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| Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports |
Thunder's previous game: The Thunder lost their third straight game last Wednesday while visiting the Rockets and former team mate James Harden. Oklahoma City gave up a 12 point lead with just over five minutes remaining in the game, turning the ball over 3 times in that period of time as well.
It looked like the Thunder had the win in the bag, but Harden and the Rockets never gave up. Scoring 16 of his career-high 46 points in the fourth quarter, James Harden was able to will his Rockets back into the game. He hit a 25 foot step back three to tie the game at 111, Jeremy Lin proceeded to give them a 114-111 lead with a deep three of his own.
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| USA TODAY Sports |
Coming out of a time out, Durant missed a contested 17 foot jump shot that would've kept the Thunder in the game with just 1:41 to play. Harden would run the ball up court to the top of the key, where Serge Ibaka was guarding him. The Beard nailed a 21 foot step back right in Ibaka's face, giving the Rockets a 116-111 lead.
The Thunder would miss their next two shots, but after two nailed Ibaka free throws the Thunder were back within striking distance. Russell Westbrook took a crazy, contested 27 foot three and would nail it, cutting the Rocket's lead to 119-116. Sophomore point guard Reggie Jackson would take an unnecessary foul that sent Jeremy Lin to the line and he iced the cake. The Rockets would steal the game from the Thunder 122-119.
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| Photo by Layne Murdoch | NBAE via Getty Images |
Last meeting with Timberwolves: Oklahoma City blew out the Timberwolves in their last meeting 106-84. Avenging a loss that broke the Thunder's 12 game winning streak earlier in the season, Oklahoma City would use a 39 point bench performance to obliterate the Kevin Love-less Wolves.
The Thunder blew away the Wolves with their efficient three-point attack, shooting (55%) from down town(11-20) - 4 of which came from Kevin Martin, who had an impressive 19 point game, though he wasn't able to nail any shot from within the arc (0-5).
Minnesota wasn't able to keep up with the Thunder in the break. Oklahoma City ran and ran and ran, out scoring the Timberwolves 23-9 in the break, as well as capitalizing off of any Wolves turn overs - scoring 26 points off 19 of them. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant were very efficient with the scoring - combining for 49 points on 17-31 shooting, while turning the ball over just four times.
Thunder Essentials:
Defensive Rebounding - In the last game, the Wolves were able to pull down 11 offensive rebounds. Though they just scored seven second-chance points, Oklahoma City can't take that risk again. Giving the Wolves extra possessions with their impressive three-point shooting must be held to a minimum. Perkins is coming off of a one-game injury, and will hopefully have a nice game in the post tonight.
Bench production - OKC's bench hasn't been up to par lately, as they have been struggling to find consistent offensive production to come off of it. Kevin Martin has his moments, especially at home, but it can't just be K-Mart. Reggie Jackson needs to be more aggressive with his shots, and show a little more offensive production with his twelve or so minutes off the bench. Ronnie Brewer isn't going to be playing tonight, but hopefully he'll be able to give us a little spark off the bench when he is put into the lineup.
Finish the game - Last game against the Rockets was just ugly to watch. The Thunder got lazy and unfocused in the closing minutes of the game, and it came back to bite them. We have one of the best finishers in the game in Kevin Durant, and though he went just 1-6 last time out in the fourth, I'd expect him to be a little more efficient in closing the Wolves out tonight.
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