Thunder Pass of the Night: Westbrook to Harden to Durant for the Slam

The Thunder have grown leaps and bounds in their fast-break execution this season. Whereas last season we never knew if we were going to see an outstanding finish or a turnover, this season the Thunder have morphed into one of the best fast-break teams in the league. While they are only marginally statistically better this season than a year ago, I believe that part of this statistic has been depressed by their early struggles on the defensive boards. In the last few games however, the rebounding has improved and consequently so have the fast break opportunities.

For a second consecutive game, OKC pulled off a great fast-break sequence. The key to any good fast-break is the quick outlet of the ball and then a pass up the court to force the action. In this sequence, Nick Collison secured the rebound, gave it to Russell Westbrook, and Westbrook looked to pass the ball up the court (a la Jason Kidd) rather than just take off on his own. Westbrook fired a sick bounce pass up to James Harden on the right wing, and with a harder-than-it-looks touch pass, Harden lobbed the ball at the rim to a streaking Durant, who slammed it home.

The whole sequence involved three passes, the ball touched the floor twice, and took all of four seconds. Well done.

h/t Daily Thunder