The OKC Thunder came out flat and disinterested losing to the lowly Washington Wizards 116-98 at Chesapeake Arena.
After two impressive road victories over the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers, the OKC Thunder laid an egg in its return home losing to Washington 116-98. Oklahoma City lacked energy and effort as the Wiz dominated the Thunder in embarrassing fashion on the road.
Right from the outset, the Thunder attacked Thomas Bryant in the paint with Steven Adams scoring 10 of Oklahoma City’s 18 points (4-4 from the field, 2-2 free throws) in the first six and a half minutes to build an 18-7 lead.
From that point on it was one-way traffic for Washington.
The Wiz used a 31-9 run to build a 38-27 lead from the 5:30 mark in the first quarter to the nine-minute mark in the second. Despite shooting 37.5 percent from the field, the Thunder used 23-16 run to go into the half down 54-50.
Coming out of the locker room, the Thunder’s offense came out humming.
Oklahoma City used an 8-0 to turn a four-point deficit into a 58-54 lead. The Thunder and Wiz traded buckets to draw level at 67-apiece before Washington blew the game open with a 23-12 run. Otto Porter Jr. scored eight points in the final five minutes to give the Wizards a 90-79 win.
Things didn’t get much better coming to the fourth as the Thunder showed little to no urgency. Washington was relentless and opened the quarter with a 10-2 run to cushion its lead to 20. From that point on, the Wizards controlled the clock and the game was a wrap.
Bradley Beal and Porter combined for 45 points while Russell Westbrook paced OKC with 22 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 assists.
Let’s take a look at the Thunder’s individual performances.