For the first time since Kevin Durant went down with an injury (again), it wasn’t just Russell Westbrook carrying the offensive torch for the Oklahoma City Thunder, getting plenty of help, especially in the dramatic finish, to lead his team to a 114-106 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Not that Westbrook wasn’t red hot. He scored 34 points in 35 minutes, adding 11 assists and 5 steals as he continues to make up for his lost time in the scoring race and the MVP voting. Westbrook can be harmful to his own team when trying so hard, but his obsessive attack mode which he never relents from has so far put him at the forefront of NBA stars this season and is the only reason the Thunder are anywhere near the playoff picture at this point.
A big game for Steven Adams with 16 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks; Serge Ibaka with a great game and 21 points; Perry Jones (!!!) scoring 14 points and Anthony Morrow bringing his sharpshooting ways from off the bench to score 14 points. The Thunder looked like a team against the most team-basketball opponent in the NBA, which stands in sharp contrast to the way they’ve been playing basketball for most of this season.
The Spurs just got too little from their best players, late and early. Tim Duncan with 15 points finished with a -34 during his 29 minutes. Tony Parker with 10 points had a -23. Matt Bonner of all people led the team with 17 points and it was Manu Ginobili and Cory Joseph who actually steered the team well during their best minutes, but the Thunder playing in a different level of speed and intensity, not to mention shutting down on defense during the final minutes helped complete the biggest upset on Christmas day.
