OKC Thunder's Two Recent Losses Not Worth Overreactions
The Oklahoma City Thunder has gone 7-2 in its last nine games, but that includes two losses in its last three games. Those losses came at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers.
Evidently, the two losses in the Thunder's recent stretch -- despite both being double-digit losses -- are not worth overreactions. The first of the two, a 14-point loss to the Spurs, came after a six-game winning streak and in the first game of their current road trip.
In the game, the Thunder seemingly had nothing. They shot 9-of-31 on 3-pointers, just 29 percent, to combat the Spurs' 49 percent, 19-of-39, from beyond the arc. The Spurs were hot, outshot and defeated the Thunder with their offense.
After a six-game winning streak, losing a game to a team that shot incredibly on 3-pointers is acceptable. The Thunder simply didn't have it, but they soon bounced back against the Phoenix Suns in a roller coaster of a game on the road.
Unfortunately for the Thunder, the win against the Suns came on the first night of a back-to-back. The next day, which was Monday, the team had to play the Lakers.
The Lakers are a bad matchup for the Thunder, which has proven to be true as they're the only team to defeat Oklahoma City in the regular season series, as Los Angeles took three of the four matchups.
Offensively, the Thunder was flat. They scored just 104 points and an 18-point second quarter did not help them on that end of the floor. Naturally, the Lakers also knocked down 16 3-pointers while shooting them at a 47 percent clip.
Again, the Thunder was flat and lost to a team that thrived offensively. The two losses came at the hands of teams shooting well from beyond the arc and the team being flat offensively. On the road, that's hard to combat and grind out a win.
The team is still 42-19 and is sitting half a game back from the top seed in the Western Conference, being tied in the loss column, which benefits the team.
With 19 regular season contests remaining, the Thunder is still primed for a top-three seed, and dealing with a bit of a rough patch certainly helps build some character ahead of the postseason.
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