The first quarter was neck and neck, no one getting consecutive stops and everyone pitching in on both teams. Serge Ibaka was hot from the free throw line early on, going 4-4 to add to his 8 points in the quarter along with 5 rebounds. Despite the Thunder playing excellent defense and holding the Cavs to just 33% shooting, they were unable to pull away and the Cavs stayed close behind going into the second quarter trailing 23-25.
The Thunder struggled with Turn overs in the second quarter, turning the ball over 5 times and allowing 7 points off of them. Kevin Durant had a big quarter scoring 11 points despite shooting 2-5 from the field. The Thunder were able to pound the ball in the paint when their shot wasn't falling for them. They scored 14 points in the paint while holding Cleveland to just 6, mainly because of Kendrick Perkins who was owning the paint defensively - racking up 2 big blocks in the quarter and igniting the Thunder's fast break.
After leading by as many as 7 in the second quarter, The Thunder came out with a 7-3 run to start the third and extend the lead back up to 11. Oklahoma City wasn't able to pull away from Cleveland, as the Cavs went on 12-4 run mid way through the third to cut the Thunder's lead back down to 3 at one point. This type of play would continue throughout the third into the fourth, Despite the Thunder's dominance in the fast break and interior defense.
The fourth was all Kyrie Irving and Marreese Speights, who combined for 26 points on 11/16 shooting and were the only reason that the Thunder duo, Westbrook and Durant - who combined for 23 points on 8/13 shooting themselves, were not able to pull away from the Cavs. OKC shot an impressive 60% in the fourth, which is fantastic, but their defense is what hurt them. They allowed the Cavaliers the shoot 66% and take over the boards, out rebounding the thunder 10-6. Turn overs are what plagued the Thunder tonight, though. They turned the ball over 17 times and allowed 20 points off of them. The Thunder have recently shown weakness on the road as of late, and against teams they should beat as well. Hopefully this doesn't turn into a habit for the young Thunder squad - going into the second half of the season.
Oklahoma City plays the Dallas Mavericks for the third time this season on Monday night at home. The Thunder are leading the season series 2-0 at the moment, and the games are always close and intense - especially at the Peake'.
Thunder Essentials:
Offensive Rebounds - B
The Thunder were much improved on the offensive glass tonight - grabbing 14 OR's and scoring 22 second chance points. They allowed 14 themselves but the Cavaliers weren't able to capitalize as the Thunder were, as the Cavs only scored 11 second chance points.
Defend Kyrie Irving - F
The Thunder were able to contain Kyrie Irving some-what in the first three quarters, but there was nothing they could do to stop him in the fourth, at least with Westbrook guarding him. He went off for 13 points on 5-7 shooting, and when it came down to crunch time - he scored 9 of the Cavaliers 11 final points in the game. He went from driving straight to the rim - to hitting a clutch three to extend the lead to three, then he hit the dagger with a 12 foot bank shot that put the Cavs up by 5 to seal the deal.
3 Ball - C
The final shot was a 3 by Durant, and he missed it. That has a lot to do with this grade. The Thunder shot 33% from behind the arc, which isn't that good considering they are a 38% team normally and they are facing a team that allows an average opponent 3-point % of 37.7% - the Thunder should've made a lot more, but they weren't falling for Kevin Martin especially who was 3-9.
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