Thunder's previous game: Oklahoma City faced off against Boston yesterday evening in an exciting defensive effort by both teams, particularly the Thunder.
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| AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki |
In perhaps the Thunder's best defensive effort of the season, Kevin Durant and Co. defeated Boston at home 91-79. Forcing nineteen turn overs, the Thunder dominated the Celtics in the fast break, managing to score nineteen points off those turn overs. The Celtics had some pretty bad luck the entire game. They never got any friendly rolls on the basket and missed a couple easy lay ins.
Russell Westbrook was pretty ineffective in the meeting with Boston. Avery Bradley, a terrific defensive player, virtually shut down Westbrook the entire game. The Honey-Badger had just fifteen points in the contest, seven of which came in the first quarter on just 2-6 shooting. Russ was ineffective on other ends of the offensive floor, unusually so - racking up just two assists and one rebound during the contest.
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| AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki |
Oklahoma City's bench was the difference maker though. Led by K-Mart, the Thunder's bench totaled thirty two points in the contest. K-Mart was 0-4 from beyond the arc, but managed to stay aggressive - scoring twelve points on 4-12 shooting. It's important that Martin becomes more aggressive, which he has been lately. He needs to realize that his role is as big as anyone else's, and that coming off the bench with effective offensive production is a necessity for Oklahoma City's success.
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| USA Today Sports |
Last meeting with Spurs: San Antonio visited the Thunder back in December, a revenge game of sorts for Oklahoma City after Tony Parker hit a game winning buzzer beater in the first game of the season against the Thunder.
Serge Ibaka had another one of his terrific outings against the Spurs, a team which he always performs highly against. Serge was 10-16 from the field for twenty five points to go along with his complete dominance on both sides of the glass. He pulled down five offensive rebounds, and totaled seventeen rebounds in the game. Ibaka always performs to his max level against this San Antonio team. Hopefully he can do the same tonight.
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| Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE |
Kevin Martin not so quietly had a twenty point game against the Spurs. Going 7-10 from the field (3-5 3-pt), Martin was able to knock down his shots from everywhere on the floor. Moving like a cheetah through the Spurs defense, he was able to run quickly off screens and catch and shoot the ball at a high percentage. When Martin gets hot, he's absolutely deadly. He can kill any team from down town with his awkward shot, and doesn't stop shooting until his arms fall off.
The Turning point of the game was the third quarter - a quarter in which the Thunder's defense put a strangle hold on the Spurs offensive throat, allowing just sixteen points in the quarter on 33% (6-18) shooting. To compliment to their smash mouth defense, Oklahoma City scored twenty nine points in the quarter to grab a lead as much as eighteen points. Manu Ginoblii was out in the contest due to a Left Quad Contusion. He's back tonight, but without the Spur's MVP candidate Tony Parker, Manu will have to be the Spurs offensive catalyst to give them a chance at beating the Thunder.
Thunder Essentials:
BBB(Big Bad Bench) - Yes, the BBB must be the BBB we used to know, and have seen recently. The Thunder's bench has been explosive as of late. The recent acquisition of Derek Fisher has paid off recently. The first few games looked a little sketchy, but his last couple of games have proven he's still an asset to the Thunder, both on the court and off. Of course there's Reggie Jackson, the second year point guard out of BC. He's been a complete and total surprise to everyone these last few games. He's been aggressive driving to the basket, and isn't afraid of taking clutch shots when needed. He's blossoming into an important piece of the Thunder's bench, and will continue to grow as the season leads into the playoffs.
Rebounding - Oklahoma City destroyed San Antonio on the glass in their last outing. 49-37 was the differential, fifteen of the 49 being offensive rebounds for the Thunder. 15 is the number of second chance points the Thunder had in the game, which is huge. If the Thunder can pull off another great performance on the glass, they have a great chance of winning this game.
Blue Light Special - The Thunder, one of the best three point shooting teams in the league, ranking second in the league at 39%, needs to have a better three ball performance than 4-14 like they had in their last match up. They need to be efficient from down town, and hit the money ball at the right time. 4-14 isn't a pretty number, and I expect K-Mart to lay down the law beyond the arc this game. 4-7 is my prediction for K-Mart. Hopefully the entire team can pull out the same performance from down town.
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