first week, or technically half-week since the season didn’t tip-off until this past Tuesday. Heck, the Thunder’s season started a day later against the Spurs, which is where I’ll begin my review.
This game stayed close the entire way, with neither team able to establish a double-digit lead at any point in the game.
Mere seconds into the game, with the score 4-3 in favor of the Thunder, the Spurs went on an 11-2 run to go up 14-6 with 8:11 remaining in the opening quarter. The Thunder would immediately respond with an 11-3 run of their own to take an 18-17 lead with 5:15 to play in the period. The Spurs would find themselves with a 25-22 lead with 2:27 remaining in the 1st, only for the Thunder to score 7 unanswered points to reclaim the lead 29-25 with less than a minute to play in the opening salvo. David West would tip one in for the Spurs to close the gap, and the 1st quarter ended with a 29-27 Thunder lead.
The 2nd quarter saw both teams going punch for punch with each other, and the Spurs were able to tie the game 39-39 with 7:25 to play. This would be were the defense for both sides would ramp up, as neither team would score for just over 3 minutes. It took sending LaMarcus Aldridge to the free throw line to stop the scoring drought, as the teams went right back to trading shots. However, the Spurs would have the advantage at halftime with a 55-50 lead.
The 3rd quarter would begin with an Aldridge turnaround jumper establishing a 57-50 lead. Shots were traded once again, with the Spurs holding their 7-point lead (64-57) with 9:19 to play in the 3rd quarter. Then the Thunder scored another 7 unanswered points to tie the game 64-64 as they neared the midway point of the quarter. The Spurs would respond with a 10-2 run of their own to take a 74-66 lead, matching their largest lead of the night. The Thunder would work to close the gap through the remainder of the period, but the Spurs were able to take an 83-79 lead into the 4th quarter.
The Thunder would start the 4th quarter strong, as a 10-3 run allowed them to take back the lead 88-86 with 10:16 to play. The Spurs would counter with an 11-2 run of their own to take a 97-90 lead with 6:35 remaining. The Thunder pushed back with 9 unanswered points to reclaim the lead 99-97 with 4:17 left on the clock. The Spurs would work to claim a 103-101 lead with 2:34 remaining, but another 7 unanswered points by the Thunder gave them a 108-103 lead with 54.2 seconds on the clock. The lead would prove to be insurmountable, as the Thunder would hold off the Spurs to win 112-106.
The Thunder posted two double-double performances in this game. Russell Westbrook was not only the leading scorer for both teams with his 33 points, but his unselfish play allowed him to add 10 assists to the total. Enes Kanter took care of business himself with his 15-point, 16-rebound performance from off of the bench. Kevin Durant’s return from foot surgery was a success, as he poured in 22 points, and Serge Ibaka finished with 10 points of his own.
The Spurs had some solid scoring performances as well, led by Kawhi Leonard’s 32 points. LaMarcus Aldridge and Manu Ginobili were good for 11 points apiece (Ginobili’s 11 were from off of the bench), with Tony Parker adding 10 points.
The Thunder were able to pull out a tough win at home against a tough team. However, they were about to have an away game that would give them far more trouble than they anticipated.
Coming off of a win against one of the toughest teams in the league is bound to inflate your confidence. In this instance, it almost seemed to overinflate it.
The Thunder started slow in this one, as the Magic were able to establish a 15-8 lead with 7:32 to play in the opening quarter. The Thunder would score 7 unanswered points to tie the game 15-15 halfway through the 1st quarter, only for the Magic to hit on an 8-2 run to reclaim a 23-17 lead with 4:49 left in the first. The Thunder would close the gap, down 25-23 with 3:49 left in the opening period, but the Magic would pull away again, establishing a 35-27 lead with less than 2 minutes to play in the quarter. D.J. Augustin would score the last 4 points of the quarter to pull the Thunder within 4 (35-31) as the 1st quarter came to a close.
