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Doesn't it feel good to destroy the Nuggets?

While most of Oklahoma was enveloped in the 2009-2010 Ice Storm Mark II, the Thunder were destroying the Melo-less Nuggets. The game was relatively equal throughout the first, as most games are. But once the game got into the second, you could tell the Nuggets had a 30 point hole in their lineup. J.R. Smith and his "unlimited range", which were successful in the first quarter, were toned down in the 2nd. In the second half, his range was almost non-existant. Chauncey Billups was also at fault, turning the ball over 6 times, and not contributing significantly enough to the scoring.

Besides the scoring problems, the Nuggets were suffering from an incredibly ineffective bench. They shot only 10 of 31 from the field, and didn't contribute to the game a huge amount. I know Chris Andersen makes his living defensively now, but come on. 0 Points? Ty Lawson missed shots from all over the floor, and he wasn't much of a point guard, making the Nuggets lose offensive flow. 

Below: Analysis, Awards

And, need I mention the fact the Nuggets had twice the amount of turnovers (22) that the Thunder had? I guess they're just really bad at taking care of the ball. In the end, when your primary scorer (Anthony) is out, your secondary scorer (Smith) is covered by one of the best defenders in the league (Sefolosha),  and when your big men (Hilario, Martin, and Andersen) can hardly score on Nenad Krstic, you're bound to get stuck on offense, and, as a result, make some bad passes. 

On the Thunder's side of things, pretty much everything went right. Kevin Durant was able to score all over them, as usual. Also, as usual, he gets the Thunder Wonder for his efforts. 30 Points, 4 Rebounds, and 4 Assists in a game where nobody else scored over 19. 

Unfortunately, as a result of the garbage time in the fourth, a lot of stats were inflated. Most notably guilty of this were Nick Collison and James Harden, whom really didn't have more than an average game all things considered. Nevertheless, the Big 3 really did solidify their positions as the Big 3, as without the inflated stats, they clearly emerged on the top. The Thunder Down Under winner, Russell Westbrook, had 12 Points and 8 Assists on 5 of 11 Shooting, while Jeff Green also had a solid game, with 15 Points and 5 Rebounds.

The Thunder Blunder is Nenad Krstic, mainly because he shot 30% from the field, when offense is expected to be his forte. And, who's the Thunder Plunderer? The answer: Nobody! It's the first time I've actually had a non-award for the Thunder Plunderer, but to be honest, there's just not a lot anybody on the Nuggets really did for me. There was always a fundamental flaw to someone's performance that kept them from capturing the award.

Next Game: Versus the Warriors, Sunday, January 31st, 6 PM Central Standard Time