Forced turnovers keep Thunder in the game against Raptors
TORONTO -- The Thunder knew it had to do better at limiting turnovers after its first game against the Raptors. It couldn't let Toronto beat it in transition.
So when OKC got out of the first half with fewer turnovers than the Raptors, it was a good sign. The problem was that the Raptors did a better job converting those turnovers into points.
In the Thunder's eventual 116- 109 win Friday, OKC kept itself within 10 points of Toronto at the end of the first half by forcing 12 turnovers and scoring 10 points off those turnovers. The Raptors scored the same amount off six Thunder turnovers.
The Thunder's first- half turnovers were spread across its roster – Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroder led the team with two apiece. Thunder center Steven Adams committed his halfway through the first quarter. As he went down under the Thunder's basket,
Kawhi Leonard plucked the ball from his hands. On the other end of the floor, Danny Green got the ball to Serge Ibaka for a hook shot.
In contrast, one of the Thunder's smoothest steals came with about four minutes left in the second quarter. In one motion, Westbrook intercepted a pass and threw one of his own behind his back. But Westbrook's second steal of the night didn't result in the fast break points the Thunder coveted. Schroder turned the ball over before he could get a shot off.
The Raptors returned the favor by missing a shot on the other end, but at least they got the chance to take one.
Paul George, like Westbrook, also finished the first half with three steals.
Green thumb
“We got caught in rotation, a couple scramble situations,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said at shootaround Friday of Green's 3-point shooting in the previous matchup. “But a lot of it was transition, rotations, we've got to do a better job matching up.”
OKC did do a better job of picking up Green in transition Friday, but he still made his first four 3-poiont shots. Most weren't in transition, but the fourth was.
Jeremy Lin found Green in the left corner for his fourth straight 3-pointer. Terrance Ferguson matched up on him. He got a hand in his face and pulled it down after Green finished his shot, making sure he didn't foul. Ferguson didn't, but Green also made the contested shot.