Oklahoma City Thunder Vs. Philadelphia 76ers: Breaking Down the Game

Tonight we were treated to an excellent game between two hyper-athletic teams that needed extra minutes to decide the winner. Kevin Durant's game tying three at the end of the fourth quarter is sure to get the majority of media attention, but, make no mistake, this was a team effort on both sides of the ball and multiple people had to step up to achieve this victory.

Don't get me wrong, Durant had an amazing performance with 34-points and, more importantly, 16-rebounds and he stepped up in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter to give the Thunder a chance to take over in overtime. It would be a shame to discount how well the entire Thunder squad played tonight in favor of their star.

Russell Westbrook was able to overcome seven turnovers and put in a solid all-around game with 27-points, 12 assists, and five boards. With those kind of numbers you can forgive him somewhat for his high turnover rate. His most important contribution won't show on many stat sheets though because he kept the 76ers from winning by drawing a charge on Andre Iguodala, who was set to pass the ball to a wide open teammate for the game winning shot.

Speaking of Iguodala, he, along with Thaddeus Young, had a very disappointing game—something Thunder fans have come to expect from the person Thabo Sefolosha is guarding. AI was able to offset his poor shooting and turnover problems by dishing out eight assists, but Young wasn't near as lucky.

After averaging over 15 points a game in recent weeks Young was only able to produce four points for the 76ers. His play off the bench has been one of the biggest cogs in Philly's recent upswing and with him unable to produce, the 76ers had to look elsewhere for bench points.

Fortunately, Lou Williams had a great game with 22-points. While getting those points he was able to get to the line 10 times, which was a game high. Joining him in the points column was Jrue Holiday and Jodie Meeks. Holiday had 22-points and eight assists while Meeks added 17-points and seven boards. This guard play was a bit surprising given the intensity we've seen from the Thunder's wing players of late. However, after the three minute mark in the fourth quarter, the Thunder held the trio to only six points.

The Thunder weren't without their own bench scoring, as Nick Collison and James Harden both reached double digits. Collison had an uncharacteristic double-double with 13-points and 10 boards. I love seeing him have a stat stuffing game because usual his production doesn't show up for fans who only look at the box scores. Not that he didn't play his usual hard-nosed self as he drew a key charge in overtime and helped hold the Elton Brand-Thaddeus Young duo to 17 total points.

Harden had another double digit scoring game that we've come to expect from the young man. He's quietly making a case to be the sixth man of the year with his recent play. I doubt he wins the award, but if he's able to continue to produce at this rate it's possible that the award will be his to win for the foreseeable future.

I would be remiss in not mentioning Nazr Mohammed's third quarter clinic in how to offensively rebound. It's unfortunate that he's so old because OKC could really use a guy who could do that for 30 minutes a night or more. Hopefully we see similar production from Kendrick Perkins when he comes back.

Overall, I was really impressed with both teams, but not the players I expected to be. Jodie Meeks and Lou Williams played out of their minds tonight, Williams went for 10 points more than his season average, and Nazr Mohammed had one of the greatest spurts of rebounding I've seen in awhile.

At the end of the day, Durant's bomb at the end of the fourth quarter will get the majority of coverage, but people should be talking about how well he rebounded. When Scottie Brooks plays a vertically challenged line-up like he did tonight, Durant has to pull down boards and help out the front-line. If he can continue doing it at the rate he has been recently, look for the Thunder to make a big run come play-off time.