Five takeaways from the Thunder’s blowout win in Milwaukee
By Tony Heim
The OKC Thunder continued their hot play from Saturday, beating the Milwaukee Bucks in a game Russell Westbrook didn’t have to play the fourth.
There’s no questioning that the Oklahoma City Thunder played their best game of the season on Tuesday night. While the offense relentlessly attacked a smaller Milwaukee team the defense suffocated a Giannis Antetokounmpo-led attack. OKC’s main philosophy – dominating the paint on both ends of the floor – was played out to perfection.
This isn’t an exaggeration. The Thunder beat up a red-hot Bucks team so bad that Russell Westbrook, Steven Adams and Paul George didn’t even play the fourth quarter. Westbrook was an assist away from a triple-double; Adams recorded his third double-double of the season. Oklahoma City’s 1-5 tandem controlled the game, showcasing the chemistry they’ve built together the last 4+ seasons.
The only true negative from last night was the fourth quarter play by the Thunder reserves. And they didn’t even play that poorly. Once the game was out of hand OKC naturally backed off the aggression, allowing the young Bucks prospects an opportunity to cut into a 28-point Thunder lead.
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After allowing 23 or less points in the first three quarters, Oklahoma City gave up 27 to the bottom-half of Milwaukee’s roster. The Thunder reserves weren’t nearly as cohesive as a five-man defensive unit – that’s normal for players who don’t get much game-action together. I’m being nit-picky. That’s what Billy Donovan and the coaching staff has to do, however, if they want to get the most out of this talented roster.
Now onto five positive takeaways from the Thunder’s first consecutive victory of the season.