Coming off an impressive and much-needed victory over the Pacers, the OKC Thunder forage for their first win against division rival the Denver Nuggets.
Behind focused defense and an NBA season-best, 24-0 run the OKC Thunder picked up a pivotal 107-99 win over the Indiana Pacers. Oklahoma City improved to an impressive 11-0 when limiting the opposition to fewer than 100 points.
All-Star guard Russell Westbrook was exquisite, despite scoring 17-points, Russ’ passing, uncorked the Thunder offense. Westbrook dished out 12 assists, his second-most this month. His most? 13 assists in OKC’s unexpected victory in Toronto.
Along with basic assists, the Brodie posted game-highs for passes 71 and potential assists with 25. For what it’s worth, no Pacer reached ten potential assists.
*Potential Assist Definition: Any pass to a teammate who shoots within one dribble of receiving the ball. Provided by NBA.com/Stats
The largest beneficiary of Westbrook’s passing was Steven Adams. OKC’s starting center was a beast, scoring 25 points on 11-14, 78.6 percent shooting, seven of Westbrook’s 12 assists were courtesy of Adams. Adams offense was not the only thing clicking his defense was on full display. Indiana starting center Myles Turner scored five-points, in 32 possessions when guarded by Adams.
Run for the ages
One of the most glaring problems the Thunder has experienced this season is periods of severe stagnation. That did not occur inside the Peake on Wednesday, OKC strung together a league season-best 24-0 run. During that time, the Thunder’s swarming defense led to powerful offense. The run provided the most consecutive answered points from the Thunder since December 15, 2015, versus the Los Angeles Lakers.
24-0 run by the Thunder.
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 28, 2019
Sheesh.
(Via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/tg1Ap7wZKi
Searching for a “Golden” Season
Currently, one game behind the Warriors for the top-seed in the West, the Denver Nuggets are a legit threat in the playoffs. Perhaps it’s a year mature to pick the Nuggets to upset the Dubs, Denver is the fifth youngest team in the NBA, but in the playoffs anything is possible.
One thing is certain the Nuggets play the correct way, and head coach Mike Malone is an underrated coach. Denver is one of four teams to place in the top-10 in both offensive and defensive rating, joining the Bucks, Celtics, and Raptors. The Nuggets rank second in assist per game at 27.6, trailing on the Warriors. Moreover, Denver limits their opponents to 106.8 points per match, good for sixth in the association.