A December 4th loss in Portland appears to have been just a speed bump for Derek Fisher and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder capped a dominant week on Wednesday night in Memphis with a 116-100 victory over the Grizzlies, marking their fourth straight win since losing to the Blazers. In those four wins, OKC’s average margin of victory has been more than 15 points.
Additionally, OKC has now won 12 of 13 its last 13 games, and sports a 17-4 record headed into a matchup with Derek’s former team, the Los Angeles Lakers, on Friday.
The latest Thunder win streak includes victories over playoff-positioned Atlanta and rival Memphis, as well as a 118-94 blowout of the East-leading Indiana Pacers in Oklahoma City on Sunday. Wednesday’s victory over the Grizzlies was a small measure of revenge for the Thunder, who were knocked out of the playoffs by Memphis last season.
OKC was without star point guard Russell Westbrook for that playoff series after he injured his knee in the Thunder’s first round playoff series win over Houston. But Westbrook was present on Wednesday in Memphis, and his presence was huge for the Thunder as he tallied a team-high 27 points and nine assists in the victory.
“It was tough, man. It was tough. This team ended our season last year,” Westbrook said. “(Last year), I was obviously at the house, but (tonight), I was back, and I wanted to set the tone.”
Of Westbrook’s 27 points, 15 were tallied in the first half and he combined with Kevin Durant (16 first half points) to push the Thunder to a 15-point halftime lead. The lead went as high as 24 points in the third for OKC and by the start of the fourth, the Thunder held a 16-point advantage.
Westbrook rested for the whole fourth quarter as D-Fish and Reggie Jackson split point guard duties. Fish tallied an assist and a steal in the fourth while helping hold down the lead for a 16-point win. He finished with four points, two steals and an assist in just under 13 minutes after playing 14 minutes each in the wins over the Pacers and Hawks earlier in the week.
NEXT UP
The Thunder head home to host the Lakers on Friday night and the Orlando Magic on Sunday. Tip-off of Friday’s game against LA is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and Sunday’s game starts a little earlier at 6 p.m. CT. Both can be seen on Fox Sports Oklahoma.
