THUNDER JOURNAL,
MEXICO CITY — Without even a score, Russell Westbrook drew a roar.
The Nets came up empty on their first possession of Thursday night’s game against the Thunder, and when Oklahoma City center Steven Adams rebounded a miss and pitched it to Westbrook, Arena Ciudad de Mexico came alive.
All Westbrook had to do was dribble to wow the crowd. They cheered his first bounce of the ball, and kept cheering as he crossed halfcourt. Before he’d scored a point, the fans let loose a chant that spells respect in any language: “M-V-P! M-V-P!”
The Nets were the home team on the scoreboard Thursday night, but there was little doubt who the fans had come to see.
Westbrook misfired on some shots early — on each came a murmur of anticipation and a groan of disappointment — but he finished the first half with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Hours before the Thunder and Nets tipped off, fans stood outside the arena, many wearing Westbrook’s number 0 jersey, some with large cardboard cutouts of his head. When Westbrook took the court just before the jump ball, he ran to a corner of the court the way he always does, and the courtside fans erupted in cheers.
Though Westbrook said at Thursday’s shootaround he was looking forward to the “chance to see the fans and see the support here,” he hadn’t sampled much in the way of Mexican culture.
“I haven’t been out much,” Westbrook said. “I’ve been kinda in the room chilling. Maybe after the game or (Friday) I’ll have a chance to explore a little bit.”
In and out
Westbrook wasn’t alone in how little he’d seen of Mexico City.
Though the locals spoke a different language and the arena was a new venue, the Thunder’s visit to wasn’t dramatically different from any other in-andout NBA trip.
The Thunder arrived Wednesday evening and went directly from the airport to its hotel, a bus ride of about an hour and 15 minutes, coach Billy Donovan said. There were media responsibilities and a team meal and little time for much else.
“By the time we got finished up with everything, for me it was 8:45, 9 o’clock, and I don’t know my way around Mexico City,” Donovan said. “So I kind of watched film and went to bed.”
The Thunder held its Thursday morning shootaround at The American School, a school with about 2,500 students representing 40 countries, most of them from Mexico or the United States with Mexican ties.
It was a relatively short ride from the Thunder’s hotel — though with traffic here, all short trips are relative.
“I mean, I’m from New York and I think the traffic in New York is bad,” Donovan said. “This is on a totally different level. Thank God we got a police escort.”
The Thunder planned to depart Friday afternoon for Memphis, where it plays the Grizzlies on Saturday, and there wasn’t time for much beyond basketball.
“Everyone’s so lovely here,” center Steven Adams said.
“Well, I think they mean well. I don’t understand them, but they smile and say it.”
Rotation alterations
The Thunder played without starter Paul George (who sat with a right calf contusion) and Jerami Grant (left hip contusion).
Shooting guard Alex Abrines got the start in George’s place, moving Andre Roberson to George’s small forward spot. Abrines finished the first half with five points, two rebounds and two assists.
Patrick Patterson was the Thunder’s first sub, playing minutes that typically go to Grant.
But the Thunder’s most dramatic rotation change was playing Kyle Singler significant first-half minutes.
Singler had played two minutes in the Thunder’s first 23 games.
And Singler didn’t just play on Thursday. In nine first-half minutes, he had five points and two rebounds.
There was no immediate word on the status of George and Grant for Saturday’s game at Memphis.
The two attended Oklahoma City’s shootaround, where the decision was made they wouldn’t be available.