Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Chicago Bulls: Postgame Grades and Analysis
In a back-and-forth game with play as crisp as a pricey hotel's new sheets, the Chicago Bulls stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-105 on Thursday.
The Bulls narrowly survived a 43-point game from Russell Westbrook on the strength of E'Twaun Moore's game-winning three-pointer with two seconds remaining.
The Thunder led by as many as 16 points in the first half, but the Bulls answered in the second quarter with separate runs of 16-4 and 11-5 before the half.
After OKC ended the third quarter with dominant play, the Bulls stormed through the final 12 minutes, outscoring the visitors 36-26 as Moore and Nikola Mirotic came off the bench to lead the charge.
The United Center also showed a video tribute to Craig Sager before the game, marking the TNT sideline reporter's return from a battle with leukemia. Benny the Bull, Chicago’s mascot, even presented Sager with a Bulls-themed plaid sports coat.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Russell Westbrook, Point Guard
Westbrook came in riding a red-hot streak of four consecutive triple-doubles, a feat no one has accomplished since Michael Jordan more than 25 years ago. He reached halftime against OKC with 17 points and six assists, but only two rebounds.
Westbrook was superlative—at times, he seemed to command all the superlatives. He scored the basketball in all manner of ways, such that it recalled some kind of instructional video. And when you're shooting like that, why would you stop?
Westbrook even came up with a stunning steal late in the fourth quarter, intercepting Kirk Hinrich's cross-court pass and looking more like a wideout catching a back-shoulder fade.
He ended with 43 points on 14-of-32 shooting, plus eight rebounds and seven assists. However, he doomed the team in the end.
Westbrook air-balled a contested jumper as the shot clock drained out, giving the Bulls the ball down by one with five seconds remaining. After Moore's dagger, Westbrook stepped out of bounds in the face of a Bulls trap for his fifth turnover of the night, dashing OKC's comeback hopes.
It was a bitter ending to an excellent night for the point guard, but he probably resorted to a little too much "hero ball" down the stretch. Despite his gaudy numbers over the last five games, the Thunder went 2-3 in those contests.
Grade: A-
Serge Ibaka, Power Forward
Serge Ibaka came to party, and he had pre-gamed. He tallied 15 points, five boards and three blocks by halftime. Overall, the Congolese shot-blocker was raining down shots much more efficiently (12-of-19 shooting) than a certain OKC high scorer.
Ibaka totaled 25 and nine, and he logged a ridiculous 45 minutes and 31 seconds in the 48-minute game.
With the Thunder getting pasted in the paint, head coach Scott Brooks needed all the help he could get. The Bulls had a 28-14 advantage in paint scoring at the half, and that ballooned to a 54-30 gap by game's end—we're looking at you, Enes Kanter.
Grade: B+
Enes Kanter, Center
Kanter spun a sparkling line of 16 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
His last two games have looked nothing like that. He had six points, six rebounds, a steal and a block, against the Bulls, but he only attempted six shots with Ibaka lighting it up.
Kanter did come up with a huge offensive rebound on a rare missed free throw by Westbrook, and the putback extended the Thunder's lead to four points with just over a minute remaining. Little did they know what E'Twaun was dialing up.
Grade: C
Andre Roberson, Shooting Guard
The defense of Andre Roberson helped hold down the Bulls' backcourt, but he did not contribute much on the other end. He managed two steals, two points and four rebounds in his 22 minutes. In fairness to him, Westbrook by himself is like having two guards in the backcourt.
Grade: C-
Kyle Singler, Small Forward
Mike Dunleavy outplayed Kyle Singler when they shared the court, but it was hard to notice with Westbrook scoring so many points. Singler saw 15 minutes, grabbed a steal and a couple of rebounds, and even made a three-pointer despite his name.
Grade: C-
Rest of Team
D.J. Augustin lit up in the fourth quarter when he scored all 10 of his points. That and Westbrook's onslaught should have been enough for the Thunder, but somehow it was not.
