Westbrook seizes control vs. Warriors by stepping back PAGE 3B
OAKLAND, CALIF. — The play was understated. That’s why it stood out.
Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook had picked off a pass by Golden State’s Klay Thompson. Now Westbrook was alone on the opposite side of the court with the ball in his hands. He could dunk and make an early statement. But he didn’t. Instead, controlled and deliberate, Westbrook laid the ball off the glass and into the hoop.
That choice foreshadowed Westbrook’s approach to the rest of the Thunder’s 123-95 win at Golden State on Wednesday. Westbrook wasn’t flashy. He didn’t get swept up in the moment, in what may have been OKC’s last game at Oracle Arena, playing in front of a sold-out crowd that booed him to start the game. Instead, Westbrook decided the best way to help his team win was in an understated role. In the process, Westbrook logged his first triple-double of the season.
“My job is to see the game, read the game,” Westbrook said Wednesday night. “The game will tell you what you need to do. As a point guard I am responsible to facilitate
and have control of the game. That is what I try to do.”
Westbrook’s shot wasn’t falling. That became clear early on, when he scored just one of his four shot attempts in the first quarter. If he wasn’t going to score in bunches, he was going to make sure someone on his team would.
That guy on Wednesday was fellow point guard Dennis Schroder.
“He is aggressive and makes plays,” Westbrook said. “... Tonight he was aggressive enough to knock down shots.”
Aggressive enough to score 32 points.
It took Schroder a quarter to warm up offensively. He scored just two points in the first quarter and then added a pair of free throws and a mid-range jump shot just before Westbrook subbed back in about five minutes into the second quarter.
But with Schroder still on the floor, Westbrook didn’t take over right away. Instead, he let Schroder run the point for several possessions
while he played off the ball.
“He did some really good things in the first half with the ball in his hands,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said of Schroder. “He generates a good offense for us. Then I thought in the second half he got going from the 3-point line and started helping the team with his 3s to give us some separation.”
Paul George also took turns taking the ball down the court. He and Schroder put their ability to drive to the basket to use, contributing to the Thunder’s
66 points in the paint.
In the space between, Westbrook would do things like kick pass out to Schroder on the perimeter to sink a 3-pointer, dart in to collect an offensive rebound swatted down by Steven Adams and create a scoring opportunity for George, or get open for a shot himself.
After trading the lead with the Warriors for the first 15 minutes of the game, the Thunder took a 60-46 lead going into halftime. Westbrook had examined the game and quietly prescribed exactly what his team needed.
Three things to know
•After a 123-95 win against the Warriors, the Thunder overtook Boston for the No. 1 defense in the league. The Thunder is allowing 102.6 points per 100 possessions to Boston’s 102.8.
•Hornets guard Kemba Walker is averaging 28.8 points per game, fourth in the NBA, including 39.7 points in his last three games. Walker had games of 60 and 43 points in the past week.
•Among players averaging 20 minutes or more per game, Steven Adams is 10th in the NBA in point differential per 100 possessions when he’s in the game (12.2). Paul George is 15th (10.0).