Thunder notebook: Franchise lows

BY DARNELL MAYBERRY, MIKE BALDWIN AND BERRY TRAMEL, Staff Writers Comments 0
Published: November 2, 2009

Six assists were the fewest in the Sonics/Thunder organization’s 42-year history. Several players attributed the lack of assists to 46 missed shots.

“Six? That’s definitely low,” said veteran point guard Kevin Ollie. “You have to make shots to get assists. We’ll just go back to the drawing board. We need to get a little better ball movement. We’ll correct that.”

DUBIOUS LOWS

Kevin Durant’s .143 shooting percentage (3-of-21) was the lowest in the NBA by a player who took at least 20 shots since Detroit’s Richard Hamilton made three of 22 (.136) vs. Portland on Dec. 18, 2004. Using that criteria, Durant’s percentage was the lowest by a Thunder/Sonic player in 40 years. Bob Rule made two of 20 shots (.100) on Nov. 4, 1969, against Detroit.

WESTBROOK STRUGGLES

After a solid preseason and solid first two games, Russell Westbrook finished with nine turnovers and only two assists after averaging 11.5 assists the first two games.

“You can’t hide the fact it wasn’t one of his better offensive games,” said Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks. “But I like that he still hung in there. Defensively, he was really active. Offensively, it wasn’t clicking. It wasn’t just him. Our team was not clicking offensively.”

HORRIBLE OFFENSIVE NIGHT

Oklahoma City shot 34.3 percent and committed a season-high 19 turnovers after averaging 13.0 the first two games.

“Offensively, it probably was as bad as we can possibly play,” Brooks said. “Six assists. No one had a night going offensively. Turnovers were a problem. But I was still proud of our effort. We hung in there and battled. (Portland) is a good team, probably one of the top four teams in the West.”

ALDRIDGE INJURED

LaMarcus Aldridge lit up the Thunder for 35 points in his last Ford Center appearance. A 6-foot-11 match-up problem for the Thunder, Aldridge was off to another good start (six points) before leaving the game with a right knee bone contusion. He did not play in the second half.

FAST BREAK...

Known for having one of the best benches in the league — finishing second in bench points last season — Portland’s bench only outscored OKC’s bench 21-14. ... A limited number of tickets remain for the Los Angeles Lakers game Tuesday night.