Thunder conquers Kings
OKC beat Sacramento on Monday at The Peake, 106-101.
Sometimes it seems Russell Westbrook can do anything on a basketball court.
But even the Thunder guard can’t walk through walls.
That’s why the Sacramento Kings worked so hard to build one around the deep paint Monday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena, why they went under screens and crowded the lane and looked for ways to keep the Thunder from the rim.
It might have worked, too, if not for the 3-point shot, a fickle weapon that served the Thunder well in a 106-101 win Monday.
“All they’re saying is, ‘If you make 3s, cool. We’re living with that. We’ll take our chances on that,’” Oklahoma City center Steven Adams said. “That’s all they’re saying if they go under (screens) all the time without no adjustments.”
The Kings lived with that philosophy and the Thunder survived by taking advantage of it.
Oklahoma City hit 16 of 36 3-pointers, getting its biggest long-range contributions from its shooting stars — Westbrook,
Paul George and Carmelo Anthony
George, Anthony and Westbrook went a combined 11 of 19 from 3-point range. They entered the game a combined 41 of 151 (27.1 percent) from long distance since the NBA All-Star break.
“The way (the Kings) were playing,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said, “they made a decision they were really gonna try to pack the paint, and they really tried to take away our penetration. Outside of some rolls to the basket, it was really hard to get to the rim.”
In the end it got them a win, one the Thunder desperately needed. It jumped, at least temporarily, to fourth place in the wild Western Conference standings, and hit a season-high 11 games over .500.
Sacramento made 12 3-pointers of its own. It lit up the Thunder for 39 third-quarter points and took a 79-78 lead into the fourth. Oklahoma City never pulled away by more than 10 points.
The Kings shot just 40.9 percent, but got
some easy baskets around the rim and limited the Thunder’s looks there. Jamming the paint helped Sacramento outscore OKC 44-34 in the paint.
“That’s their game plan, is to pack the paint,” Westbrook said. “So we found open guys.”
And those open guys knocked down shots, all game long.
Anthony hit three triples in the first quarter, George three in the second.
In the fourth quarter, the Thunder’s bench did the long-range work. Alex Abrines hit a pair of 3-pointers and Terrance Ferguson sank one. That outside shooting helped open up the inside, at least a little. The Thunder outscored the Kings 12-10 in the paint in the fourth, the only quarter in which that was the case.
George, who had made 18 of 69 3-pointers since the All-Star break, was 4 for 9 outside the arc Monday. Anthony was 5 for 7 after making 18 of 51 post-break.
Westbrook had made 5 of 31 since the break and hit 2 of 3 attempts in a 17-point, 10-rebound, 11-assist triple-double.
George and Anthony, buoyed by the long ball, each scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds.