Thunder Grind out a 108-101 win Over the Pistons

Despite only suiting up nine players the Pistons turned Friday night's contest into a grinder.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are proving they can win in several ways. On Friday, the Pistons only suited up nine players and still forced Oklahoma City to grind out a 108-101 win.  

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Billy Donovan says, "I thought it was a really good game for us because it was a different kind of game." .."Overall, I thought our guys really dug in and defend because there was a lot of movement." Donovan points out the Pistons being a 37 percent three-point shooting team (fifth in the NBA) and their ability to get physical in the half-court presented some issues for the Thunder. 

Chris Paul was Mr. Clutch again for Oklahoma City, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter six of those coming from the free-throw line. Paul's 18 foot step back with 1:41 left was the dagger that clinched the Thunder's fourth straight win and ninth in their last 10. I asked Chris Paul what does it say about his team that can win in a multitude of ways. "Earlier in the season, we lost some of these games."..."I think now we have the confidence we know we can get stops on call, and we know how to execute down the stretch.' 

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The trade deadline was still a hot topic on Friday night. Dennis Schroder, who scored 18 points in 27 minutes off the bench, had his name tied to the Lakers on Wednesday. Donovan is proud that this group of guys understands the business side of basketball and can focus on doing one thing at a time. Schroder says, "That's your job; you gotta focus on your job."..."You get up and spend time with your family, go to work, focus on practice or game, or whatever, then go back home and spend more time with your family." 

Neither Schroder or Gallinari seemed phased that their lives could have changed in the last 48 hours. Paul meant to send a text to his teammates once the deadline passed and says, "If we're gonna make a run at this thing, we've got our group." 

The Thunder could still add another player off of waivers, or they can sign Lou Dort to a full NBA contract. The latter could happen any day now. 

The Thunder go after their fifth consecutive win on Sunday when they host the Celtics on Sunday at 2:30 on NBATV and Fox Sports Oklahoma.