Playoff P arrives early as OKC Thunder best Rockets in thriller – player grades

The OKC Thunder deliver a statement win over the streaking Houston Rockets sending notice they’re ready to rumble in the playoffs. Player grades tell the story of the thriller.

As the OKC Thunder took to the court this evening to play game 81 versus the red hot Houston Rockets there was a palpable playoff atmosphere in the air. By night’s end, the home squad delighted the Thunder fans in attendance at Chesapeake Energy Arena with a thrilling comeback effort to capture the crucial victory.

As I sat fully invested in this match it just felt like the end would justify the means. Trailing by 13 points to start the third quarter it was the two OKC Thunder stars Paul George and Russell Westbrook who simply refused to lose. At the 5.24 mark of the fourth the Rockets sagged off Westbrook who connected on a perimeter shot to put the Thunder up by one.

From there it was a back and forth teeter totter match where the Rockets seemingly were scrambling. The man who is key among pundits discussions to capture back to back Most Valuable Players awards (James Harden) couldn’t buy a bucket (aside from some questionable foul calls which sent him to the charity stripe). Harden did not hit a field goal in the pivotal fourth quarter.

.Conversely, Paul George scored eight points with the most important bucket coming with a mere 1.8 seconds remaining. And, this came off a Russell Westbrook pass which was far more difficult then he made it look as he had to dodge four different defenders who attempted to cut him off from entering the offensive zone.

Fittingly, the assist which led to the George triple was Westbrook’s 10th giving him his 33rd triple-double of the season. That pulled him within one of catching Magic Johnson for second all-time in total career triple-doubles.

With that let’s dive into the player grades.