playoffs

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The Thunder heads to Game 4 to double down on the same defensive mentality. Game time in New Orleans is set for 7:30 p.m. CDT and will air on Bally Sports and the Thunder Radio Network.

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Game Day: Game 4 at NOP

Relive the moments that made OKC the loudest arena in the NBA. Round 1 of the 2024 Playoffs begins tonight at 8:30PM inside Paycom Center.

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Thunder Playoff Memories

Royce Young on the journey back to the playoffs

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Another chapter in the Thunder story

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HOUSTON – Game 5 was the series and it was the season. It was the end of both, but also an end for the Thunder that came with everything Thunder fans have seen during this brilliant, fiery and wild 2016-17 campaign.

The Thunder lost to the Houston Rockets 105-99 after holding an eight-point lead at one point, and a seven-point lead in the third quarter, but couldn’t close against a veteran-laden Rockets squad that made just enough plays and paraded to the free throw line to end the series 4-1.

“I was really proud of our guys tonight. We really competed and battled for the entire 48 minutes,” Head Coach Billy Donovan said. “We got off to a pretty good start and certainly dug ourselves a hole coming out of halftime to start the third quarter. Our guys battled and fought their way back in.”

Donovan’s club held Houston to just 16 points in the first quarter, and just 16.2 percent shooting from three-point range in the game, but got beat up during the two three-minute stretches that Russell Westbrook sat, then surrendered a pair of runs to Houston, one 12-3 burst late in the second quarter and another 7-1 spurt late in the fourth quarter.

In the latter burst the Rockets went to the free throw line on four straight possessions and that broke the game open from a three-point Thunder deficit to a nine-point edge for Houston with 3:32 to go. Westbrook helped the Thunder chip the lead down to just four, but it was too little too late, despite a valiant effort.

“We obviously didn’t make all the shots we needed to but we got the shots we wanted to and put ourselves in position to win the basketball game,” Westbrook noted.

“Like Houston has done, the difference for us in the series if you go back to it statistically, has been the free throw line,” Donovan said. “Where we had gotten hurt throughout the series was on the backboard with second chance points and at the free throw line. That was the biggest difference.”

As Donovan mentioned, tonight’s game, and the series, all came down to a pair of key factors: the free throw line and long rebounds. In Game 1 it was most pronounced, and while the Thunder controlled the rebounding better in Games 2 and 3, Houston got after the glass with 11 second chance points in the first half alone. The Rockets launched 37 three-pointers so there were plenty of long rebounds and loose balls to be gathered up all night.

“They got to a lot of 50-50 balls. They shot a lot of threes and wild shots,” forward Taj Gibson explained. “It was a scrappy game and a scrappy series.”

“They obviously made more plays and less mistakes on their end. All the boys did the best they could for the situation that they had,” center Steven Adams added. “It’s the same things why we didn’t win the games and why we did win the one game. They started really crashing in, especially with their guards. Rotations mixed us up and all that.”

The Thunder struggled to score most of the game, shooting just 38.5 percent as a group, but the Thunder’s defense was solid, holding Houston to 40.5 percent, just 16.2 percent shooting from three-point range and only three fast break points. Andre Roberson was again fantastic, limiting James Harden to an 8-for-25 shooting night, but the Rockets guard racked up 17 free throw attempts, part of 39 for Houston on the night.

On the other end, Donovan’s crew had five players in double figures scoring, including Jerami Grant and Alex Abrines off the bench. It was Westbrook whose dynamic play again helped the Thunder stay in the game all night long. He personally helped fuel much of the Thunder’s 27-9 explosion in the third quarter that turned an 11-point deficit into a seven-point lead. On the night, he scored 47 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished nine assists in his 42 minutes of play.

Most of all, he continued to display the type of leadership his team has gotten and needed from him all year.

“(Westbrook) was really just encouraging,” Donovan said of his point guard. “He’s demanding and challenging and wants guys to bring it and rise up. I get that, but his leadership and what he did for our group was tremendous.”

“I consider it a good season, from myself to every guy in that locker room did a great job all year long,” Westbrook said. “People counted us out at the start of the season. The guys deserve credit for coming in and making sure we were ready, and the coaches and down the line, everybody and our fans, for sticking with us.”