Shots were traded early in the 2nd. But with a 44-40 lead at the 9:06 mark, the Magic scored 8 unanswered to establish their largest lead to this point at 52-40 with 6:51 remaining in the first half. The Thunder tried to cut into said lead, bringing it to 58-48 with just over 4 minutes left in the half. Unfortunately the Magic went an 8-2 run to establish their largest lead to this point, 67-50, with 1:34 to go until halftime. While the Magic were unable to score for the remainder of the period, 1-for-2 showings at the line by Durant, Westbrook, and Steven Adams, didn’t cut the lead by much. As a result, the Magic were headed to the locker room with a 67-53 halftime lead.
The third quarter actually started off well for the Thunder, as, including the final 3 points to close the half, the Thunder hit on a 13-2 run to cut the lead to 69-63 a mere 3 minutes into the second half. The Magic were not amused, as they would score 12 unanswered point to claim their largest lead of the night, 81-63 halfway through the quarter. Despite the Thunder’s best efforts, this 8-point Magic lead would be taken into the 4th quarter, as the 3rd ended with the Magic up 93-75.
The Thunder had some work to do in the 4th quarter, and they played like they knew it. Oklahoma City opened the quarter with a 7-1 run to cut the lead to 94-82 less than two minutes in. After an Aaron Gordon 3-pointer gave the Magic a 97-82 lead, the Thunder went on an 8-1 run to cut into the Magic lead further, 98-90 with 6:21 to play. The Magic seemed as though they were going to be able to hold the Thunder at arm’s length with a 108-98 lead with 3:11 to play, only for the Thunder to score 8 unanswered, and bring themselves within 2 (108-106) with 1:34 left in regulation.
Orlando, despite the reduced lead, still seemed as though they were going to hold OKC at bay with a 114-111 lead with 16.4 ticks left in regulation. Then a contested 3-ball by Durant was able to tie the score 114-114 with 13.5 seconds to play. The Magic thought they were about to escape with the victory when a 3-pointer by Victor Oladipo gave the Magic a 117-114 lead with a mere 3.9 seconds left, and the Thunder out of timeouts. That’s when Russell Westbrook hit one of the biggest shots of the season so far, banking in a 3-pointer from just inside of half court with 0.7 seconds left to tie the game 117-117 and force overtime.
Overtime would see the Thunder hit some quality shots, only to see the Magic stay in it with some clutch free throw shooting. Despite not making a single field goal in the overtime period, the Magic were only down 126-123. Then Oladipo would come up big from behind the arc again to tie the game 126-126 as time expired to force a second overtime period.
The Thunder opened the second overtime with a 6-1 run that gave the Thunder a 132-127 lead with 3:07 remaining. This lead would finally prove insurmountable for the Magic. Despite trading shots towards the end, the Thunder escaped Orlando with a 139-136 victory, helped by some clutch free throw shooting by Adams.
The Thunder had huge performances in this one. Westbrook had a 48-point, 11-rebound double-double performance, while Durant had a 43-point, 12-rebound double-double performance of his own. Augustin would add 12 bench points, while Kanter added 10 bench points of his own. Despite not hitting double digits in scoring, Ibaka’s 12 rebounds definitely helped the Thunder steal this victory.
The Magic, despite the second straight loss, had some solid performances that they can build on. Oladipo posted a 21-point, 13-rebound, 10-assist triple-double. Tobias Harris led the team in scoring with 30 points, Nicola Vucevic had 26, Evan Fournier had 22, and Eric Payton had 14. Gordon even came off of the bench to add 15 of his own.
The Thunder are facing two home/away back-to-backs this week, and four games in five nights. They host the Nuggets tonight, then travel to Houston to take on the Rockets tomorrow night. They get Tuesday off before hosting the Raptors on Wednesday. Then they travel to Chicago to take on the Bulls Thursday. Check back here at Thunderous Intentions throughout the week for individual recaps, or check back next week as I recap all four games. Enjoy your week!