Thunder 109 – Bulls 94 | Rapid Recap

The Thunder GuysJanuary 10, 2017 No Comments

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a solid night in the Windy City defeating the Chicago Bulls 109-94. Chicago took a 2-0 lead to start the game, but Oklahoma City quickly went ahead, and while the Bulls were able to tie it a few times early, by the end of the first period, the Thunder were off to the races with the lead. Oklahoma City was up by 6 after the first quarter, and thanks to an 18-6 run to end the second, the Thunder led 61-46 at the half. Oklahoma City stretched its lead to 89-67 after three quarters and maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the fourth to come away with its second victory in as many games.

game-39-recap-bulls

‘Stache Brothers Steamroll Bulls

Steven Adams and Enes Kanter have been consistently playing their best basketball of the season lately, and their impressive performances have often come at the same time, which was the case against the Bulls. Tonight marked the second time that both players finished with at least 20 points. The other occurrence came on Christmas Day in a victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Tonight, Adams finished with 22 points on 11/14 (78.6%), and Kanter had 20 points on 9/11 (81.8%). Kanter also added 11 rebounds to give him a double-double, while Adams grabbed 5 boards. Without a doubt, when the ‘Stache Bros are rolling, the Thunder are nearly unstoppable.

Team Ball Spells Victory

Oklahoma City played one of its best all-around games of the season, and the box score proves it. The Thunder shot a season-high 56.6% from the field and had a season-high 30 assists tonight against the Bulls, surpassing their previous high of 29, which they had done three other teams this season.

Russell Westbrook led the way for the Thunder with 21 points on 9/18 shooting, 14 assists, and 9 rebounds, but he had plenty of help from his teammates. Steven Adams and Enes Kanter dominated in the paint for a combined 42 points and 16 rebounds, and Victor Oladipo added 13 points on 6/9 (66.7%) shooting to go with 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Andre Roberson was the next highest scorer with 8 points on 3/5 (60%) from the field along with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a block. Domantas Sabonis was the only starter who really struggled to find his shot as he scored 5 points on 1/5 (20%) from the field, but he did make all 3 of his free throw attempts. Sabonis also added 5 rebounds and an assist.

Off the bench, Alex Abrines had 7 points on 3/6 (50%) shooting, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block. Jerami Grant also had 7 points on 3/6 (50%) shooting, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks. Joffrey Lauvergne added 6 points on 2/3 (66.7%) shooting. Cameron Payne had a rough night as he did not score missing all 6 of his shots, but he did have 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

Grizzlies At the Peake

The Thunder head home to take on the Grizzlies at home on Wednesday. The Grizzlies destroyed the Thunder 114-80 in Memphis just under two weeks ago, so Oklahoma City will be looking for retribution at the Peake. The Grizzlies are 10-9 on the road and have won 3 of their 5 games since their first matchup with the Thunder. Tip-off is set for 7 PM CST and will be televised on ESPN. It will also be broadcast on the radio at WWLS 98.1 FM.

Article written by Zack Low. Follow @TheThunderGuys on Twitter and Instagram.

Leave a Reply