Russell Westbrook moved right around a screen, rotated his hips slightly and fired a pass with his left hand back across the free throw line, down to the block. Steven Adams was there to grab it, and despite being bodied up by Detroit Pistons’ All-Star Andre Drummond, the Thunder’s center simply turned over his right shoulder and flipped in an easy lefty hook shot.
That was a familiar sight on Saturday night – Westbrook doing the dishing and his teammates doing the scoring – in an efficient and balanced 106-88 victory over the Pistons. The Thunder never trailed after the opening minute and kept Detroit at bay all night.
Even though Head Coach Billy Donovan’s club was coming off an overtime win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night that capped a tough stretch of three road games in four nights, the Thunder had a burst of energy to start the game. It was focused and effective energy, too.
