Well, That Was Ugly
By Randy Renner
Usually in the NBA if the team you're playing only scores 85 points on their home floor you're feeling pretty good about your chances of coming outta there with a win.
That is until your team only hits 33 percent of the shots they put up and finish the night with 78 points.
Ouch.
So on a night when the Thunder finally got into double-digits when it came to players in uniform and able to play (10, the most they've had this season) and on a night when free agent signee and 3-point specialist Anthony Morrow was healthy enough to make his regular season debut the Thunder went poop instead of pop.
Of course this is really the sort of thing that should be the norm when you have your two big superstars on the bench with injuries and you're playing with a patched together lineup. Somehow Thunder head coach Scott Brooks, his staff and his players have managed to work some magic to keep games competitive and squeeze out a couple of wins.
Last night was competitive again but this time the Thunder just couldn't get anything or anyone going consistently on offense except for point guard Reggie Jackson.
It's a good thing he went off for a career-high 29 points or no telling how bad things might have been.
Serge Ibaka added 14 points and Morrow put in 10. They were the only players in double figures scoring. Steven Adams had 10 rebounds but just two points.
Kendrick Perkins was solid again with seven points and nine rebounds. Perk is playing some of the best basketball he's played since the Thunder acquired him from the Celtics and he always seems to crank it up even more when returning to Boston.
The Thunder will try to find some answer tonight against the C's who have their own injury problems.
Former OSU star Marcus Smart is out for another couple of weeks with a badly sprained ankle. Point guard Rajon Rondo has been practicing after having screws removed from his surgically repaired left hand but he may not be able to play tonight either.
The Thunder had a chance to make this a great week and get back to .500, the loss in Milwaukee kills that opportunity. But a win in Boston tonight followed up by beating the Pistons back inside The Peake on Friday night can get them almost back to where they want to be.
Wins are precious commodities to stock up while Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook continue to recover from surgeries. The rest of the week provides more opportunities the Thunder have to start taking advantage of.