NBA
Thunder Take Care of The Pelicans At Home 122-116
What seemed like an easy, relaxing win actually became a battle towards the end. The Oklahoma City Thunder took care of business at home against New Orleans Pelicans 122-116.
The Thunder broke out to a big lead halfway through the second quarter as Russell Westbrook and the rest of the starters could do no wrong. The Pelicans were missing Anthony Davis yet again, and it showed. The big difference was the offensive rebounds and the three-point shooting that helped the Thunder secure their 30th win this season. Westbrook was a huge part of that win last night.
Westbrook getting it done
He has seemed to find confidence in his shot the past four games. Westbrook is shooting well above his shooting percentage for the season at over 44%. We aren’t talking three pointers, we are talking getting to the basket and his jump-shot. He has seemed to find it during this winning streak and it has helped this team secure wins.
Not only that, but he has seemed to find the open man constantly. Last night, he had 16 assists to go along with 23 points and 17 rebounds. The man has always been a walking triple-double, that is no secret. However, he is making the right passes, along with finding his confidence in his ability to shoot.
There will always be a side of him that will continually talk trash. He did it against the Philadelphia 76ers with Joel Embiid and he did it against the Portland Trail Blazers with Jusuf Nurkic and Damian Lillard. Last night, he seemed calm, cool and collected and just shut this Pelicans team down.
The Starting Five For The Thunder Gave The Pelicans Problems
It wasn’t just Westbrook that played well, the whole starting five also were dominating the game. Paul George was his usual self, scoring 23 points, made six three-pointers, along with 11 rebounds, and seven assists. It wasn’t his best defensive effort, but offensively he did more than enough to help the team.
The big man played great as well. Steven Adams dominated the paint. He finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds and seven of those were offensive rebounds. He controlled everything that happened down-low, and when he is in that groove nobody is going to slow him down.
Jerami Grant and Terrance Ferguson were key-contributors as well, each scoring 14 points and three rebounds while playing solid defense. It was all-around a great performance for the starting five of the Thunder.
Pelicans Missed Their Big Men And The Thunder Took Advantage
The Pelicans clearly miss their best big-guys and it showed tonight. With Davis and Julius Randle out for some-time, the team’s rebounding has been lackluster. They allowed the Thunder to get 15 offensive rebounds, along with some terrible interior defense.
Although offensively Jahlil Okafor had a good showing, finishing with 18 points and eight rebounds, he is a horrendous defender. It has never been his specialty, and him getting starters minutes is a problem for this team. This is his first time getting big-time minutes since his rookie year with the 76ers.
They had the game tied in the first quarter and made a comeback in the fourth due to their bench players Cheick Diallo and Frank Jackson sparking the team. But the second and third quarters were rough for them defensively. The Thunder were left all day hitting threes and cutting to the basket.
Jrue Holiday finished the night with 22 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds, but it wasn’t enough.
Thunder Showing They Are a Threat
The Thunder have now won four straight and have finished tough games that they normally haven’t this year. Beating playoff teams like the 76ers and Blazers where either George or Westbrook finish them off is huge for this team’s confidence.
They are expected to make a move and hopefully get a consistent shooter to help the Thunder in their hopeful, deep playoff-run. With George becoming a starter in the Western Conference in the All-Star game, it shows the hard-work he has put in this season. These are all confidence boosters for the Thunder and they will need it for their next game. On Sunday, The Thunder will go up against the Milwaukee Bucks, who are the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
They are now the third in the West and are in position to take the second seed. They’re two games back behind the Denver Nuggets for the second seed in the Western Conference.
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Writer Brandan Verrastro
