It looks like the loss the Oklahoma City Thunder suffered at the hands of the Washington Wizards created a solid impression on the team. When the Detroit Pistons came into the Jan. 23 matchup with the Thunder, they might have looked at the Washington game as proof they had a chance. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Wikimedia Commons
The Thunder came out in full force. Detroit scored the first basket of the game and never led again for the entire night. By the end of the first quarter, the Thunder led the game 29-15 and continued the beat down for the rest of the night. Oklahoma City went into the half up by 25 points and the Thunder rested their stars for most of the fourth quarter.
Russell Westbrook led the Thunder in scoring for the third game in a row and his new contract extension is looking better and better as the days go on. Westbrook finished by hitting 11-of-17 (64-percent) from the field for 24 points and added five rebounds and six assists. Kevin Durant added 20 points with five rebounds as well.
The only member of the Thunder to play in the fourth quarter of the blowout was Serge Ibaka, in the game due to an injury to backup Nick Collison. Ibaka finished with six points, ten rebounds and five blocks in the game. Collison, who sprained his ankle in the first half, never returned to the game.
Oklahoma City hit 53.2-percent of their shots while the Pistons struggled the entire night, hitting only 34.1-percent. The Thunder also out-rebounded Detroit, 51-38, continuing to improve their one weak area of play. Rookie Brandon Knight was the high scorer for Detroit with 13 points.
Wins like this are nice, especially seeing how tough their loss to Washington was.
The win keeps the Thunder as the Western Conference team with the best record and the win was the first of two rare home games in a streak that has the Thunder playing 14 of 19 games on the road. After a Wednesday night home contest with the New Orleans Hornets, the Thunder have three road games in a row, including tough matchups with the Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks.
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
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