16.2 – Shooting percentage from the three-point line that the Thunder held the Rockets to on the night

33-for-39 – Free throw numbers for the Rockets in the game

47 – Points for Russell Westbrook on the night, in addition to grabbing 11 rebounds and handing out nine assists

“Our team rallied around each other. That’s the nature of our team. Our team changed. We lost guys and gained guys and some guys got contracts, some guys didn’t. We came together and it brought us closer.” – point guard Russell Westbrook

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Thunder at Houston Rockets Game 5 Recap – April 25, 2017

HOUSTON – In Billy Donovan’s mind, tonight’s Game 5 in Houston might as well be Game 7. At some point in this series, the Thunder was going to have to win on the road. Tonight’s as good a night as any to get it done.

This Thunder squad may be the youngest team in the playoffs this season, but it does have leadership and even its youthful players have postseason experience. Russell Westbrook and Nick Collison have been through every type of playoff battle imaginable. Taj Gibson’s time in Chicago taught him a lot too. But even Andre Roberson and Steven Adams know what it’s like to go into a hostile environment and come out with a victory. That’s the task on the agenda tonight.

“We have to win one. That’s it,” Westbrook said. “We just worry about the next game and the outside people and outside things don’t mean anything. The only thing that matters is the people in this building.”

“We’re going to have to win a game on the road in this series at some point,” Donovan added. “The only thing that matters for us right now is focusing on what’s in front of us, and that’s Game 5 in Houston. That’s all we’ve put our mindset on.”

Down 3-1, it might seem that the Thunder has struggled in this series, but that’s been far from the case. In each of the past three games, the Thunder has held a double digit lead and has shown that it can impose its will offensively and defensively for large stretches of games. Tonight, it will be a matter of doing it for all 48 minutes.

“Every game we’ve played we’ve done things we need to do better and better,” Donovan noted. “There are still areas where we can get better and improve.”

Against this Rockets team, particularly on the road, the Thunder has to fight against the momentum Houston can create off of their runs. When the Rockets are firing from the three-point line and getting dunks in transition or the half court, the Thunder has to be able to settle down, execute on their possessions at a high level and then dig deep defensively to get stops.

“The game changes, so you have to be able to withstand runs especially against teams like that because they shoot a lot of threes and create situations where they make runs,” Westbrook explained. “You have to be able to withstand them for 48 minutes.”

During the regular season, the Thunder was better at home than on the road, where it finished with a 19-22 record, but that’s typical for any NBA team. There’s no special trick for winning away from home, or winning a closeout game. The work that’s required is the same as any other game – focus, concentration and determination for every minute of action and on every possession. Many of these Thunder players haven’t been in these situations before, but the Thunder has always thrived on young players performing in crucial situations. Tonight, they’ll have to do it again.

“Everyone’s grown up. They all know what’s at stake. I’m not going to tell them a bedtime story and they’ll come out all good,” center Steven Adams quipped. “It’s moreso they’re going to come out and make sure they’re going to do what they do at a high level. That’s everyone.”

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INTEGRIS Game Day Report: Thunder at Houston Rockets Game 5 – April 25, 2017

How many times this season have the Thunder pulled off a miraculous comeback? Just in the final weeks of the season alone there were three that stood out above the rest, when Russell Westbrook helped lead his team from late deficits against the Dallas Mavericks, Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets.

So can the Thunder do it again, this time trailing 3-1 in a playoff series rather than on the scoreboard? Why not?

As the Thunder got together for a quick practice session before shipping off to Houston to play Game 5 of its first round series against the Rockets, the team rallied, got in some work and ensured that everyone was confident in their chances to get one on the road to force a Game 6 back in OKC.

“The boys are still as positive as you can be after a loss and are looking to get better,” center Steven Adams said.

In order to make it happen, however, the Thunder has to maintain its focus, discipline and basketball intelligence for all 48 minutes. Head Coach Billy Donovan’s club has burst out of the gates of each game in this series with confidence, poise and precision. As the game has worn on, however, there’s been slippage.

“It’s the stamina,” Adams observed. “It’s the mental ones. Locking in on the gameplan. All the little things that make them miss and make it tough for them. We have to maintain those things.”

Donovan noted one specific area where that inconsistency showed itself in Game 4, in a quite remarkable way. After protecting the rim at an incredible level for the first 24 minutes, the Thunder didn’t get the job done over the final two quarters.

