OKC 103, PHX 96: Thunder deny Suns win with late comeback
The Oklahoma City Thunder rained on the Phoenix Suns game-long parade to secure a fourth consecutive home opening victory, 103-96, Sunday night.
Here's what you need to know:
- Though Kevin Durant led his team with 33 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the regular season, the main event was all Russell Westbrook.
- The Thunder point guard tallied 21 points and a team high seven assists in his return to action, six weeks sooner than expected from a procedure on his knee.
Russell after game w/Lesley on @FSOklahoma: "It felt good. We won. That's all that matters. I found my rhythm." pic.twitter.com/YsdW6rMzBF
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 4, 2013
- Phoenix wasn't shut down too easily. The Suns lost Goran Dragic (10) to an apparent ankle sprain in the third quarter, but guard Eric Bledsoe stepped up to put 26 points into the visitors' effort.
- With his career-high 14 assists in Sunday's loss, Bledsoe joined Durant in posting his first double-double of the season in his 40 minutes of play.
- The Suns point guard also notched seven rebounds, second to Gerald Green's eight.
Eric Bledsoe had 26 points, 14 assists, 7 rebounds and 3 steals in close loss to OKC. Scariest thing about Bledsoe? He's only 23 years old.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) November 4, 2013
- Green played a season-high 33 minutes off the bench to add 21 points to the Phoenix line.
- The Suns allowed the Thunder to score points on all 25 turnovers. Not only did Phoenix hand the ball to OKC too many times...
Green steps out for the second time this quarter. The Suns have stepped out of bounds five times in the game. 25 turnovers.
— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) November 4, 2013
- Phoenix managed to make 37 three-point attempts to OKC's 18. The Suns knocked down 14 of those attempts, while the Thunder settled for just two.