The Oklahoma City Thunder exacted revenge upon the Los Angeles Clippers. OKC won 114-91 March 21 to bounce back from a loss at the Utah Jazz the night before. The Thunder continue to be victorious after a loss as they have only one losing streak on the entire season.
Kevin Durant scored 32 points on 10-for-18 shooting. Russell Westbrook scored 19, several below his average. Serge Ibaka helped fill the gap with 15 points and eight rebounds.
Newly-acquired Derek Fisher's line was steady as he fills a role as backup point guard. The former Los Angeles Lakers' guard scored five points and had one apiece for rebounds, assists, turnovers, blocked shots and personal fouls.
Fisher played 19 minutes. Durant played nearly 39 minutes and desperately needs to be rested if the Thunder are going deep into the playoffs.
Two statistics stood out to me on the night. OKC out-rebounded the Clippers 49-31. OKC missed only one free throw and shot 21-for-22 on the night from the charity stripe.
The game was a revenge match from Jan. 30. The Clippers defeated the Thunder 112-100 en route to a dominating performance. Blake Griffin had a monstrous slam dunk and had 22 points in the Clippers' victory.
Revenge was sweet. Griffin had just seven points on the night March 21. He was held to 3-for-11 shooting in nearly 33 minutes of play. Griffin had seven rebounds. But his point total was the most shocking. Griffin hadn't scored in single digits all season until this game. Perhaps he was nervous about the homecoming—Griffin hails from Oklahoma City yet scored 14 points below his average. The defense made sure Griffin wasn't a factor and the final scoreline showed it.
The Clippers have now lost two in a row as they play three road games in three nights.
This game was about the Thunder that fans know and love. As always, they came back from a loss to pull out a victory. Instead of folding in the final moments as the Thunder have done in the month of March, they kept the pressure on the opponent. OKC led 66-50 at halftime and never looked back.
The game was testy. Four Thunder were whistled for technical fouls, including Kendrick Perkins who was tasked with guarding Griffin all night. Perkins was on the receiving end of Griffin's monster dunk in the previous meeting.
Up next is a home game March 23 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The T-wolves have lost three of their last four games.
William Browning has been a fan of the Oklahoma City Thunder ever since the team relocated from Seattle. As the closest NBA team to Branson, Mo., the Thunder serve as the regional team for southwest Missouri.
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