Thunder 102 – Hawks 99 | Rapid Recap

The Thunder GuysDecember 6, 2016 No Comments

The Thunder earned their sixth straight win 102-99 against the Atlanta Hawks. Tonight was an excellent team effort in which every player that entered the game scored. Oklahoma City definitely struggled at several moments throughout this game, but ultimately pushed through the adversity to come out on top.

Let’s Talk About the Issues

The Thunder is on a pretty impressive win streak, but that does not mean there aren’t any issues. Oklahoma City finished 64.3% on 18-28 shooting from the free throw line, which makes this the second game in a row that the team has struggled from the line. Just about everyone missed a free throw or two tonight. This is something that this team must improve on to continue to have success.

The team has also been plagued with  a lot of turnovers lately. The Thunder finished the game with 19 turnovers, but got a bit lucky in the fact that the Hawks had 18 of their own. Russell Westbrook did a much better job taking care of the ball as he finished with only four turnovers. Considering the time of possession for Westbrook, having four isn’t bad at all, but still something he will be looking to improve on.

Westbrook’s Streak Continues

Russell Westbrook continued his incredible streak of triple-doubles tonight as he recorded his sixth straight. The Brodie finished with 32 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists. What makes this triple-double more impressive is that it came with 6 minutes to go in the third quarter. Russ also put together an impressive shooting clinic late in the game. He started the game 1-8 from the field but finished 10-22.

A lot of people are questioning his ability to continue this level of play each and every night. When you watch him throughout the course of a game it seems as if he actually gets better toward the end. Just when you think he’s gone cold or has run out of energy, he goes on his own 10 point scoring run to give the team exactly what they need. Westbrook seemed to get a pretty lengthy break tonight which I’m sure was much needed. However, exhaustion doesn’t seem to be anything to worry about with this guy.

Everyone Contributes

Not only did every play score tonight for the Thunder, but the team finished with five guys in double-digit scoring. Westbrook and Oladipo came out and did their thing which was expected, but several other guys came up huge in this one. Steven Adams put together a fairly quiet double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The best big man combo in the league continues to impress as Enes Kanter finished with 10 points as well.

Anthony Morrow had a pretty slow game last night against the Pelicans, but found his shot again tonight against the Hawks. He finished the night with 15 points and 2 rebounds, and shot an impressive 4-6 from beyond the arc. If A-Mo can keep this kind of performance up, he can be that extra scoring threat that this team needs off the bench.

Up Next

The Thunder will have a few days off before they are back in Oklahoma City to play the Houston Rockets on Friday night. The game will start at 7:00 PM CST and will be televised on FSOK and ESPN. It will also be broadcast on the radio at WWLS 98.1 FM.

Article written by Craig Hofeld. Follow @TheThunderGuys on Twitter and Instagram. 

Leave a Reply