What is your initial reaction to tonight's result?
Did that really just happen? I'm not shocked that we lost, but the game was pretty bizarre on the whole. There wasn't very good ball control on either end, and the Wizards had a whopping 19 offensive rebounds. And there were points during the early 3rd and late fourth where the Wizards were continually shooting themselves in the foot, begging us to take the game. It seemed the Thunder just wanted a loss tonight.
What was tonight's turning point?
After Harden went 1 of 2 from the line with 3:46 to go in the fourth, Nick Young hit a really nasty three in the Thunder's face. This put the Wizards up by 5. There wasn't another score for three minutes, so it's kind of hard to tell at what point we thought the game was pretty much lost.
What was, overall, the main reason the Thunder lost/won?
Just some bad, bad play. There are individual statistics and players that you can point to, but sometimes you've got to resort to those tired old adages like "a lack of effort" and "the shots just weren't falling".
What's the key statistic to understanding tonight's game?
Defensive Rebounding, no question. The Wizards were getting so many free re-tries at the basket, it was ridiculous. They took 9 more shots than we did, and 11 more free throws.
What does this game mean for the Thunder today and moving forward?
It means we fall to 12-3, and no longer have the best record in the NBA. It also means that we have to work to recover our streak and keep our current lead over the others in the West alive. Because if we sink into the muddled middle, things could get ugly.
Thunder Wonder: Kevin Durant, who had terrible stats but basically fought us back into this game during the final seconds.
Thunder Down Under: Russell Westbrook, 37 Points, 14-26 Shooting, 8-9 FT, 5 Rebounds, 7 Assists
Thunder Blunder: Kevin Durant, who shot 2-10 from three and had 7 turnovers.
Thunder Plunderer: John Wall, 25 Points, 7 Rebounds, 8 Assists
Next Game: At the New Jersey Nets, Saturday, January 21st, 7 PM Central Standard Time
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