OKC Thunder gain road victory over Pelicans behind solid shooting
The OKC Thunder pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the New Orleans Pelicans by a score of 121-110.
Isn’t it amazing how good this team can look once they start hitting their perimeter shots? This was an overall good win for the OKC Thunder as they were in control pretty much throughout the entire game. The New Orleans Pelicans offered some resistance in the third quarter, but the Thunder caught fire in the fourth to pull out the road win.
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Oklahoma City’s bench play was ultimately the deciding factor in this one. as every player on their bench had a plus in the +/- category. One star shined brighter than the rest though, as Alex Abrines got his opportunity to prove that he belongs in this league and on this team.
Nov 22, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Abrines (8) shoots the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second quarter at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Abrines provided the Thunder with the three-point shooting that this team has severely lacked on multiple occasions in this early portion of the season. Abrines went 5-11 from three-point range (with a couple of heat checks mixed in there). Those five threes brought the teams total to 11 on close to 40% shooting from downtown which is great to see.
Other notables from the Thunder bench are Enes Kanter, who came through with the monster double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Joffrey Lauvergne, who contributed a smooth 10 points and 6 rebounds while always seeming to be in the right place at the right time on defense.
Then there is a player named Russell Westbrook with arguably his most quiet 40+ point game simply because of how well the bench was playing without him on the court. Russ did finish with 42 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists while adding some daggers at the end of the fourth quarter to keep the pelicans at arms length.
The best of which came in the form of a three-pointer that put the thunder back up by double digits right after Langston Galloway cut the lead to eight with his own three-pointer. It is also worth noting that he only finished with four turnovers which is actually less that his season average. Improvement!
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As for the Pelicans, there wasn’t much they could do about this one. One team got hot from three-point land in the last frame, (something Thunder fans have been on the wrong side of too many times) and there wasn’t enough fire power on the team to combat it.
6′ tall Tim Frazier drew the task of guarding Westbrook down the stretch which is a recipe for disaster. Anthony Davis finished with 34 points and 15 rebounds, but at this point that’s just considered normal for him.
This was an important win without the services of Victor Oladipo for the fifth consecutive game. More importantly tonight marked what is the first of many impending road games as the OKC Thunder will play 15 of their next 20 games away from home.
The Thunder will look to start another winning streak as they travel to Boston to face the Celtics on Friday at 7:30 ET.
