It was a total team effort tonight for the Thunder, with all starters registering at least 5 rebounds, 4 starters registering an assist, 3 starters registering a steal, and all 5 starters registering a block. The bench also got into the theme of the night, with Nick Collison scoring 12 points with 3 rebounds and 3 steals and Kevin Martin with 19 points with 2 rebounds and 2 steals. The Thunder as a team rebounded, stole, and blocked well with 45 rebounds, 10 steals, and 12 blocks. Every Thunder player got minutes tonight, giving DeAndre Liggins, Perry Jones III, and Reggie Jackson quality time to work on their game against another team.
The Thunder starters shot well tonight across the board, with Kevin Durant scoring 20 points, Russell scoring 18, and Ibaka, Perkins, and Sefolosha scoring 5, 10, and 8 respectively. Thunder shot 50.6% in field goals, 43.8% percent from the arch and 76.5% from the line. The defense for the Thunder effectively shut down the Hornets, making New Orleans shoot 37% on field goals and 25% from the arch. They also shut down Greivis Vasquez for a second straight time and held the Hornets to just 3 players in double digits.
Analysis: Phew, that game almost got nasty. The Thunder ended the 3rd quarter up 27 and looked like they would make it a 30+ point lead. Thankfully, for the Hornets sake and the sake of me being able to watch the rest of the game, the Hornets held in there and kept it under 30 points. And, may I say, Russell Westbrook could definitely rock the "Honey Badger" moniker. He just really doesn't give a $#!t. He can shoot as many shots as he scores points and he will still fly all over the floor, stealing and blocking with unwavering energy. This is why we all have a love-hate relationship, although there is definitely more love than hate. The Thunder are really living up to their moniker as a version of the Spurs, with so much team play that it must make the stat guys heads explode. If the Thunder keep playing like this, then there is no one that can stop them, not even the mighty Grizzlies or defending champion Heat.
DNP: All Thunder Players got at least 7 minutes tonight.
Player of the Game: Russell Westbrook. Even though he shot as much as he scored, 18, Russell definitely filled up the stat sheet tonight, with 5 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, 1 block. He also shot 2-3 from the arch tonight, one coming on a buzzer-beater at the end of the 3rd quarter to make it 84-57. Russell registered his 8th double-double of the season, with only registering 7 all of last season.
Stat of the Night: 7-13. Kevin Durant shot 53.8% percent from the field tonight and would have torched the Hornets had he played any time in the 4th quarter.
Next Game: The Thunder play the Brooklyn Nets in the Barclays Center @ 6:30 PM CT on Tuesday, December 4th.
(Credit: Photo by Layne Murdoch | NBAE via Getty Images)
(Credit: ESPN Stats and Information)
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