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The Oklahoma City Thunder have begun to turn a corner over the last week by winning four straight games — their latest being a 148-124 beatdown of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday afternoon.
This contest featured a growing trend for the Thunder offense in their last three meetings with the Cavs that is quite a rare feat.
Holy crap. I just realized OKC got up 100 FGAs today.That is the third straight time OKC has gotten 100 or more FGAs against the Cavaliers. All three games were decided in regulation too.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 21, 2018
Although that is a high volume of shots taken, it's something that came to be expected due to Oklahoma City possessing three potent scorers in Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony. Each of them taking at least 17 shots while being responsible for 55 of their team's 100 shots taken in the game.
What's most encouraging about this high amount of attempts is that each put together strong performances against the Cavs. George had a game-high 36 points on an efficient 12-of-19 shooting including 5-of-11 from beyond the arc. Anthony recorded a double-double with 29 points and 10 rebounds on 11-of-19 shooting from the field. Meanwhile, Westbrook posted his first 20-point, 20-assist performance of the season with 23 points and 20 assists along with nine rebounds that nearly gave him his 15th triple-double.
The Thunder have struggled throughout much of the season in finding consistency and flow to their offense with their three premier scorers. Each of them has previously found success getting much of their production in isolation situation, which is a style that is difficult to play alongside two other elite offensive players.
There have been plenty of bumps on the road, but the Thunder have shown some promise with this latest win streak that has pushed them more securely into the fifth spot in the Western Conference standings.
The Cavs, meanwhile, may have their struggles defensively this season, but a balanced outing from each of their All-Stars could help them finally find an offensive identity. With just about half the season still remaining, there is still plenty of time to work on being an effective unit on the floor come the postseason.