Dion Waiters faded into the background with six points on 10 shots. At least he dispensed three assists, but he's supposed to be the spark plug off the bench.
Anthony Morrow scored eight points. Shoutout to Nick Collison for dishing three dimes and making the only field goal he attempted.
Grade: B-
Chicago Bulls
Pau Gasol, Power Forward
With the recent injuries to Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler, Pau Gasol may be getting deja vu from his stint with the L.A. Lakers last season.
Don't worry, it's not that bad. But early in the second quarter when the deficit swelled to 16, he had to look around and wonder where the supplementary scoring would come from.
Gasol posted a tidy double-double with 21 points and a dozen boards. He accounted for five of the Bulls' 12 offensive rebounds, and the veteran displayed an intensity that radiated to his teammates.
Grade: B+
Joakim Noah, Center
Joakim Noah's array of skills was on display, especially on his deft drive to the hoop that included a Eurostep and a slick dime in the third quarter to help the Bulls take a lead.
He scored four points on four shots and missed both his free throws, but he ripped down 12 rebounds and slung a game-high nine assists.
Noah found cutters with bounce passes and open shooters behind the arc. Noah's court vision from the pivot is rivaled only by his teammate's brother, Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol.
Noah contributed greatly to the Bulls' ownership of the paint in the prime-time game.
Grade: B+
Mike Dunleavy, Small Forward
Mike Dunleavy had his shooting touch working and he was the only Bulls starter to make a three-pointer, accounting for three of the team's seven in total. The Bulls went unscathed despite missing 18 of their 25 attempts from downtown.
Dunleavy piled up 21 points and led the team with nearly 38 minutes on the court. That's how they teach you to play at Duke.
Grade: B+
E'Twaun Moore, Shooting Guard
Moore sparked the team in the fourth quarter, and he kept that mojo going until the very end. He scored 13 of his 19 points in the final quarter, and when Gasol received the inbounds pass in the lane, it was a little shocking to see him kick it out to an open Moore.
He buried it, and the Thunder.
Grade: A-
Nikola Mirotic, Power Forward
Mirotic struggled from the field, but that didn't deter him. His somewhat erratic play had produced back-to-back games of at least 20 points, and he decided to make it three straight.
Mirotic missed 10 of his 15 field-goal attempts and two of the nine he tried from downtown, but he also set up a one-man free-throw drill, sinking 14 on 16 chances. That all added up to 26 points as he helped save the Bulls' bacon.
Showing his knack for the moment, he drained a huge triple with a hand in his face during the final minute to slice to deficit to one point.
Grade: B+
Rest of Team
With a yawning chasm left by Derrick Rose's knee injury, Aaron Brooks has slid into the role of a distributor as well as an energetic presence on offense.
While he only scored six points and committed three turnovers, he handed out seven dimes and played only 24 minutes. That's like Kendall Marshall on the 2013-14 Lakers.
With Jimmy Butler (elbow) out for several weeks and Taj Gibson (ankle) also sidelined, Tony Snell seems to have a prime opportunity to showcase his game. He had four outings with at least 19 points in February, but he has failed to produce numbers on that level since Butler went down.
Mirotic has seized that role instead.
Snell scored four points on seven shots, adding three boards and a steal in his 29 minutes. He's struggling to be consistent on both ends as he tries to blossom into something more than a defensive stopper.
Hinrich came up with a gorgeous floater to beat the horn at the end of the third quarter, needing only three seconds from the inbounds to do so. That softened the blow of OKC's 11-4 run at the end of that frame. The veteran scratched out seven points and four assists.
Grade: C
What's Next?
The Bulls visit the Indiana Pacers on Friday. After that comes a tough back-to-back with a Sunday afternoon visit to the San Antonio Spurs followed by a home tilt with the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.
The Thunder have a couple of days off before the Toronto Raptors come to town on Sunday, marking the start of a four-game homestand that continues with the L.A. Clippers on Wednesday.
