The Oklahoma City Thunder rebounded quickly from their loss to the lowly Washington Wizards by shutting down the New Jersey Nets, with an 84-74 victory.
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
Wikimedia Commons
I questioned the Thunder's defense this season with most teams out-rebounding them through the first portion of the year but Oklahoma City really clamped down their defense against the Nets. Oklahoma City out-rebounded New Jersey, 55-46, although the Nets still finished with more offensive rebounds, 16-14.
Once again, Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 15 rebounds on his way to a double-double, adding 20 points as well. Serge Ibaka was the man who stepped up for Oklahoma City in this game. While he only scored six points, he was a defensive monster in the game. Ibaka finished with nine rebounds, five on the offensive side of the ball, and five blocks.
Another surprise star of the game was Thabo Sefolosha, who finished with eight rebounds, while Kendrick Perkins pulled down six rebounds with five points scored.
The Nets were led by Kris Humphries, who finished with a double-double, with 12 points and 16 rebounds. Center Mehmet Okur added nine rebounds of his own.
On the offensive side of the ball, Russell Westbrook earned his new five-year $80 million contract extension, leading the Thunder with 21 points and six assists. Harden finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in the game.
Thanks to the pickup in rebounding and the impressive scoring by the Thunder's trio of offensive stars, this game was like many others the Thunder have played this season. Early in the third quarter, Oklahoma City led by 17 and New Jersey never closed the gap.
Unlike other big blow outs this season, Oklahoma City played their stars throughout the game instead of resting them. Durant played for a season high 45 minutes, only the fifth time this year he played more than 40. Nick Collison logged 18 minutes while rookie Reggie Jackson played for 12 but this was mostly the starters remaining active and working out some aggression after their loss to the Wizards.
It was a solid win and a great way to turn around spirits after such a disheartening defeat.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and is an avid sports fan that has lived in Oklahoma for over 40 years. He used to religiously follow the Dallas Mavericks until Oklahoma City found a team to call their own.
Source: NBA.COM
Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.
No comments:
Post a Comment