With the OKC Thunder firmly set in the third seed in the Western Conference, Billy Donovan decided to rest his stars.
In 2016, the quartet of Kevin Durant, Andre Roberson, Serge Ibaka and Russell Westbrook sat out during a road contest against the Portland Trailblazers. With only a couple of games left in the season and the team poised for a deep playoff run, the timing was spot on.
There may have also been a bit of gamesmanship on the part of OKC as well. The Trailblazers were on a hot streak and were making their run at the right time.
Damian Lilliard’s Blazers surged that season and were every bit as dangerous as any team in playoff position. As the 6th seed, a win would move them closer to the fifth and out of the path of the Thunder. Sitting four of your most important players almost guarantees a loss – a loss the Thunder wouldn’t suffer much from.
Starting Lineup
Dion Waiters
Randy Foye
The Event
As OKC took a broader view of the game, Enes Kanter was clearly keeping a focused point of view that evening. His singular mission on the night seemed to be to put the ball in basket. In the first half Kanter went for 17 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 7 for 10 from the field.
The team kept feeding him as he made a living in the post area. When he wasn’t getting the ball he was busy gobbling up Thunder misses that gave the team more time on offense. His 74 touches for the game were the most on the team.
The Thunder were down 13 at the half, but Kanter continued to play well.
In the second half, it continued. He scored an additional 16 points and pulled down another 10 rebounds. The double teams would come, but sometimes too late. Kanter attempted 14 contested field goals over the course of the game– he hit 10 of them. His one-on-one scoring was in rare form and he wasn’t going to stop.
Related Story: Thunder Throwback – Russell Westbrook dominates again
His fantastic play fueled the rest of the team in the latter half of the game. The competitive nature of the team took over and it led them to a 113 offensive rating in the half and a net rating of + 13.
The Thunder would eventually lose the game, but not without etching a new entry in the Thunder history books.
Enes Kanter's 33 points and 20 rebounds last night made him the first player in franchise history to reach 30/20. pic.twitter.com/nmJjkUYw6h
— Boomtown Hoops (@BoomtownHoops) April 7, 2016
Not only did Kanter set his own career high in points, he set a team record as the first player in team history to record a game with 30-plus points and 20 rebounds.