“There was a reason we had 14 blocked shots in the first half. We did a really good job of stepping up and challenging shots at the rim,” Donovan said. “When you do that, there are going to be guys along the baseline and that’s where you have to rotate down. In the second half we didn’t have any blocked shots and a lot of it was dump down passes where we have to make some rotations out of that.”

- Upon analysis of Game 4, that last point made by Donovan was the ultimate explanation for the perfect 12-for-12, 28-point night that Rockets reserve center Nene compiled on Sunday. Through difficult choices that arise in pick-and-roll defense, the Thunder surrendered too many offensive rebounds and simple catch and finish shots inside of two feet for Nene. In Game 5, the Thunder has to be tighter on its rotations and crash down from the wings to deflect those passes while still having the ability to fly back out to shooters.

- To negate some of those problems in pick-and-roll coverages, the Thunder has employed a strategy of switching everything along the perimeter late in the shot clock. Based on the exact situation, Thunder defenders have been switching out onto Rockets ball-handlers when there are around six seconds or less on the shot clock in order to prevent easy drives to the rim or chances to manipulate the transfer of defense between the Thunder’s guards and bigs.

- Houston has employed a similar strategy with Westbrook at times, being willing to put forwards and centers like Nene and Trevor Ariza on the Thunder point guard. Late in games however, in crunch time, Houston has not been switching, but encouraging the second defender in any pick-and-roll to blitz Westbrook out on the perimeter. In an effort to clog up Westbrook’s airspace and ability to make a play, Houston has denied driving and passing lanes. To negate that, the Thunder has to have all five players engaged offensively to recognize the situation and be in the right position to move the ball and make the right play.

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Playoff Practice Roundup – April 24, 2017

Hearts were stopped. The Thunder had just pulled off an unthinkable four-point play. Steven Adams hit his first free throw, then intentionally missed the second off the front iron, grabbed the ball and zipped it back to Russell Westbrook, who drained a three-pointer with 18 seconds left. The Thunder all of the sudden trailed by just one point, and tried to trap the ball in the backcourt for a steal. That’s when things went haywire.

The ball squirted out to Houston’s Trevor Ariza, who hesitated out behind the three-point line just long enough to freeze the defense and hit Nene under the basket. The Thunder’s Jerami Grant reached out to wrap up the Rockets’ center, but got there too late and surrendered the bucket, plus the foul. Although there was one harrowing loose ball situation left after that, the bounce didn’t go the Thunder’s way. Neither did the game. It was a 113-109 loss in Game 4, leaving the Thunder down 3-1 in the series.

“We made some mental mistakes, but I thought we played a good game overall. We obviously didn’t close the way we wanted to but we put ourselves in position to win the basketball game,” Westbrook said. “They made a run and some guys made some big shots for them down the stretch. There are some mental mistakes we need to fix.”

Head Coach Billy Donovan’s club built an 11-point lead late in the first quarter, but the Rockets quickly rallied with a run of seven straight points to end the period. The Thunder finished the first quarter with seven blocks, an Oklahoma City record, including four from Andre Roberson which was a playoff career-high.

Houston scores the first two out of the break as well while the Thunder went four minutes without a point. But when Westbrook checked back in, the Thunder racked up six points in a 31-second span on a Westbrook technical foul then two assists from the Thunder point guard, to Doug McDermott on a three and to Enes Kanter for a dunk. The Thunder’s lead waxed and waned the rest of the half and then throughout the second half as well. Houston always had an answer.

Despite 14 first half blocks by the Thunder, the Rockets managed to chip the lead back down to four at halftime. In those opening two quarters, Westbrook racked up his third-consecutive postseason triple-double, the most since Wilt Chamberlain put up four straight in 1967. He finished the game with 35 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists and ignited a 12-2 Thunder burst to start the second half. But the Thunder’s offense stalled again by missing eight straight shots and Houston ripped off 12 straight points of their own in what was a defensive struggle in the third period when both teams scored just 19 points.

The fourth quarter was the complete opposite, as the Rockets outscored the Thunder 40-32 by hitting 12-of-14 free throws. Meanwhile the Thunder went just 8-of-16 from the free throw stripe due to the Rockets intentionally fouling to try to disrupt offensive rhythm. Houston again scored nine straight points early in the fourth quarter to take a three-point lead, their first of the game since the opening minutes. Westbrook helped ignite a quick 5-0 burst, but from there on out the Rockets were mostly in control of the run of play.

