Thunder bounces back with year-ending rout of Mavs
Thunder wrap up 2018 with 122-102 win
Russell Westbrook had found his spot.
It was almost as if he couldn’t miss from around the left elbow. On a jumper midway through the third quarter, Westbrook’s shot bounced off and rolled around the rim and it still fell through the net.
This was a different Westbrook than the Mavericks had seen the night before, as OKC blew the Mavericks away 122-102 at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Monday.
The night after he shot 4-of-22, Westbrook scored 32 points on 24 shots.
“I see very little letdown in any game of his, let along one where he was 4-for-22,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said before Monday’s game. “... A guy with that kind of capability and talent, it’s like last night, you’ve got to get lucky. You’ve got to
hope they’re off a little bit and then be in perfect position to try to make it tough.”
But the Mavericks weren’t in position to disrupt the rhythm Westbrook found with his midrange jumper on the left side. He had missed a bank shot from there the night before, but on Monday those misses were rare.
With two minutes left in the first half, the Thunder leading 54-36, Westbrook banked a midrange shot in from the left side. On the Thunder’s next possession he cleared his own way to the exact same spot, sinking it and forcing the Mavs to call a timeout.
He made seven non paint 2-point shots from the left side, sometime switching it up by drawing his defender past his favorite spot and then kicking it back out — often to Jerami Grant — for his teammate to take a 3-point shot or drive to the rim himself.
With Westbrook’s midrange shot and ball distribution clicking, he only felt the need to take one 3-point shot. The night before he had gone 0-of-8 from beyond the arc.
Those 3-point shots were open for Westbrook, and much of the Thunder, purposefully.
“We’ve definitely seen more available jump shots,” Donovan said before the game. “I’d say most teams are defending us that way.”
How, other than making those deep shots, could the Thunder unclog the paint? Get out in transition.
The Thunder outscored the Mavericks 26-12 on fast break points, fueled by an impressive defensive and defensive rebounding (35 defensive rebounds) performance.
Westbrook’s four steals also helped.
Less than three minutes into the second half, Westbrook reached around DeAndre Jordan and smacked the ball out of his hands. Terrance Ferguson picked it up and scored on the other end. Westbrook ran parallel to him, greeting his with an exaggerated hand slap after he scored to give the Thunder an 18-point lead.
Two and a half minutes later, Westbrook picked Wesley Matthews’ pocket and took the ball to the rim himself.
On Monday, unlike the night before, the Thunder wasn’t looking for a last-second shot from Westbrook to save the day. OKC had clearly avenged Sunday night’s 105-103 loss in Dallas long before that. Westbrook subbed out with three minutes still left on the clock, ending 2018 on a good note.