By Michael Doutey
The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Sacramento Kings 95-88 in Oklahoma City on Monday night. The Thunder got off to a slow start in the first half as they trailed the Kings 52-46 at the half. But the Thunder defense was much better in the second half as the Thunder were able to gain control of the game and coast to their second consecutive win. Here are my five observations from OKC’s win.
1. 2nd Half Defense
The Thunder looked uninterested in the first half. Their effort and focus on the defensive end was lacking. The team was allowing easy points in the paint, allowed wide open threes and just looked sloppy on the defensive end. The second half was a different story. There was a level of focus that was noticeably different. The level of intensity and aggressiveness was much higher in the second half as OKC allowed just 36 second half points. The Thunder really used their defense to propel them to tonight’s win.
2. Russ’ Odd Night
Russ was out of control in the first half, especially in the first quarter. He was wild, turning the ball over five times in the opening frame and six total in the first half. But Russ really played a nice game outside of that. He scored 19 points on 8-14 shooting, he grabbed 16 rebounds and dished out nine assists. But the story of the entire night came with 2:51 left in the game. That’s when Russ was driving to the basket to score when De’Aaron Fox swiped his hand across Russ’ face. Russ went to the floor to sell the obvious foul when Russ was called for a travel. Westbrook was irate and was called for two consecutive technical fouls and was ejected from the game. Westbrook also skipped out on speaking with the media for the second consecutive home game. The players have grown irritated with the officiating over the course of the season. Billy Donovan was also assessed a technical during the whole ordeal. Melo said after the game that he is “done” with the officials. We’ll see how this develops in the second half of the season.
3. Melo’s 3rd Quarter Explosion
Carmelo’s box score isn’t unlike one we’ve seen this season. He scored a game high 20 points on 7-19 shooting and 4-11 from three. But it was his third quarter that really helped the Thunder reverse course from the poor first half to the better second half. Melo exploded for 15 points on 5-11 shooting and 3-8 from three. Those still aren’t red hot numbers, but the Thunder were so starved for points that those 15 points were huge in tonight’s win. Without Melo’s scoring outburst the Thunder and Kings would have gone down to the wire.
4. Adams and Westbrook Free Throw Issues
We all know how much of an issue Russ has had at the line this season, I’m not sure he is going to rectify that at any point this season. At this point, it is what it is. And we know Adams is hit and miss from the line and it changes from game to game. But tonight the two stars combined for 6-19 shooting from the line. Westbrook was 3-7 and Adams went 3-12. For both guys to struggle like that in the same game is absolutely brutal.
5. Patrick Patterson’s Impact
Admittedly, I am a huge Patterson fan. I love his game and I’ve been hoping that he would slowly mesh in with this team as the season goes along. There are times I’ve felt like OKC hasn’t used him the right way. But tonight he flashed why the Thunder were so excited to bring him to the organization. He scored 10 points on 3-5 shooting including 3-4 from three. Patterson did all that in just 16 minutes of action. Hopefully he can build off tonight’s game.
Tonight’s win moves OKC to 24-20 on the season and, for the time being, they sit in 5th place in the West. The Thunder will be back in action on Wednesday night in OKC as they take on the Los Angeles Lakers. Tip time will be at 7 p.m. inside the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
