Thunder/Suns Recap

When the Thunder play the Suns, its always magical.  Not magical like the "sword and sorcery" type of way, but magical in that something crazy always goes down.  This game was no exception, and while the Thunder rang up a 114-96 win just before the new year, the crazy thing that happened was Russ Westbrook getting his face busted open.  No, seriously...check the video:  ESPN Video - its kinda ridiculous.  AND...no foul on this play.  When I play on the playground, we usually say "no blood, no foul" so I'm pretty sure Russ should have got 2 FTs.

Regardless, this one was a Thunder win going away, but it did get close a few times.  PHX plays tough, and Scola has been playing better as of late, and Goran Dragic can flat out play.  Too much Thunder in this one though, with 5 players in double digits.  KD and Russ (as you'd expect) but also Ibaka, Collison, and Thabo all throwing up 10+ points.  Russ got fired up after the foul, and when he went out he had 7 points an 2 assists...after he came back into the game (after getting stitched up) at about the 6 minute mark in the 3rd quarter, he quickly put his stamp on the game, finishing with a line of 24/7/9 to go along with 1 steal and 1 turnover.  The moral of that story:  don't make Russ angry...you wouldn't like him when he's angry.

While Westbrook was out, the Thunder went with Reggie Jackson to start the 2nd half.  He only got 15 minutes during this game, but they were important minutes, and he was a +12 so dude is working hard to get into the lineup.  With Eric Maynor still struggling to find his shot after coming back from knee surgery (he's shooting only 31% on the season), Jackson has filled in well for the team.  He's more of a scoring point guard, but I saw Jackson in the summer league and I like his game.

The only real concern in this game was KMart, who went an ugly 2-12 from the field, made only 1 of his 6 3 point attempts, and even missed a free throw.  I mean...KMart almost NEVER misses a free throw.  So let's hope this was just one of "those games" for KMart, and move along.  Next up:  the new look Brooklyn Nets, tonight at Chesapeake Energy Arena.  I've only got one thing to say to the Nets - #ThunderNationRISE