Welcome back Nick Collison. You don’t know how much you were missed.
The Thunder, fresh off a big loss at home to the Spurs, traveled to Utah for the second game of a back to back set. The Jazz started out hot, extending the lead to 11 points at one time and ended the quarter up 6. The second quarter, the Thunder did a better job of shooting the ball and playing defense, and took a halftime lead.
Third quarter, Serge Ibaka came to life. Shots, blocks, defense, Serge was everywhere. His mere presence allowed the Thunder to build on their lead going into the fourth quarter. In the decisive quarter, the Thunder made 10 free throws in a row down the stretch, along with good defense, and the Thunder snap the Jazz five-game winning streak.
Serge Ibaka finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Durant added 30 and Russell Westbrook added 22 points and 7 assists. Nick Collison, although only scoring 4 points, was a very pleasant surprise to see back on the floor. Collison does the things for the Thunder that don’t show up on the box score: taking charges (led the league last year), hustle plays, and crashing the boards. His presence was very much welcomed.
Good shooting from the field (50%) and from 3 point land (40%). However, the Thunder only missed one free throw the entire game, and scored 15 more points from the line than the Jazz did. Always a good free throw shooting team, the Thunder capitalized tonight.
Through 10 games, the Thunder are 6-4. Lotta season left, just gotta take it one game at a time. At home v. Houston on Wednesday, see you then. Thunder Up!!!
Original Story:
http://www.thunderupreport.com/2010/1...
