Credit Westbrook, though, for keeping his cool in a game his Thunder would go on to win 108-104. It was not a particularly good shooting night for the hottest thing in the NBA these days, but his overall game remained on target and, by night’s end, his fifth triple double in the past six games was enough to get Oklahoma City over the hump and prevent a second consecutive fourth-quarter comeback by the Raptors here. It was here a year ago that the Raptors scored one of their biggest wins of the year, coming back from nine down after three quarters for the upset. This time around, the deficit after three quarters was seven and, while the Thunder didn’t have Kevin Durant in uniform — he played in last year’s game — Westbrook circa 2015 proved to infinitely better than the Westbrook of a year ago. He finished with 30 points, 17 assists and 11 rebounds despite some early struggles.
A downcast DeMar DeRozan shook his head when asked how difficult it was to control somesome with as many tools as Westbrook, who did everything from rain down three-pointers, drive to the basket, pull down rebounds, and dish off slick passes. “If you find somebody who has slowed him down, let me know. It’s definitely tough. You have to give him credit. Their best player out and he’s stepping up. They’re fighting for a playoff spot,” said DeRozan, who again led the Raptors in scoring with 20 points. Hitting a theme he’s touched on more than a few times this season, Raptors coach Dwane Casey bemoaned his team’s lack of intensity at both ends of the court for a full 48 minutes. “That’s the difference. We have to put together two halves,” said a frustrated-sounding Casey. Even with just three quarters, Westbrook managed to blow a hole through the Raptors defence. Midway through the third quarter, Westbrook hit a wide-open three-pointer to give the Thunder a 71-68 lead. He turned to the cheering crowd, thumped his chest in celebration, and let out a roar. His emotions had been building throughout the game, as he yelled at officials, glowered at the Raptors, and occasionally mugged for the crowd.
Bounce Back Game For T-Ross: In his second game back with the starting lineup, Terrence Ross got back to business. Ross scored 20 points against the Thunder, shooting 7-for-12 from the floor and made a season-high six three-pointers, on 6-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Ross also added four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot in 26 minutes of action. After a brutal stretch to start 2015, a productive Ross in the starting lineup would be a huge boost for the Raptors to close out the season.
Thunder’s MVP candidate, Russell Westbrook, continued putting up historic numbers for his team, registering his fifth triple-double in six games (and seventh of the season). His 30 points led all scorers, his 17 assists tied a career high, and his 11 rebounds, four steals, and one blocked shot were just gravy. Make all the quadruple-double jokes you want about his nine turnovers; he destroyed the Raptors all night long. The Thunder bigs, Serge Ibaka (21 points on 10-for-15 shooting, seven rebounds, five blocks) and Enes Kanter (21 points on 9-for-14 shooting, 12 rebounds, four assists, and a block), gave the Raptors more than they could handle down low as well, as the Thunder scored 52 points in the paint and won the rebounding battle 49-33. Jonas Valanciunas only had one defensive rebound in 30 minutes of action and that’s about all you need to know about his performance. As has been the case more often than not lately, the Raptors will lick their wounds and try to get back in the win column in the next one. They head to Texas to take on the defending champion San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, so it won’t exactly be easy.
Westbrook trip-dubs again, Thunder beat the Raptors 108-104 | Daily Thunder.com
Westbrook notched his seventh triple-double of the season, and his fifth in six games. It was just part of it, kind of ho-hum in a way because he didn’t have 50-15-20, which at this point, almost seems like what it will take to grab our attention. But most importantly, the Thunder won, which hasn’t exactly been a given even with Westbrook’s monster games. The issue in those other games hasn’t been the crunchtime decision-making of Westbrook, which is the easy angle. It was more about the Thunder’s lackluster defense, something that was biting them again for most of this one. But behind an impressive tone set by Andre Roberson out of halftime, the Thunder cranked it up on the defensive end, quit turning the ball over, and let the Westbrook show commence and take them to where they needed to be. Of Westbrook’s 17 assists, 13 went to either Kanter or Serge Ibaka. Five of Kanter’s nine baskets were set up by Westbrook, eight of Ibaka’s 10. Westbrook got the supplementary scoring he needed by creating it himself. And it helped they actually made their looks. “Guys are making shots, man,” Westbrook said. “These guys put a lot of work in throughout the summer, throughout the year, and my job is to find a way to get them easy shots and they’re knocking them down.”
