OKC Thunder rides hot shooting night from Paul George to lead them to a 118-101 victory over the Phoenix Suns, putting them back on track.
OKC Thunder defeated the Phoenix Suns 118-101. This victory getting them back on track after falling to the Dallas Mavericks two days prior. The Mavericks and The Suns have a lot of similarities, many didn’t pick them to make the playoffs, and even though the Mavericks look better than the Suns, neither probably will. It’s easy to go through the motions in a game like this, and that’s what happened on Saturday, and that’s why our win streak ended.
Whenever you play teams like this, that you’re obviously better than you still have to come out and play like it’s any other team. One theme that has always been taught to me was this.
Take Care of Business.
The OKC Thunder were able to do that in spades tonight. Led by Paul George (32 points on 11-18 shooting, 6-10 from three, 8 rebounds, 6 assists) the OKC Thunder posted one of their best performances shooting wise. Shooting 46.7 percent (43-92) from the floor, but 48.1 percent (13-27) from three and a scorching/uncharacteristic 95 percent (19-20) from the foul line.
More from Thunderous Intentions
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
As far as the three point line though, PG got it going early. Going into halftime 5-7 from deep, hitting only one more in the game. But in that first half it looked as though he could contend for Klay Thompson’s fresh 3-pointers made in one game record (14). The rest of the team fell in line.
Terrance Ferguson dropped one, as well as Patrick Patterson, both shot with unshaken confidence. Jerami Grant split his 3-pointers, able to knock one down. Dennis Schröder shook off a cold first half to knock down two of them, both off the catch and in rhythm. Of course Alex Abrines knocked a couple down, despite shooting (2-6) the two that did drop were timely and impressive.
Yes, the Phoenix Suns are bad. Led by TJ Warren tonight 21 points (10-14) and 6 rebounds, the rest of the team couldn’t get going. Their star Devin Booker was back for this game, but standing across from him for most of the night was a motivated Paul George, able to hold a man who once scored 70 points to just 19 points (7-18).
Want to hear more about Paul George’s zone? What about Steven Adams “BBQ Chicken Alert” do Deandre Ayton? Raymond Felton’s significant improvements? Terrance Ferguson’s confidence? Hamidou Diallo’s impact? And more? Click the link below to listen to my recap of the game!
Be sure to follow us on twitter @OKCTopicThunder, so you don’t miss a podcast. Find us wherever you listen to your podcasts and leave us a 5 star rating and a review that makes us feel warm and fuzzy.
Any feedback is welcomed, and appreciated. Check back with us Wednesday for our recap against the Knicks!
As always, Thunder Up!