No N.O. win
Thunder fell to the Pelicans, 118-114.
NEW ORLEANS — For all of the frustration that’s come with finding his rhythm on offense this season, Russell Westbrook hasn’t quit.
He certainly didn’t when the Thunder was down seven with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter on Wednesday.
“It was big time,” Dennis Schroder said. “I told him I needed one more after the first one (steal).”
The Smoothie King Center was ready to party. With two swipes, Westbrook made the party wait in a 118-114 Thunder loss.
Westbrook forced two turnovers in a span of 18 seconds to give the Thunder life. His swipe and steal led to a layup on the fast break, then another deflection created a three-point play for Paul George on the break to cut the Pelicans’ lead from seven to two.
“Just a big time play down the stretch, a winning play,” Schroder said. “But we came up short.”
There were a couple of reasons. One was
Anthony Davis, who thoroughly dominated his second matchup with Steven Adams this season with 44 points and 18 rebounds.
The Pelicans star made it look easy while Westbrook had to fight for every point. Even so, Westbrook found a rhythm on offense without pressing, scoring 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, while keeping the ball moving within the flow of the offense.
“Old mate does a great job always; he attracts a lot of attention,” Adams said. “Just a read. He made the right read. Just one of those transition plays where it’s a tough scramble.”
Then, Westbrook’s flurry of quick hands bought the Thunder extra possessions.
“Just trying to make a play,” Westbrook said. “With the game on the line, you’ve got to try to make a play to give yourself a chance to win.”
Too bad the Thunder’s free throw woes made winning more difficult.
The Thunder outshot the Pelicans from the field and the 3-point line, but made just 17-of-27 free throws to New Orleans’ 24-of-30, Westbrook and Adams combining to shoot just 8-of-15.
“You want to make all of them, that’s the goal,” Adams said. “Sometimes it just doesn’t do the thing you want them to do.”
That difference would have been big added to Westbrook’s late effort and calculated game to close.
New Orleans’ Julius Randle missed two free throws with 10.1 seconds left to give the Thunder another shot. As Westbrook drove on the Thunder’s final true possession, he kicked out to Alex Abrines, who missed a 3-pointer from the right wing.
“Just executing,” Westbrook said. “Taking the time to get the shots we want. Miss or make, we’re going to live by them.”
It wasn’t Westbrook’s best game. There were seven turnovers to go with four steals. But it came with positives: Late trust. Key defensive plays. The re-emergence of his aggressive drive game.
“As long as we win, I’m good. It’s not really about me,” Westbrook said earlier in the day. “My job is to make sure we win games and that’s it.
“I think a lot of times, people get caught up in what I’m doing, how I’m doing, and don’t worry about our team is winning — we’re No. 1 in the West.
“That’s all that matters and that’s all I care about is winning. I know what I’m able to do, and I don’t really worry about none of the other stuff. It’s irrelevant.”
Now, if the Thunder could make some foul shots.