Russell Westbrook finished with 37-13-10, as the Oklahoma City Thunder comeback to defeat the Mavericks 93-91.
There aren’t many plus auxiliary players that help to fill in the gaps when things aren’t going well for the stars. This fate and the hands in which that fate lies has been discussed ad nauseam. Where Russell Westbrook goes so does the Oklahoma City Thunder. Westbrook, with a usage of 40%, is in complete control of the Thunder in such a way that there is little room for what Billy Donovan refers to as “slippage”.
Such was the case in tonight’s win against the Dallas Mavericks. In the first half the Thunder struggled to score and struggled to defend. Nothing seemed to be working aside from Westbrook doing everything necessary to just keep the team competitive. 10 turnovers from the team in the first half gave a Dallas team equally bereft of offense an easy way to put points up. Russell Westbrook finished the half with 18 points, the Oklahoma City Thunder totaled 35 in the half.
After scoring a season low for a half, OKC came out and went on an 11-0 run. By the 6:26 mark of the third quarter, the Thunder had outscored the Mavericks 20-6 in the quarter. The team looked poised to take a hold on the game. Dallas then proceeded to embark on a 13-2 run that had OKC down ten entering the fourth quarter.
Commenting on the Mavericks poor home record before the game, Rick Carlisle noted “Bad teams usually play better at home….”
The MVP:
On that same token, good teams play well on the road because that’s what wins championships. The Thunder, entering this game had a road record of 13-21. Not the mark of a championship team, but no reasonable individual would expect anything so gaudy. Not from this team.
After the loss of Kevin Durant, no one is expecting great postseason success. The ado made about the team’s road record stemmed from the reality of where the team currently is. Just good enough.
In this game all non-Westbrook players shot 22-55. There seemed to be a sense of disorientation with Russell off the floor. Consequently, the game ended with the team having only 17 assists.
The lack of cohesion and confidence without their leader was apparent tonight. It even seeped onto the defensive end. The team was so concerned with penetration that Yogi Ferrell and JJ Barea were finding open shooters all night.
With a lead that got as high as 14 in the final quarter it seemed that another road loss was in the books. That’s the thing with this Oklahoma City Thunder team. Once again, the Thunder go as Westbrook goes.
The Come Back:
And in the final frame, Westbrook went for the come from behind win. So followed the rest of the OKC team.
Westbrook, in the fourth quarter had 16 points on 7-13 shooting. He actively looked for his shot, with the rest of the team deciding to return the favor and play suffocating defense. With the score 74-88, Wesley Matthews would hit the last shot of the night for the mavericks – a 3-pointer.
In the clutch this season, the Thunder are second in the league in defensive rating. On offense they are in the top six. They showed why tonight – – Russell Westbrook.
Playing elite level defense with the game on the line is not what bad teams do.
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Teams with Westbrook, who excels at leading this team when the game is on line, happen to be good to very good teams.