Thunder Player Grades: Reserves inspired effort vaults OKC into 5th
Best Opponent:
SG. San Antonio Spurs. BRYN FORBES. A.
10 points on 4 of 56 field goals, 2 of 2 from deep and a plus +11
In a mere six minutes on the court Bryn Forbes scored ten points and almost single handedly changed the course of the game. Unfortunately, the rest of his Spurs teammates didn’t have enough in the tank to help him out.
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Still, with news Kawhi Leonard could be back next week it does beg the thought of how scary it would be to face this team in the postseason. Several youngsters will bloom into typical Spurs like Dejounte Murray and Bryn Forbes. Even Davis Bertans summons thoughts of the Red Rocket.
Final Thoughts
This win may not fall into the category of statement win for the Thunder, however it did offer optimism for the future schedule. Most importantly, the Thunder reserves may finally have found their identity. I’m wondering if the presence of Brewer is allowing for this to occur finally. So, Billy Donovan can you please let the young guys play consistent minutes? Please.
Returning to my opening comments regarding how close the game was the stats confirm this point.
- OKC shot 45.3 percent from the field to San Antonio’s 46.5 percent.
- Each team had 15 turnovers.
- OKC had 50 rebounds to 43 for San Antonio
- The Spurs who are known for their ball movement had 26 assists but OKC who aren’t known for this prowess kept pace with 24 of their own.
There were some significant differences between the squads which speak to how the Thunder won:
- San Antonio shot much better from the perimeter (50 percent to 35.7 percent).
- OKC attempted 28 treys to the Spurs 20 which resulted in the same amount of makes (10).
- OKC was far more aggressive driving the paint and this resulted in a huge difference at the free throw line. To wit, the Spurs got just seven free throws connecting on four. Whereas the Thunder shot 24 times connecting on 16. Westbrook alone had 11 attempts (4 more than the entire Spurs team).
- OKC grabbed double the offensive rebounds (12 to 6) and this without the services of Steven Adams who only had just one prior to the injury.
Next: Top all-time OKC scorers
Perhaps the greater takeaway falls on the Spurs who for the first time in 20 years won’t have a winning road record. Moreover, the Spurs will need to win 12 of their final 15 games to extend their consecutive 50 win seasons to 19 (and that is only because of the strike shortened season).
For the full box score visit ESPN link here and for game highlights, click the video above.