Thunder player grades following road win over the Milwaukee Bucks

Behind a terrific defensive effort, the OKC Thunder earned an impressive 19 point road win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

If there were any reservations of whether the OKC Thunder defense was elite or not, they were answered tonight. Oklahoma City played their most complete game of the young season, suffocating the Bucks offense into submission.

MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo was hit with foul trouble early and forced to sit in large stretches in the first half. The switch-everything defense of Andre Roberson, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony worked a treat as the Greek Freak had to work for every single point. Perhaps an appreciation for Roberson is in order after fans have unfairly criticized his play.

The Thunder’s game plan was obvious – play from the inside out. Steven Adams was far too strong for the Bucks small frontline, muscling his way to the hoop while throwing down three poster jams in the opening half.

The most impressive aspect of the Thunder performance was the second unit. Felton, Melo, Patterson, Grant and Abrines absolutely swallowed up Milwaukees reserves and actually stretched the lead when Russ, Adams and PG were out of the game. Melo was able to dictate the pace of the game as he jab-stepped the life out of Mirza Teletovic and made jumpers at a constant rate. Jerami Grant continues to impress with his athletic play, finishing two tough lay-ups with beautiful body control.

Oklahoma City led 60-42 at the half and effectively put the game out of reach with a 5-0 Andre Roberson run in the middle of the third to push the lead to 22. OKC shot 49 percent for the game and 42 percent from deep while the Bucks were to 42 percent from the field and 32 percent from 3.