OKC Tops Nuggets In Cameron Payne's Debut

By A. Suave Francisco 

Coming off a three-game skid, the Oklahoma City Thunder welcome the Denver Nuggets to the Chesapeake Energy Arena with intentions of sending them back to the Mile High city on a bad note. They didn't necessarily defeat them with the dominance we expected, but they snapped that losing streak with a solid 121-106 win. 

The complaint during this three-game skid has been Russell Westbrook and his many three point attempts. Nothing changed, he still shot many threes, but the difference is that he made them. Westbrook also recorded his 17th triple-double with 32 points, 11 assists, and 17 rebounds. In addition to that, he shot 7-of-12 from three to silence the critics. 

However, the story of the night was undoubtedly the return of Cameron Payne who's been sitting all season due to a Jones fracture. Many thought he may be timid to start his season and maybe a little hesitant to run the offense, simply because he hasn't gotten into a rhythm yet. None of that was true, he finished the game with 8 points and 2 assists in 13 minutes of playing time and more importantly, he looked smooth and fluid while doing it. Honestly, he looked more confident than he looked all of last season. 

This is a promising sign for the Thunder moving forward into a grueling stretch of the season, one that includes playing an at home back-to-back against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. Having a solid backup point guard is underrated, but very beneficial for this team. It's obvious that Westbrook needs some offensive assistance. Fans shouldn't have to hold their breath when he sits on the bench. And not saying that Semaj Christon wasn't good the first half of the season, but as a rookie, he was asked to do a lot, and sometimes he fell a bit short. 

Things look somewhat back to normal for the Thunder now with their lineup being in better shape. Payne returned to his backup role, and Christon will move down to the third point guard on the roster with a chance to learn from both Westbrook and Payne. This knocks out game one of three home games at home in January and the Thunder improve to (22-15) on the season with an away game coming up on Monday against the Chicago Bulls.