By Michael Doutey
The Oklahoma City Thunder hold on to beat the Sacramento Kings 106-101 Monday night inside the Chesapeake Energy Arena. It wasn’t a pretty game, especially in the first half, but OKC found a way to win. With the win, OKC moves to 40-29 on the season. OKC is now 11 wins over .500, which is the most wins over .500 that they’ve been all season. The win, albeit ugly, is important in the playoff race. For tonight, OKC moves to 4th in the Western Conference playoff race, while the Spurs have fallen to 10th after a loss tonight to the Houston Rockets. Here are tonight’s five observations from OKC’s win.
1. 16-36
OKC isn’t a great shooting team, and if you watched the first half you’d think both teams were one of the worst shooting teams in the league. But things picked up and OKC really shot the ball well from three. OKC made 16 of their 36 three point attempts, which was good for 44.4 percent. OKC outscored the Kings, who shot 12-33 (36.7 percent) from three, by 12 in a game that was closer than it should have been. The Thunder likely don’t win this game without their ability to connect from long range. Paul George was 4-9, Melo was 5-7, Westbrook was 2-3 and Alex Abrines was 2-2 from three.
2. PG Got it Going
PG got off to another tough start, shooting 0-4 from the field and 0-1 from three in the first quarter. But PG got things cooking in the 2nd quarter, scoring 11 points on 4-5 shooting and 3-4 from distance. In the second half, PG scored just 7 points on 3-9 shooting and 1-4 from distance. He only got two looks in the 4th, which he missed both. I’m not sure what to make of his up and down night. Maybe his luck is turning around from three, which he has relied on a ton this season.
3. 20th Triple Double of the Season
Russ recorded his 20th triple-double of the season, which leads the NBA. He scored 17 points on a pedestrian 7-19 shooting. He actually shot the three ball well, something he’s struggled with tremendously for over a month. He grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 11 assists compared to just two turnovers. Russ grabbed his 99th triple-double of his career and looks to make it 100 tomorrow night in Atlanta.
4. Corey Brewer’s Impact Continues
I am flabbergasted at the impact Brewer is making on this team. He’s a guy who does the little things that this group needs. But he continues to score, which is huge for OKC. He is averaging 11 points per game since becoming a member of the team and he is shockingly shooting 38 percent from three. He scored 16 points tonight on 4-8 shooting and nailed all seven of his free throws. He is making a good impact on defense too, recognizing plays, recognizing coverages and has a savviness to him the positively affects the team. Count me surprised that his impact has been as big as it has been.
5. Steven Adams leaves the game in 3rd
Adams was in action tonight after being ruled questionable after rolling his ankle early in the 3rd quarter Saturday night against the Spurs. But after taking a hard fall, Adams came up limping on his left side but tried to continue playing. He left the game and did not return with a left hip contusion, though Adams said it was a “australopithecus afarensi,” which is actually an extinct hominin that lived million of years ago. Well, that’s according to wikipedia. Classic Steven. We’ll see if Adams plays tomorrow, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they give him the night off.
The Thunder will be in Atlanta tomorrow to take on the Hawks. Tip is set for 6:30 p.m. inside the Phillips Arena.