Westbrook Lifts Thunder Over Reeling Raptors | Thunderous Intentions
Let’s make something clear. The version of the Oklahoma City Thunder pre-February 19th would not have won this. This current post-Reggie Jackson squad did, and for more than a few reasons. The team did it’s usual thing, running it’s offense mainly through it’s superstar, but it was the role players who came up big tonight. Enes Kanter, the newly acquired big man, had a double-double, and when OKC couldn’t get shots to fall, all they needed to do was dump it down to Kanter and let the offense flow through him, whether it be a low-post score or a kick-out pass off a double-team. There was no element of any of that a month ago.
In addition to his triple-double, Westbrook had 9 turnovers. The second quarter was especially ugly, with Westbrook racking up 5 turnovers in the frame. Other than that, Westbrook was spectacular. He knocked down a long midrange jumper, and two free throws in the final minute that would prove to be too much to overcome for Toronto. Enes Kanter and Serge Ibaka were on the receiving end of most of Westbrook’s dimes. The starting big men for the Thunder combined for 42 points, 19 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 blocks.
Toronto Raptors struck down by the Oklahoma City Thunder | Raptors Cage
The Raptors finished the game shooting only 42.9% from the field and only 40% from beyond the arc. There were many moments in the game where Raptors fans across the country let out collective groans at the questionable shot selection, particularly by Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. In addition, when your starting bigs only score 14 points on only 15 shots, your team is one that is easily shut down. The performance of Terrence Ross was a notable bright spot. Ross put up 20 points and hit a season high six threes. If Ross can somehow make this kind of performance a regular thing, it would go a LONG way in breaking the Raptors out of their serious struggles.
Desperation continues to elude Raps in OKC loss | TSN
Of greater concern, the Raptors seem to have lost their edge in the fourth quarter, a time of the game they dominated in 2013-14. Outscoring opponents by 195 points in the fourth last year, the best mark in the Association, they’ve dropped to 13th in that category this season, besting teams by just 11 points overall. They’ve been outscored by 55 in the final frame since Jan. 1, ranking 27th over that span. On Sunday they flashed some of that rare late-game magic. Trailing by seven after three quarters and by as many as 12 early in the fourth, DeMar DeRozan and the Raptors made a push, cutting the deficit to two with 15 seconds remaining. Appropriately, Westbrook sunk the game-sealing free throws. He had hit the dagger moments earlier. DeRozan was asked how tough it is to slow down Westbrook, a legitimate MVP candidate, after the game. “If you find somebody who has slowed him down, let me know,” the Raptors’ guard responded. Few have of late. With Durant sidelined, the point guard has taken his game to another level. His critics are still out there. ‘He’s inefficient, he’s not clutch’, some say. He was both of those things and then some against Toronto, recording 30 points, 11 rebounds and 17 assists for his fifth triple-double in the last six games.
Jonas Valančiūnas: Toronto’s Difference Maker | The Pick and Roll
Casey often looks past Valančiūnas in favour for a more mobile front court of Amir Johnson and Patrick Patterson. When healthy, Amir Johnson is a hyperactive monster on both ends of the court. However he has been riddled with ankle injuries this season, and simply doesn’t have the size to match up with opposing centres. Patterson provides a valuable outside game, shooting 39% from beyond the arc this season. Patterson is great on pick and roll coverages, however he struggles mightily on the boards, never averaging over six rebounds per game. Both Patterson and Amir mesh well with Valančiūnas, however when they are the only bigs on the floor, it can cause problems for the Raptors on the boards, as well as defense. Defense and rebounding have been an issue for Toronto this season, ranking 26th in rebounds per game and a lackluster 22nd in opponents points per game. Valančiūnas has struggled on pick and roll coverage, still learning the nuance of an NBA defense. However he is Toronto’s only real rim protector, especially with Amir Johnson’s injury issues this season. Valančiūnas is leading the team in rebounds per game, while being second to James Johnson in blocks per game, with just over one block per contest. While Johnson and Patterson give Casey the ability to switch coverage and scramble more on defense, the lack of rim protection when Valančiūnas hits the pine has been problematic for the Raptors, who have struggled to stop teams from having their way in the paint.
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