Oklahoma City came out with energy and defense tonight in the win over the Grizzlies, who had previously defeated the Thunder early into the season. A Grizzlies team that had just dealt their leading scorer in Rudy Gay to the Toronto raptors struggled tonight, shooting a disappointing 34% in the contest, and had no single player positive in the +/- category.
The Thunder started out hot in the first quarter of the game as they made all of their first 9 field goals and forced 6 Memphis turn overs, though they turned it over 8 times themselves. Russell Westbrook came out smoking as he scored 11 points on 5/6 shooting, carrying the Thunder on his back for the first quarter and helped the Thunder maintain their 80% shooting(unusual for the 40% shooter).
The second quarter was even better defensively for the Thunder. They held Memphis to just 12 points on 18% shooting, and dominated the paint - scoring 10 points on 5/13 shooting compared to just 2 for the Grizzlies who shot 1/11 in the painted area. Zach Randolph really struggled to get his shot to fall in the quarter - going 0-5, but had a monster quarter on the glass grabbing 8 rebounds. The Thunder ended the half with a 58-34 lead, and were sailing to the finish line.
That wasn't the case in the third quarter, where Russell Westbrook had to leave to go to the locker-room after having an episode on the court with allegedly Thabo Sefolosha. He had to be escorted off the court by assistant coach Mo Cheeks and a security guard, and that's when things got a little iffy. The Grizzlies closed the gap on the Thunder at one point to just 10 points, as they went on a 23-9 scoring run mid-way through the third - behind Zach Randolph and Mike Conley who combined for 20 points on 8/13 shooting in the quarter as well as 8 rebounds.
After struggling in the third, Oklahoma City picked up where they left off with Russell Westbrook's return. Though he wasn't nearly as effective - only shooting 1-4 in the quarter - his presence was felt and it certainly helped Kevin Martin, who went off for 8 points on 2-2 from the three in the quarter, and helped the Thunder close out the Grizzlies and to move to 35-11 on the season.
Thunder Essentials:
Rebounding - D
Oklahoma City managed to grab 43 rebounds on the game (only 2 were offensive) but allowed the Grizzlies to grab 21 offensive rebounds and 48 over-all. Despite allowing 21 OR's, the Thunder only allowed 13 2nd chance points(mainly do to poor Grizzly shooting). On any given night, allowing 21 OR's will most likely result in a loss.
Russell Westbrook - B+
Despite the Honey-Badger throwing a fit in the third while riding on a comfortable 20 point lead, he was excellent tonight. Nearly recording a double-double, Westbrook was able to score 21 points on an impressive 9-17 shooting performance, and was able to secure 9 rebounds to go along with 6 assists. It was certainly possible that Russell could have done a lot better, only if he was to play more than he did.
3 Ball - B
The Thunder have been excellent from behind the 3 this season - ranked 3rd in the league shooting 38%. Tonight they weren't fantastic from behind the arc, as they shot 5-13, but were able to make them when it mattered and came out with a double-digit win.
Russell Westbrook - B+
Despite the Honey-Badger throwing a fit in the third while riding on a comfortable 20 point lead, he was excellent tonight. Nearly recording a double-double, Westbrook was able to score 21 points on an impressive 9-17 shooting performance, and was able to secure 9 rebounds to go along with 6 assists. It was certainly possible that Russell could have done a lot better, only if he was to play more than he did.
3 Ball - B
The Thunder have been excellent from behind the 3 this season - ranked 3rd in the league shooting 38%. Tonight they weren't fantastic from behind the arc, as they shot 5-13, but were able to make them when it mattered and came out with a double-digit win.
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