Winning ways
The Oklahoma City Thunder took on the Washington Wizards Thursday, winning 121-112
The Wizards’ Bradley Beal took the ball wide of his body and fired a onehanded bounce pass. Just not quite wide enough.
Paul George deflected the ball, grabbed it and zipped his own bounce pass, into the open court for Russell Westbrook to run down. Which he did and dunked to give the Thunder some third-quarter cushion in an eventual 121-112 victory Thursday night over Washington.
George’s favorite play of the night. But it came with some criticism.
“He gotta start doing more tricks on the fast break,” George said with his deadpan delivery. “I’m getting tired of his little normal dunks. He’s too athletic to be doing these normal dunks.”
Funny man. These guys keep saying they love playing together. What if it’s true?
Westbrook and George, two great players that go great together. By the testimony of a great cloud of witnesses and the stars themselves.
The Thunder has won six straight and is starting to look like a team that
could make some playoff noise. The never-trailed performance against Washington was the perfect end to a 24-hour period that made Oklahoma hearts jump. Late Wednesday, ESPN released a clip from a PG13 interview in which he claimed his impending free agency decision is trending more and more Thunder blue.
“Russ is the reason this decision is becoming even easier to make, is the character he has,” George told ESPN. “A standup guy. He has his teammates’ back ... that’s my guy forever, and it’s more apparent what this decision needs to be made when it comes down to it.”
George’s heart was warmed by Westbrook’s impassioned rebuke of a process that kept George out of the All-Star Game. So he said what every Oklahoman wants to hear. He just might re-sign with the Thunder, despite the siren song of the Lakers asking him to come home.
It’s all just words, of course. George can’t have this heart to break. Not after Kevin Durant. We’ll believe he’s staying when we see the dried signature on a new contract.
But this much is true. These guys are great together. Maybe not as majestic as the Westbrook/Durant pairing that thrilled us for so many winters. But still quite potent. Still a pairing that sends shivers up the spines of the rest of the NBA. Westbrook’s never-stop motor. George’s deliberate attacks.
“It’s the best of both worlds,” George said. “Russ is one of the most explosive, athletic guys, and I’m the opposite of that. My game is more smooth. We complement each other very well. We have fun. We enjoy playing with one another.”
That was apparent on another cool play — a Westbrook steal, followed by a mad dash upcourt and a pass to George, who lobbed it right back for a dunk. The Wizards’ John Wall fouled to ruin the moment, but man, but George and Westbrook are quite the combo in the open court.
“We’re great” together, Westbrook said. “We’re good. We learn off each other. Reading. Making plays easy for each other. He’s getting me open shots. I’m getting him open shots. We’re constantly trying to make each other better.”
The beauty of George is that even when he has an off night offensively — six of 19 shooting vs. the Wizards — his impact on the game is large. George’s defense was suffocating in the first half, when the Wizards were held to 20 points in each quarter.
More George and Westbrook hijinks — Westbrook has passed George for the NBA lead in steals. They rank 1-2 in the league.
“They feed off each other,” said teammate Raymond Felton. “Two different games, but they combine equally. Those guys, sometimes it’s amazing to watch. When they’re playing at a high level ... we’re going to be hard to beat. We’re a fun team. It’s going in the right direction.”
Felton means this season. But around here, we have to worry about the long-term, too. And that’s a good way to term George’s summertime free agency decision — going in the right direction, from a Thunder perspective.
“Being alongside Russ, he’s a team-first guy,” George said Thursday. “He’s a really good dude, and it’s great to be around guys like that, that work extremely hard and make it easier for me to put the work in. It makes it fun to put the work in, and just somebody that you can enjoy this process with. That’s what makes it attractive being here and playing alongside Russ.”
Again, we’re not going to sell out on George staying. Hurts too much to get your hopes up. For now, we’ll just enjoy the show and hope later.