Thunder Week In Review Times Three: 1/18-2/7

The 1st quarter wound up being the 5th straight one that saw no significant runs from either the Thunder or their opponent. The Thunder used pure grit to fight their way to a 38-34 lead going into the 2nd.

Then the 2nd turned into the 6th straight quarter. The Knicks however, were able to take a 63-61 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Knicks were up 71-67 with 9:16 to go in the 3rd quarter when the Thunder scored 7 unanswered to take a 74-71 lead with 6:58 remaining in the period. Oddly enough, without any truly significant runs, the Knicks managed to take a 91-88 lead into the 4th quarter.

Although the two Derrick Williams free throws that ended the 3rd quarter marked the start of a 10-0 run that put the Knicks up 99-88 with 9:33 to play. With the Knicks up 101-91 with 8:19 to go, the Thunder hit on a 15-3 run that gave them a 106-104 lead with 2:59 remaining. The Thunder were up 109-106 with 2:16 to play when the Knicks scored 7 unanswered to take a 113-109 lead with 59.2 seconds left in regulation. The Thunder would score the last 4 points of the quarter to tie the game at 113-113, and force overtime.

There were no significant runs in the overtime period, but the Thunder outscored the Knicks 15-9 in that 5 minute span to claim a 128-122 victory that ended this season series in a 1-1 split, and improved the Thunder to 34-13 overall.

Durant finished with a 44-point, 14-rebound double-double to go with Westbrook’s 30-point, 10-assist double-double, and Ibaka’s 12-point, 17-rebound double-double. Waiters scored 14 starting in place of Andre Roberson, who is out for at least the next two to three weeks with a sprained right knee. Payne scored 12 from off of the Thunder bench.

Arron Afflalo scored 17 points, former Thunder player Lance Thomas was good for 16, former Thunder draft target Kristaps Porzingis (who pulled out of the 2014 NBA Draft at the last minute) finished with 15, and Robin Lopez dropped 10. Williams managed a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double from off of the Knicks bench, while Langston Galloway added 21 bench points of his own.

No rest night for the Thunder, who were on their way to Minnesota to polish off their four-game road stretch. The Timberwolves were like the Nuggets and the Mavericks were last week, down two games in the season series and hoping for a split at best. The Thunder took the first game 101-96 on Jan. 12th in a game that saw Westbrook post a 22-point, 11-assist double-double. The second game saw the Thunder take a 113-93 victory a mere three nights later. Westbrook finished with a 12-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in that contest.

Next: Timberwolves Struck Down Again