Reggie Jackson does less talking this time around
Reggie Jackson did less talking this time.
But the former Thunder still got the last word against his former team.
The Pistons beat the Thunder 99-98 Friday at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Jackson’s first meeting against Oklahoma City since a 2016 win in Detroit, when his late-game celebrations irked his former teammates.
Jackson finished with 12 points, three rebounds and four assists. His backup,
Ish Smith — also a former Thunder reserve — did more damage at point guard, finishing with 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting.
The boos for Jackson during starting lineup introductions weren’t to Kevin Durant decibels, but fans’ hard feelings were clear.
The Thunder traded Jackson to Detroit in 2015, and Friday’s game was his first against his old team since he helped lead the Pistons to an 88-82 win in Auburn Hills, Mich., late in the 2016 season.
Jackson celebrated that win by skipping and gyrating on the sideline and giving a look at the visitors’ bench that clearly bothered his former teammates. Russell Westbrook at the time called Jackson’s celebration “bulls*** for our team and organization.”
“We’ll see him down the line,” Westbrook said then. “We’ll take care of that when we get there.”
But by Friday’s game, Westbrook apparently had moved on. Asked about Jackson’s reaction in their last meeting, Westbrook at Friday’s morning shootaround said he didn’t remember.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, man,” Westbrook told a reporter who asked about those postgame comments.
Steven Adams, suggested after that 2016 game that he was filing away Jackson’s antics for future reference, said on Friday he’s “too dumb” to have done that, saying he thought he remembered but was fuzzy on the details. Given distance from it, he'd moved on.
“Whatever floats your boat, mate,” Adams said. “Tickles your fancy.”
Leads come and go
The Thunder led by as many as 15 points on Friday, but that hasn’t always been a harbinger of success for Oklahoma City. The loss was the seventh this season in which Oklahoma City led by double-digit points.
Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy downplayed those blown leads as cause for alarm, noting that the night the Thunder blew a 23-point lead and lost in San Antonio, Detroit led by 22 in a game at Indiana and also lost.
“That’s just the NBA now with the 3-point shot and everything,” Van Gundy said. “I think people have got to change their thinking. It’s not the same game. And so leads just don’t mean as much. It’s a 48-minute game. And you just play. And criticizing teams for giving up leads and things I don’t think matters. It’s just over 48 minutes, what do you get done?”
Abrines struggles
Alex Abrines played nine minutes on Friday, missing his only two field-goal attempts, including a 3-pointer. Abrines is 3 for his last 15 from long range. But Thunder coach Billy Donovan said he’ll take the shots Abrines is getting, many of them clean 3-point attempts.
“He just needs to keep shooting the ball and playing with that confidence,” Donovan said. “He can affect the game in a lot of different ways because he’s got a good feel on how to play. I don’t think it’s anything about the looks he’s getting. I think it’s probably more about him getting back into flow and a rhythm.”
Quotable
“That’s what we’re supposed to do. So it’s not like, ‘Oh s***, they’re doing something that was a out-of-body experience. That’s what we do. So for me, that’s normal. That’s just how I feel about it. It’s not like, ‘Oh, that was crazy what we did.’” — Westbrook on whether the Thunder could build momentum from a 108-91 win on Wednesday against the Warriors.