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Quarter by Quarter observations
First Quarter
Thabo is on Caron Butler, KD is picking up Miller, and Green is on Jamison.
Jeff Green has been active on the offensive glass so far this game he has a couple of offensive rebounds and a slam dunk off of a miss by Westbrook.
The Thunder has had great success driving the lane and is getting the easy shots. Westbrook, Durant, and Green have all gotten into the act. Even Sefolosha drove across the lane and got the short shot to beat the clock.
With Collison and Thomas in Jamison and Heywood are looking like superstars. The defense is sloppy and Etan Thomas is just getting abused down low by Heywood. Thomas came in for Heywood and the Wizards almost immediately went to him and got the easy bucket. It is pretty obvious that Heywood is very confident going up against Thomas. Collison on Jamison is also not a good matchup for the Thunder, Collison is not able to stay with the quicker Jamison and he is just driving to the basket at will.
Harden has hit his first two shots both for three, so it nice to see his hot shooting carry over into this game.
Score to end the Quarter 32-29 Thunder
Second Quarter
Durant is still able to get into the lane virtually at will. As long as he keeps making those short jumpers the Wizards will eventually have to adjust or continue to give up easy baskets.
The Thunder is not playing good defense right now. They are leaving shooters wide open on the perimeter. Kevin Ollie is just looking lost; he keeps getting destroyed on screens. It looks like he is trying to run into the screener even when there is room to go over or under.
Jamison while Green is in the game 1-4 two points, Jamison while Green is on the bench 5-5 11 points. I thought the Thunder would have an advantage when the benches came in but Washington is abusing Thomas down low. Heywood is 2-2 for 4 points and 5 rebounds against Thomas and Blatche is 3-5 for 6 points a rebound and a block.
Score to finish the half 62-55 Thunder
Half
The Thunder starters are outplaying the Wizards starters by leaps and bounds. The Wizards bench is outperforming the Thunder bench by bounds. Collison was pulled after playing only 2:21 because Jamison was able to beat him consistently off the dribble for easy buckets. The Wizards bigs have been all over Thomas, down low has been one area the Wizards have been able to go to get good looks at the basket. KD has been able to get into the lane at will and is hitting the short jumpers the Wizard defense is giving him; Jeff Green has exploded tonight 17 points on 7-12 shooting and 10 rebounds already. Westbrook has played well if not spectacular 3-7 and 2-4 from three 3 assists and 1 turnover. The real story of the night has been Thabo Sefolosha he is cutting to the basket and getting easy shots 5-9 for 11 points so far. The Thunder need to keep on doing what they have been getting into the lane and getting easy shots and be prepared for when the Wizards adjust to cut those shots off. Krstic will probably play a much bigger part in the second half than he did in the first. The Thunder also need to find someone that can defend Jamison when Green is not on the court, maybe Ibaka or White will get in the game or even Weaver and go with a smaller lineup that can focus more on defense.
Third Quarter
The Wizards made a run following a couple of mistakes by the Thunder but the Thunder did a good job of staying focused and rebounded well to extend the lead to 9 by the end of the quarter. Jeff Green followed his big first half with a lot of defense but not much else. He only took one shot but played effective defense on Jamison and held him to 3-8 shooting for the third quarter. Thabo looked hurt after coming down on Miller's ankle but was able to return shortly after leaving. The Thunder did not start the quarter with a lot of energy and intensity but picked it up shortly after the Wizards went on a 9-4 run to cut the lead to 1.
Score to finish the Quarter 95-86 Thunder
Fourth Quarter
The Wizards are running and the Thunder are getting caught up in the swing of things. With the increased defensive pressure the Wizards are bringing the Thunder is turning the ball over and not getting good shots which has allowed the Wizards to get back into the game. The Wizards cut the lead to eight a couple of times but the Thunder have rallied back to regain control of the game. Earl Boykins has come in a given the Wizards a spark he is flying into the lane and getting layups and short jump shots.
The Thunder are now pulling away now they held the Wizards to 1 point over the last 3 minutes while scoring 12 of their own.
All in all a good win over a team that has some offensive firepower. Don't get confused by the record, while the Wizards are only 3-8 they have not had Antawn Jamison and former all-star power forward for the first 9 games of this season. This is a good team that between Arenas, Jamison, and Butler can score with anyone in the league. Two days after beating the Cavaliers 108-91 at home they come to OKC and lose 127-108. So using the popular college football theory of logic chains, which I understand mean nothing in the real world and in fact are even less than useless, if the Cavaliers are -17 against the Wizards when they score 108 and OKC is +19 when the Wizards score 108 that means OKC should beat Cleveland by 36.
Score to finish the Game 127-102 Thunder
The Good and The Bad individually
The Good
Russell Westbrook
Hustle had a good night shooting 6-12 and 3-6 from three for 26 points and 7 assists and 5 turnovers. Hustle had a good game his ability to get into the lane was key in building a lead and keeping it. He shot a season high 12 free throws and sank 11. And let us not forget the defense, he spent the first half on Arenas and most of the second on Butler. While he is not the stopper Sefolosha is Westbrook still was able to keep Arenas relatively quiet during his turn guarding him.
Jeff Green
Only had 1 made basket on 3 tries after half, and added 4 rebounds to finish with 14. Again another Thunder player that put his stamp on this game with defense as opposed to offense, Jamison finished 9-17 and did not take a shot after the third quarter.
Kevin Durant
KD came into tonight after the 4-12 debacle at Orlando and made a statement. 35 points 12-22 and 10-13 from the line, there was nothing Washington could do to slow him down. It seemed as if he could get into the lane at will and make any shot he took.
James Harden
Tonight Harden had his shot going, this is what the Thunder were hoping to get when they drafted him 3rd overall. That's not to say he hasn't been contributing to the Thunder before tonight, just that he hasn't been scoring like we all assumed he would. 8-11 from the field 4-6 from three and 5-6 from the line, tonight Harden drove the lane and made big shots from the perimeter.
The Bad
Kevin Ollie had a turnover and looked out of synch early on in the first half. Collison played a little over 2 minutes due to his inability to defend Jamison. Late in the fourth quarter the Wizards picked up the defensive intensity and started pressuring the Thunder full court. The Thunder had difficulty dealing with full court pressure and were sucked into playing the game the Wizards wanted to play. Etan Thomas was pretty much a nonfactor tonight and the Thunder went with a small lineup for part of the game.
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