Thunder Top Raptors, Escape Losing Spell

Oklahoma City snapped a four-game losing streak on Friday night, taking down the Toronto Raptors 132-113 at the Paycom Center.

Toronto was without all-star forward Pascal Siakam, but Chris Boucher picked up the slack in his absence, scoring 20 points and notching 12 rebounds. For the Thunder, two-way guard Eugene Omoruyi led the way with 22 points and three rebounds while shooting 8-for-10 from the field. Oklahoma City finished the contest with eight players in double figures.

OKC opened the game on a hot shooting streak, going 11-for-17 from the field in the first quarter. Despite their proficient shooting performance, the Thunder struggled with turnovers in the first frame, throwing multiple ill-advised passes and having the ball poked lose by Raptors defenders.

Oklahoma City combatted this by forcing six turnovers on defense and scoring frequently in fast break situations. Forward Aleksej Pokusevski's four blocks continued the 20-year-old Serbian's five-game streak of two or more blocks.

While he has struggled to connect on 3-pointers so far this season, 6-foot-3 defensive standout Lu Dort found his rhythm on offense once again in the first quarter, knocking down three triples from the corner. Heading into the second period, OKC led Toronto 29-24.

The Thunder's offense exploded for 41 points in quarter number two behind great passing and off-ball movement. Omoruyi was the leader off the bench for OKC, knocking down all four of his shot attempts en route to 11 points and two rebounds in 11 minutes on the floor in the first half.

The Thunder constantly swung the ball around the court, forcing the Raptors to scramble on defense and opening a backdoor cut that OKC took frequently took advantage of. At the half, Oklahoma City held a 70-56 lead over Toronto.

After a season-high 70 points in the first half, the Thunder's offense continued to impress in the third quarter, scoring 36 more. Every time the Raptors began to make a run, OKC shut the door with a quick bucket of their own.

As they have all season, Oklahoma City attacked the paint, gashing Toronto with backdoor cuts and drives to the rim. As the Raptors began to collapse inside on defense, the Thunder started to rain down shots from the perimeter.

At the start of the fourth quarter, OKC had a commanding 106-85 advantage over Toronto. The Thunder added 26 in the final frame to maintain its huge lead.

Despite being ahead by over 20 points, Oklahoma City was still hustling and diving for loose balls in the fourth quarter, showing that a positive, determined culture is being built on the Modern Frontier.

The Thunder return to action on Sunday, November 13, against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

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