Scores

Oklahoma City 117 - 114 Dallas

This was a solid win for the Oklahoma City Thunder. In the, hopefully final, game before Kevin Durant’s return, the Thunder knocked off the Dallas Mavericks. It was another Sunset Sunday. The Thunder moved to 3-1 on Sunset Sundays at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Russell Westbrook had his customary double-double on 31 points and 11 assists. He also had 5 steals and 5 rebounds. The Thunder also got solid performances out of Serge Ibaka, Dion Waiters, Nick Collison, and Anthony Morrow. Perhaps the biggest shift for the rest of the season came with the emergence of Anthony Morrow. Head Coach Billy Donovan was forced into playing the 3-point specialist due to Kevin Durant’s injury and Morrow finally made the most of the opportunity. He finished with 14 points on 5-9 shooting (2-3 from long distance) in 24 minutes.

Oklahoma City 111 - 89 Utah

Kevin Durant made his return from the hamstring injury in this road game, which was the second game of a back-to-back. He showed that he can pick up right where we expected him too. The former MVP and four time scoring champion finished with 27 points on a ridiculously efficient 10-13 shooting (3-6 from distance) while also pulling down 6 rebounds, swiping 4 steals, and blocking one shot. Anthony Morrow again seized his opportunity finishing with 15 points on 6-8 shooting (3-4 from distance).

Oklahoma City 110 - 99 Brooklyn

This was the Kevin Durant’s return to the Chesapeake Energy Arena after his hamstring injury. He did not disappoint. Durant had another efficient night scoring 30 points on 11-18 shooting (5-8 from distance). He grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 5 assists as well. Russell Westbrook pitched in another double-double scoring 27 points on 10-16 shooting while dropping 13 dimes. Dion Waiters had another solid performance tonight scoring 16 points on 6-13 shooting. Anthony Morrow had a down game with just 6 points on 2-5 shooting. Serge Ibaka hopefully had a game that can get him going on the season. He finished with 12 points on an efficient 4-9 shooting. Ibaka made all of his free throws (4-4) and pulled down 8 boards as well.

Overall Thoughts

This was a really good week for the Thunder. Kevin Durant returned from his injury, which hopefully will not linger. The team picked up three wins: one against a good team, one against a mediocre team, and one against a bad team. All three count the same in the win column though. The Dallas win was the most impressive of the week. The Mavericks are the best team Oklahoma City played this week and they were streaking. The Thunder ended the Mavericks’ six game win streak.

Possibly the most interesting thing to happen this week, outside of the Thunder having a full starting line-up again, is the return of Anthony Morrow to the rotation. He played an average of just over 22 minutes per game this week and seemed to relish the opportunity and thrive in the positions in which he was put.

Up Next

The Thunder take on the Detroit Pistons on Friday, November 27, at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Reggie Jackson will be back in town. Then The Thunder take on the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, November 30, in Atlanta.

Forever and always, Thunder Up!