Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Washington Wizards: Postgame Grades and Analysis
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Washington Wizards met Wednesday and seemed unable to make a shot at times, but two Russell Westbrook layups decided the neck-and-neck battle as OKC won in overtime 105-103.
Westbrook provided the game-tying layup late in regulation and the game-winning layup in OT, finishing with 32 points, just shy of Kevin Durant's 34 points.
The Thunder dug a hole with a truly awful second quarter littered with bricks, and their 12 points tied their lowest scoring quarter this season. Neither team shot well, and both squads wrapped up regulation shooting 36 percent from the field.
Durant and Westbrook saved OKC, which is as it should be, but here are game grades for all the key players.
| John Wall | B |
| Bradley Beal | C- |
| Paul Pierce | B- |
| Nene | B+ |
| Marcin Gortat | B- |
| Rest of Team | C |
| Russell Westbrook | A- |
| Andre Roberson | C- |
| Kevin Durant | A- |
| Serge Ibaka | C- |
| Steven Adams | B |
| Rest of Team | C |
Washington Wizards
John Wall, Point Guard
John Wall beat the buzzer in the first quarter, but that three-pointer was one of just two field goals by halftime, though his five points were buoyed by six assists and two steals. Wall finished with 18 points, 13 dimes and four steals, but he missed 11 of his 17 shots. Wall also got into foul trouble and played the final six-plus minutes with five personals.
Wall took it upon himself to use the entire possession with the game tied 92-92 and 26 ticks left in the fourth quarter. He dribbled the clock down and drove to the top of the circle where he got separation for a pull-up jumper over Andre Roberson, which he promptly air-balled. When the score is tied, you never want to leave a putt short.
Wall also missed the desperation heave from 40 feet out when the Wizards had only 0.8 seconds for the final inbounds in OT.
Grade: B
Bradley Beal, Shooting Guard
Beal needed 12 shots to get his 10 points in the first half. His shooting just got worse from there.
Beal finished with 14 points which came from 5-of-21 shooting. He also committed three of the team's 12 turnovers. On the plus side, he grabbed eight rebounds, four of them on the offensive glass.
Grade: C-
Paul Pierce, Small Forward
Pierce managed just one field goal on six first-half shots, and that came on a sneaky offensive rebound and layup. His outside shot looked broken, as if he couldn't get enough power behind the ball, and he consistently clanged his long-range attempts off the front iron.
But after missing his first six tries from downtown, he put more oomph behind the seventh attempt, and he buried it to give the Wizards a two-point lead inside of three minutes left to play. That stunted a run where OKC held the lead.
Then, with the Wiz trailing by one in the final minute of regulation, Pierce canned another three-pointer in Durant's face. Basically, Pierce only hits three-pointers in the most clutch of situations, because he's "The Truth"—that's why.
The 37-year-old forward scored 14 points and used his veteran savvy to corral 12 rebounds as well. Like Beal, he missed on seven of his nine three-point attempts.
Grade: B-
Nene, Power Forward
Nene had himself a big first half with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. He was mostly shut down in the second half, which makes sense for the player starting opposite Serge Ibaka, but he nearly carried the Wiz to victory in the extra period.
After a quiet second half, Washington broke down the defense once again and Nene opened the scoring in overtime with an easy dunk. Then Nene roasted Steven Adams in the post a couple of minutes later. Suddenly, he had scored nine in overtime, and his 24 points came on just 14 shots—eat your heart out, Beal.
But Westbrook's fateful drive down the lane decided it in the end, with Wizards defenders looking like mailboxes.
Grade: B+
Marcin Gortat, Center
Marcin Gortat scored in double figures with 10 points, and he threw himself a little block party, swatting three shots.
However, Durant exacted revenge midway through overtime, driving baseline and destroying Gortat with a fearsome poster dunk over the 6'11" Polish center. If only his mohawk had been higher.
Grade: B-
Rest of Team
Kris Humphries got schooled up by Pierce after a tipped pass during the third quarter. The ball was intended for Pierce but got poked out of bounds. Pierce then pointed out to Humphries that the pass should have gone inside, not outside. You learn something new everyday. Tomorrow: defense.
