And it’s 1 and 0
As they did last week before the season started, the Sacramento Kings started Thunder castoff Desmond Mason at the three. The Kings’ actual strategy, though, boiled down to “Give the ball to Kevin Martin as often as possible,” and Martin did his best, rolling up 27 points including 14 for 14 from the stripe, but overall the Sacramento offense was a bit less than cohesive, accumulating a mere 36 boards and 13 assists. Meanwhile, the Thunder scored the first five points, held a 39-22 lead after the first quarter, and made it stick, 102-89.
Speaking of 13 assists, Russell Westbrook served up that many all by himself, along with 14 points and only two turnovers. (Can you say “point guard”?) Also in the double-double club: Kevin Durant, with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Jeff Green dropped in four treys in five tries and finished with 24 points; Nenad Krstić knocked down 20 points. Of the new guys, only James Harden got any minutes: in 13 minutes, he made two shots, one a trey, and hauled in two boards. The sellout crowd (18,203) was happy, though, responding with a standing O as Kevin Ollie dribbled out the last possession.
It’s too early to generalize, obviously, but the Thunder have evidently been working on the long ball, knocking down 8 of 14 from beyond the arc. (The Kings were 3-16.) I have to wonder, though: how did they lose to these guys by 15 last week? And can they beat the new-look Pistons at Auburn Hills? We’ll know the answer to that one, at least, Friday night.
