Thunder beats Minnesota Timberwolves 115-111 to extend their on the road winning streak to 8 games, and also to prevent a would have been season low 3 losses in a row.
If people were doubting Thunder without Westbrook, they've just been proven incredibly wrong, by one man, the ultimate team player, Kevin Durant. The way KD gathered the team around him and managed to lead Thunder to victory from 13 points down in the 3rd quarter was nothing short of magical.
An all around impressive performance saw Durant end the game with an NBA season high 48 points and also 7 assists and 7 rebounds.
Thunder had struggled in their past 2 matches especially in the 4th quarter where they lost to both Portland and Brooklyn with especially poor showings in the last quarter. It was an extra incentive for KD to show that not only were those matches unfortunate accidents, but that Thunder is as strong as always even with star point guard Russel Westbrook still out after his 3rd knee surgery.
But let's not take anything away from the team and coach Brooks. The bench produced a lot of points for OKC today as well with a total of 40, players like Fisher(13 points), Lamb (9 points), or Adams (10 points) being in good form.
Let's not kid ourselves, Westbrook's injury will continue to cause problems for Thunder, and his absence is definitely felt, but it also provides a great opportunity for the team to grow as a whole and for the substitute players to improve both in quality of play and in confidence. OKC need their entire roster to win the NBA Championship this year, and with Kevin Durant in top form, with a more effective bench and with Westbrook returning, Thunder's Championship hopes are very much alive.
Players to watch are:
Jeremy Lamb, a second year pro, very young and getting better with each passing match. Scored an all time high 22 points for him 3 matches ago, and was strong against Minnesota as well with 9 points, and 8 rebounds of which 6 were defensive, also 5/5 free throws even after getting slightly injured in the last minutes of the 4th quarter. This kid is going places and with Durant, Ibaka and Westbrook at his side, he really has a lot of potential in growing into a star.
Reggie Jackson has been tasked with taking up WB's responsibilities and he is making the best of this opportunity. Another quiet but important performance from him with 10 points/4 rebounds and 4/4 free throws.
Oklahoma will return in front of their home fans to face the Boston Celtics and should have great morale in what needs to be a return to form at home after losing their previous 2 matches.
Expect a very strong showing from Thunder, Durant is in top form, and Oklahoma clearly are a world class team even without their all star point guard.
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