Thunder vs. Clippers: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2016 Regular Season
If the Oklahoma City Thunder miss Kevin Durant, they haven't shown it yet this season.
Russell Westbrook overcame 10 individual turnovers with 35 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals as he directed the Thunder to the 85-83 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday at Staples Center.
The Thunder are now a perfect 4-0 on the season, while the Clippers fell to 3-1.
Westbrook hit the biggest shot of the game with 18 seconds remaining to put Oklahoma City up by four, and he finished the contest 14-of-30 from the field. Nobody else on the Thunder even scored in double figures.
As for the Clippers, Chris Paul just missed a triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and six steals. He was just 4-of-11 from the field, which was indicative of his team's overall struggles. Los Angeles shot 39.1 percent from the field.
Blake Griffin just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.
The Thunder jumped out to a quick 19-12 lead following a Steven Adams dunk. However, it was the Lob City Clippers and DeAndre Jordan who used a little flair in the opening minutes, as the team shared on its Twitter page:
Los Angeles then matched its style with substance to end the first quarter with a 12-4 run after the Adams dunk to take a 24-23 lead. Marreese Speights drilled a three-pointer in the final minute of the quarter and gave the home team the momentum after a slow start.
The two teams battled back and forth in the second quarter, but Erik Horne of the Oklahoman noted it was the unsung Clippers who were propelling the offense:
Oklahoma City again finished strong at the end of a quarter and turned a 39-36 deficit into a 49-41 halftime advantage with a 13-2 spurt capped off with a Westbrook dunk and Alex Abrines three-pointer.
Westbrook finished the half with 16 points, four assists, two rebounds and a steal and outplayed his counterpart Paul through the opening 24 minutes. Paul was 0-of-4 from the field with a mere three points, although he impacted the game in other ways with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Westbrook made his presence felt again in the middle of the third quarter when he slashed into the lane and threw down a one-hand tomahawk jam.
Dan Woike of the Orange County Register reacted to the slam:
The Thunder captured the play:
Despite Westbrook's incredible athleticism, the Clippers controlled the third quarter to the tune of 25-16 and took a 66-65 lead into the final 12 minutes.
Brandon Bass highlighted the spurt with a buzzer-beating heave, as SB Nation's Clips Nation described:
Oklahoma City didn't let Los Angeles parlay that into much momentum at the start of the fourth. Westbrook hit a mid-range jumper with less than nine minutes remaining to tie the game at 72 as he continued to carry the Thunder offense on the road.
However, Paul wasn't going to let the other star point guard completely steal the show. He drilled a mid-range jumper of his own with less than six minutes left to give the Clippers the 78-76 lead and was 4-of-5 in the second half at that point after his slow start from the field.
Westbrook scored with just more than two minutes left to push the lead to 81-78, but he also committed a costly turnover down the stretch. It was his 10th of the game, which held the Thunder back from putting the contest away before crunch time.
Still, the game appeared over when the Thunder star stole the ball and dunked to open up a five-point advantage, but a J.J. Redick three and two missed free throws from Andre Roberson made it 81-79.
That's when Westbrook hit his dagger and essentially ended it. ESPN.com's Royce Young commented on the cold-blooded shot:
Jordan scored one more basket for Los Angeles, but it was too little, too late.
What's Next?
The Clippers embark on a two-game road trip at the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs as they look to bounce back from Wednesday's loss.
Those are two playoff teams from a season ago, and San Antonio figures to be one of the title contenders throughout the season. While it is far too early in the schedule to put too much weight on any individual games, it does mark an opportunity for Los Angeles to gain some initial ground on the Spurs in the race for a top-three seed.
As for the Thunder, they head to one of the most anticipated games of the entire season on Thursday. They will face the Golden State Warriors in Durant's first regular-season showdown with his old teammates.
It is a Western Conference Finals rematch, but all eyes will be on Westbrook as he squares off with Durant.
Postgame Reaction
While it was a low-scoring contest that featured a number of turnovers and some ugly offensive stretches, the Thunder made enough plays to win.
Victor Oladipo summed things up when he said, "We're gritty," per the Thunder.
On the other side, Clippers coach Doc Rivers reacted to the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series, per Rowan Kavner of the Clippers’ official website: "Cool note from Doc, who's a White Sox fan but whose father was a Cubs fan. 'I got 50 texts that all said, 'Your dad's in heaven.'"