“We had some opportunities for our second unit to step up and make plays but the ball didn’t go in the basket,” Donovan said. “One thing about Houston is that they have a very explosive offensive team.”

The Thunder stayed within one possession for a few minutes, then the lead slipped to five on a second chance layup for James Harden, two of 25 Rockets points off missed shots on the night. Then Eric Gordon answered three Westbrook free throws with a three-pointer of his own and Nene tipped in a missed three-point jumper – part of a perfect 12-for-12, 28-point night for Houston’s backup center.

“They’re finding the pocket pass. I should have been more aggressive on some of them,” center Steven Adams said. “From there it was the offensive boards. He was getting us on that. We have to box him out even more.”

In the end, despite a masterful defensive performance by Andre Roberson on Harden, who finished just 5-for-16 shooting and seven free throw attempts, the Thunder couldn’t control Houston’s secondary playmakers. The Rockets’ bench racked up an unbelievable 64 points. While the Thunder out-played the Rockets in a bunch of categories, it was not quite enough to come away with a win.

Now, there’s a short turnaround and the Thunder’s backs are against the wall. Game 5 in Houston will be a dogfight, as the Thunder tries to force a Game 6 back in Oklahoma City. From there, anything can happen.

“We just have to keep our confidence, make adjustments and go back and look at the film,” Roberson noted. “We just have to move forward.”

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14 – Blocked shots for the Thunder on the night, all in the first half, including five by Andre Roberson

25 – Second chance points for the Rockets due to 13 offensive rebounds and a plus-five rebounding edge

1967 – The last time a player racked up three-straight playoff triple-doubles, as Russell Westbrook completed that feat with 35 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists
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“We’re in this together. We play as a team. That’s all that matters.” – point guard Russell Westbrook

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Thunder at Houston Rockets Game 4 Recap – April 23, 2017

For nearly a week, the Thunder was chasing a victory against the Houston Rockets. After two losses, Head Coach Billy Donovan’s squad captured a vital win in Game 3 on Friday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Now, the last thing the Thunder can do is exhale.

The playoffs are all about making tweaks and adjustments that can change the game, but the Thunder cannot lose sight of the aspects of the game that got them to this point: sealing off the glass with defensive rebounds, getting back in transition to prevent fast break points and generating quality possessions without turning the ball over. If the Thunder doesn’t do those things this afternoon, it will be difficult to win, and must stay focused on those crucial parts of the 48 minutes.

“Coming into this game there will be different things to have to deal with for both things, but on the core of what you’re doing, transition defense is important, defensive rebounding is important, trying to defend without fouling is important and having quality offensive possessions without turning the ball over is important,” Donovan explained.

“The core of what both teams are going to do is going to stay the same,” Donovan continued. “It’s just maybe the tweaks and changes of how to go about doing it.”

An additional part of what the Thunder wants to do at a high level again today is the way they defended Houston in the half court. The Rockets registered just 10 assists compared to 16 turnovers in Game 3, and while that trend likely won’t continue in Game 4, it’s the style of play that the Thunder can try to replicate. With the way the Thunder stayed with its traditional big men in the starting lineup, went small to match Houston and then specifically paired up players in certain matchups, it forced Rockets players into going one-on-one instead of getting that drive-kick-swing-swing action it typically utilizes.

“We did a good job of making them play iso ball and taking away their shooters,” McDermott explained. “They don’t like taking those non-rim two’s. That’s what we’re trying to give up.”

“We’re going to live with those,” McDermott continued. “They’re going to make tough shots, but as long as we’re doing our job, running them off the line and taking away layups, we’ll be in good shape.”

Once it gets into those situations when isolated on Houston’s talented playmakers, the Thunder has to simply play with intensity, passion and tenacity. When Donovan’s club can utilize the shot clock as the sixth defender and force Houston into taking tough shots as time runs out, it will have to be on its toes, make sure it keeps its hands clear to prevent from fouling and then seal off those possessions to complete stops.

“There are going to be possessions for both teams where you get up against the clock,” Donovan noted. “When the clock gets inside six or seven seconds, those are moments in time where you have to do a great job.”

If it can rack up enough of those types of possessions, the Thunder could be well on its way to tying this series at 2-2, and ensuring a Game 6 back in Chesapeake Energy Arena.

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INTEGRIS Game Day Report: Thunder vs. Houston Rockets Game 4 – April 23, 2017

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