Shorthanded OKC Thunder top Suns – Player grades

The OKC Thunder were shorthanded as they faced the Phoenix Suns for the third time this season and collected a much needed victory to move to 10-5.

The Thunder are 10-1 in their last eleven games and have compiled those wins without Russell Westbrook playing in the last six matches.

The OKC Thunder came into this game on a two-game winning streak. Although just 15 games into the 2018-19 season this was the third team the teams met. The final Suns match occurs December 28 when the Thunder will close out the season series in Phoenix.

OKC played without star Russell Westbrook and second-year guard Terrance Ferguson both leaving the team to deal with personal matters. Alex Abrines also tapped out with an illness, and of course, Andre Roberson is still sidelined and not expected back until mid-December.

That meant Timote Luwawu-Cabarrot, Hamidou Diallo, and two-way swing-man Deonte Burton needed to step up. For the most part, they all did.

The Thunder handled the Suns in this contest, led by veterans Paul George and Steven Adams.

The story of the game was on the glass. As a team, the OKC Thunder out rebounded the Suns in every area. Specifically, OKC grabbed more offensive, defensive and overall rebounds than the young Suns team.

At the line, the Thunder uncharacteristically shot well. OKC connected on  84 percent of their free throws fall, well above their 71.8 percent season average.

However, the shuffling in and out of guys and having to rely on new pieces did have its downside. The OKC Thunder turned the ball over 18 times in this tilt compared to the Suns 14 turnovers. The Thunder had 17 assists as a team tonight which was expected given OKC don’t tend to rack up assists. Case in point OKC rank 25th in team dimes per game.

After a back and forth first half, the OKC Thunder were able to keep the Suns at arm’s length, and even saw their lead swell up to 18 points at one point.