At least Humphries crashed the boards, and his nine rebounds ranked second on the team.
Rasual Butler and Kevin Seraphin added nine points each. Andre Miller missed all four of his shots and dished two assists in nine minutes.
Grade: C
Oklahoma City Thunder
Kevin Durant, Small Forward
Durant hails from Maryland, so some Washington fans saw fit to create signs beckoning KD to come home and play for the Wizards when he hits free agency in 2016. "KD 2 DC 2016" seemed to be the most popular sign, playing off the looming presidential election in that year.
Durant had his share of struggles in this shooter-unfriendly game, but he shined when it mattered most with an 11-point fourth quarter as OKC battled to gain and hold the lead. Then he connected on a go-ahead three-pointer with 36 seconds left in overtime as Pierce fought by the screen.
Durant tallied a game-high 34 points to go with seven rebounds, and he hit a long-range shot when it mattered most
Grade: A-
Russell Westbrook, Point Guard
Westbrook hit the half with just seven points and struggled to find his shot. Then he dropped 16 in the third quarter with his signature aggression on offense on display. Such are the ups and downs of Russ.
Then with the defense keying on Durant during a crucial late possession, Westbrook got free after a couple of passes and knifed to the cup for an easy game-tying layup with 26 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Incredibly, the same exact thing happened at the end of overtime, whereby every Washington defender seemed to think 3.6 seconds would not suffice for Westbrook to take the inbounds pass 35 feet out and get to the rack for a layup.
The defenders remained parted like the legendary Red Sea, with neither Nene nor Wall willing to step over and block Westbrook's path. Fearing Westbrook would kick to the open man, the only Wizards defender to contest the shot was Pierce, but he seemed shocked there was no help as he guarded the man under the basket, and the "olé" defense couldn't stop Russ.
Grade: A-
Serge Ibaka, Power Forward
Ibaka struggled like the rest of the Thunder with a two-point first half, but he never flipped the switch. He totaled seven points on 11 shots, five rebounds and zero blocks.
With the benefit of hindsight, perhaps they should have kept that James Harden guy instead.
Grade: C-
Steven Adams, Center
Steven Adams threw down a slick one-handed alley-oop slam over Seraphin during the second quarter. Then he missed the foul shot and drew criticism from ESPN analyst Hubie Brown. He's shooting 53.2 percent from the foul line this season, and such peaks and valleys come with the territory for a young player.
Adams also grabbed 12 rebounds…in the first half! He finished with 20 boards and two blocks to go with six points.
On one puzzling call in the final minute of overtime, Adams was bookended by Nene and Gortat underneath the hoop battling for a rebound. They pulled him to the floor, but somehow, the foul was called on Adams and the free throws gave Washington a 101-100 lead. Durant hit his momentous trey shortly afterward.
Grade: B
Andre Roberson, Shooting Guard
Roberson started but rarely saw the court and he didn't even attempt a shot. His defense keeps him on the court, and that played a large role in the end-of-game situation.
Nene continued his ownership of overtime with a finger roll layup with 23 seconds left in OT, and Roberson leaped out of nowhere to swat the shot. It was very close, but the refs reviewed it and determined it was goaltending. That tied the score at 103, setting the stage for Westbrook's game-winning flash to the peach basket.
Grade: C-
Rest of Team
Dion Waiters loves getting touches in OKC, but he never found his rhythm. He got to 10 points, but it took him 12 shots to do it and he missed all four attempts from three-point range during his 34 minutes. Waiters was also calling for the ball as Westbrook drove for his game-winning layup.
Anthony Morrow was slightly more efficient with 10 points on nine shots.
Reggie Jackson struggled in the first half and saw only 14 minutes for the game. He handed out five assists but missed all six shots he put up on a scoreless night.
Kendrick Perkins did it all: six points, six boards, five fouls in 14 minutes.
Grade: C
Coming Up Next
The Thunder continue running the gauntlet with a visit to the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks on Friday, followed by a trip to see LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon.
The Wizards embark on a four-game trip out West, beginning with the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday.
