Led by Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City won their fifth straight game with the 100-79 over the New Orleans Hornets. Westbrook contributed his eighth double-double of the season with 18 points, 10 assists. He had nine points and four rebounds in the third quarter alone. The win improves the Thunder to 14-4 overall and 5-2 on the road and drops the Hornets to 4-11 on the season.
With their second trip to the bayou, the Thunder came out and started the first quarter strong. Oklahoma City led by as many as nine points in the quarter, and used a stretch midway through the quarter to give them some distance between the Hornets. Oklahoma City led by only three points at 17-14 with 4:07 left, Kevin Martin had six points in the final four minutes to allow Oklahoma City some separation.
Oklahoma City opened the second quarter with a 15-4 lead to give the Thunder a 45-27 lead with 6:20 remaining in the quarter. The 18 point lead was the largest lead for the Thunder at that point. The Hornets weren’t quite done yet though. New Orleans used a 8-0 run to get within 10 points with 3:32 to left in the quarter off Ryan Anderson hitting free throws. Anderson would hit a three, cutting the Thunder lead down to 10 at halftime at 54-44.
Russell Westbrook was on a mission in the third quarter. He had nine points, four assists in the third quarter alone. The Thunder expanded their 12 point halftime lead to 27 points at 84-27. The climax was when Russell Westbrook hit a three from 30 feet away at the buzzer to just slam the door shut on the bees.
Keys of the Game
Turnovers: B
Outside of Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City did really well with the turnovers. We’re not even going to discredit Russell for his turnovers. He was a man on bath salts tonight. He just was everywhere. He caused three turnovers on steals alone. Oklahoma City forced 15 turnovers, leading to 20 points for the Thunder. Good showing.
Score Points!: A
Oklahoma city had 84 at the end of three quarters, and that was enough to beat the Hornets. Oklahoma City is the highest scoring team in the league. They showed it by scoring over 100 points again, for it seems like the billionth time this season. Something Oklahoma City is getting this year, is points from the reserves in garbage time. Good to see as well.
Three Ball: A
Thunder shot over 40 percent again from deep. It was huge in separating themselves from the Hornets in the third quarter. One the other side of the court, Oklahoma City forced the Hornets into a jump shooting team. Even Ryan Anderson shot poorly. He was 2-for-9 from three-point range. Solid tonight.
