OKC Thunder come out on fire versus Suns, survive a lackadaisical third quarter and lower the boom in clutch time to get back in win column. Player grades tell the story.
After the loss in Dallas and the manner in which the OKC Thunder lost it was imperative the team responded with a strong bounce back effort. From the tip it was clear that was their intention as OKC jumped on the Suns from the tip.
By the time the horn sounded at the end of the first the Thunder had delivered arguably their most dominate quarter this season and lead the Suns 32-13! While Phoenix didn’t roll over OKC maintained the pressure in the second quarter exiting for the lockers at half time with a 64-40 lead.
Paul George in particular was aggressive hitting virtually every shot he took and displayed much more certainty in his decision making.
The issue for OKC was old habits which reared their ugly head to start the second half as the squad began jacking up ill-advised triples and stopped doing the things which made them successful early. OKC abandoned going into the post to start the offense and the defense which stifled the Suns disappeared.
By the time the Suns had cut a lead which was once 28 points to single digits that sinking feeling was present. Fortunately the trio of Paul George, Steven Adams and Dennis Schroder took control and did the things necessary to close out the game and capture the win. George specifically played with the perfect balance of assertiveness and composure.
With that, let’s dive into the player grades as they tell the story.