Brick house; George and Westbrook rough nights lead to blow out
Coming into Saturday night, the Thunder were perfect against the Warriors, dethroning the defending champs twice already. A primetime rubber match tilt in the bay area was on deck Saturday, and the Thunder simply did not show up.
From the tip-off, both teams were sloppy. Turnovers, fouls, and missed shots galore. Back-and-forth it went, a 5-point lead here, a 7-point lead there, both teams trading blows and feeling each other out like a prize fight.
In the first quarter, the Thunder shot 21% from the field, but trailed by just 5. Paul George was held scoreless in the quarter, in fact he did not score his first point until he made the free throw that followed a Draymond Green technical foul. He finished the half 0-for-5 from behind the arc, and 0-for-9 from the floor. He said after the game: "
The OK3, as fans affectionately call Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, and Paul George were a combined 23.4% shooting.
The floor general Russell Westbrook was a dreadful 4-for-15 from the floor, with 5-turnovers despite putting up a 15-12-7 line. Russell Westbrook has been very bad in both games after the all star break, which is worrisome as the Thunder are just a game ahead of the 9-seeded Clippers.
As a team, Oklahoma City shot a season-low 33% from the floor, while scoring just 80-points in an embarrassing loss. The game remained close through 3-an-a-half quarters, despite the Thunder being dreadful offensively, until the Warriors caught fire going on a 21-3 run to blow the game wide open.
Nick Young began taunting the Thunder bench at the end of the third, and received a push in the back from Russell Westbrook.
That was not the only drama Russell Westbrook was involved in. Westbrook was shaken up when Warriors big man Zaza Pachulia fell on his leg. The Thunder point guard said after the game that he felt Zaza was trying to injure him on purpose--and I agree with Westbrook. Pachulia also commented on the situation, calling Russell Westbrook "Childish" for such accusations. The journeyman big has a long history of being a dirty player, and Saturday night was no different.
The Thunder let the game get away from them, but there were some encouraging signs. Oklahoma City shot 61% from the charity stripe, which for them is an improvement. They kept the game very close for over half the game, while their two stars both had terrible games.
The Thunder return home for the first time after the break, and face the Orlando Magic on Monday night. The Magic are a lowly 18-41, and 14th in the East. This is a game the Thunder desperately need, as they teeter on the brink of the playoff picture.
Final: Warriors win 112-80
Star of the game: Steven Adams, who collected 7-rebounds, posting 14-points, and sending back a pair of shots--one being Kevin Durants would-be lay-up.
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