Story by Jordan Greer
Photos courtesy of AP
Since there were only two NBA games on the
docket last night, let’s dive into both.
The first of the double feature showcased an
intriguing matchup of Western Conference powers, but Oklahoma City showed no
interest in keeping it close. The
Thunder (8-3) easily dispatched the Los Angeles Clippers (8-5) 105-91 with
Kevin Durant, the league’s leading scorer, racking up 28 points, 8 assists and
6 rebounds.
The Thunder shot 51.9 percent from the field as a
team, largely due to getting easy attempts close to the basket. Oklahoma City outscored Lob City 58-32 on
points in the paint.
Aggressiveness offensively was also apparent due to
the free throw numbers, as the Thunder nearly doubled the Clippers in free
throw attempts (29 to 15).
Serge Ibaka was able to stay on the floor last night
after being ejected the last time these teams met on Nov. 13 in Los
Angeles. That ejection resulted from a
physical altercation with Blake Griffin in the second quarter, and the Clippers
would go on to win that game 111-103.
It was a different story this time around as Ibaka
made his presence known with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Despite the loss, a couple of Clippers extended
double-double streaks. Chris Paul
finished with 17 points and 12 assists.
Paul has now started the season with an NBA record 13 straight games of
at least 10 points and 10 assists. Magic
Johnson held the previous record with 11 straight games to start the 1990-1991
season. 
Griffin scored 27 points and grabbed 10 boards for his 6th straight 20-10 game. He showed the ability to make the midrange jumper when the Thunder defense relaxed. He also continued to show his improvement as a post passer by dishing out 5 assists.
This was simply a dominating OKC effort. The Thunder led for the entire game, and the
Clippers could never sustain success on the offensive end. Los Angeles had little ball movement in their
half court sets, a problem that has plagued them in the postseason since Paul
joined the team. The Thunder shut down
any possible comeback attempts with little trouble.
· Show me the money! A Thunder fan made a half court shot at
halftime for $20,000. Brad Brucker, a
33-year-old teacher, drained his attempt for a big check courtesy of MidFirst
Bank. Brucker was congratulated by Jay-Z
and Beyonce, who were watching the game courtside. (Video)
· Matt Barnes did not play and is expected
to be out at least two weeks due to retinal surgery on his left eye. Barnes was ejected during the Nov. 13 meeting
as a result of his role in the altercation with Ibaka.
· Russell Westbrook still has not appeared
to find his groove. He certainly has all
of his quickness and athleticism back after his injury, but his shot is still a
work in progress. He went 5-13 from the
field, including 0-6 from three point range.
· Rookie Steven Adams has been impressive
in the early stages of the season. He
certainly made the most of his time last night, totaling 6 points, 7 rebounds,
3 blocks and 2 assists in 24 minutes.
Now, we travel to Denver…
The Nuggets (5-6) had just a little bit too much for
the Bulls (6-4), taking advantage of big bench contributions on the way to a 97-87
victory.
Nate Robinson and Jordan Hamilton combined to make
four three pointers in the fourth quarter, serving up the vicious body blows
that would knock the Bulls down and leave them unable to recover.
Hamilton led the Nuggets with 17 points while
Robinson finished with 11 points in a poor shooting night against his former
team. Robinson’s typical chaotic energy
may have backfired on him early as he seemed to be pressing offensively, but he
hit big shots from downtown when it mattered most.
Derrick Rose, similar to Westbrook for the Thunder,
shows no signs of being limited athletically, yet he remains inconsistent with
his jumper. Rose went 9-20 from the
field, missing many attempts that are typically automatic.
Joakim Noah was a bright spot for the Bulls. Noah nearly pulled off a triple double with
11 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. He
did the usual Noah things, attacking the offensive glass for second chance
points and yelling triumphantly after.
Chicago certainly missed their wingman Jimmy Butler,
who was out with a toe injury. Mike
Dunleavy had a decent showing with 15 points, but Luol Deng was simply
abysmal. Deng went 3-18 from the field
for 6 points and 4 turnovers.
The forward combo of Kenneth Faried and J.J. Hickson
worked well for Denver. Faried had 12
points and 11 rebounds while Hickson had 14 points and 9 rebounds. Both players utilized their speed and
athleticism to get up the floor for some easy dunks, including an impressive
alley oop from half court as Ty Lawson found Faried for a two-hand throwdown.
The Nuggets grabbed the Bulls by the horns in the
fourth quarter in a game that was close up until the Robinson and Hamilton
threes. Chicago is still working on how
to work together on the offensive end with Rose back. Chicago head coach Tom Thibodeau is known for
his defensive prowess, but at a certain point you have to put the round orange
thing in the basket.
Speaking of Orange…
Catching
Up with the ‘Cuse
Carmelo Anthony
It’s obvious the Knicks (3-8) are struggling, but
don’t blame ‘Melo. Although his shooting
numbers are down, he is taking on much of the scoring load for a team that has
been crushed by injuries and poor roster construction. It doesn’t help not having Tyson Chandler to
make up for the Knicks poor perimeter defense, too. (ESPN’s Tom Haberstroh makes an interesting
point about Anthony being on the floor at the same time as Andrea Bargnani and
how it relates to his performance.)
Season Averages: 26.1 ppg, 2.8 apg, 9.5 rpg, 42% FG,
33% 3PT FG
Michael Carter-Williams
Carter-Williams returned for the Sixers (5-8) from a foot injury Wednesday to play 34 minutes against the Raptors. He shot only 2-10 from the field with 6 turnovers, but did add 6 rebounds and 6 assists. I’m sure MCW fans are just happy to see him back on the floor.
Carter-Williams returned for the Sixers (5-8) from a foot injury Wednesday to play 34 minutes against the Raptors. He shot only 2-10 from the field with 6 turnovers, but did add 6 rebounds and 6 assists. I’m sure MCW fans are just happy to see him back on the floor.
Season Averages: 16.6 ppg, 7.4 apg, 5.4 rpg, 2.3
spg, 38% FG
Wesley Johnson
Johnson had a solid performance on Sunday as the Lakers (5-7) took down the Pistons. He went 6-8 from the field for 13 points in 21 minutes of play. It will be interesting to see how Los Angeles utilizes Johnson with the impending return of Kobe Bryant.
Season Averages: 7.8 ppg, 1.3 apg, 3.9 rpg, 38% FG,
40% 3PT FG
Dion Waiters
The on court performance isn’t really of interest in
this case. Waiters missed two
consecutive Cavs (4-8) games due to illness on Nov. 15 and 16, but there were
rumors of a locker room confrontation in Cleveland after guard Kyrie Irving
called a players-only meeting. Fuel was
added to the fire when Irving showed up for the game Nov. 15 with a black eye
and broken nose. Waiters has denied the
rumors and said he was sick over the weekend of the two games. Let’s see if that meeting was what the doctor
ordered for the Cavs. It certainly can’t
get much worse.
Season Averages: 13.1 ppg, 2.3 apg, 3.1 rpg, 37% FG,
39% 3PT FG
James Southerland is on the Charlotte Bobcats active roster but has yet to appear in a game this season.
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