If I laid out this set of facts for you in a matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs before the season started, what would you have said the outcome would be?
-The Spurs are 13-1 coming into the game.
-The Spurs are on an 11-game winning streak.
-Kevin Durant needed 23 shots to get to 24 points.
-Russell Westbrook was 2-16 from the field with 6 points.
-The Thunder shot 4-15 (26.7 percent) from the 3-point line.
-Oh and the Spurs sport one of the best benches in all of basketball.
You’d probably say the OKC bench wouldn’t be able to handle an off night from Durant or Westbrook let alone both.
You’d be wrong. The Thunder bench outscored the Spurs bench 39-37 in route to a 94-88 win, but that doesn’t begin to tell you the impact the bench had on the outcome especially second year guys, Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb.
“[We’re] just another athletic backcourt that’s always in attack mode trying to find shots for ourselves and others,” said Jackson of himself and his running mate Lamb.
Jackson and Lamb kept the Thunder around in the first half combining for 16 points on 7-9 shooting. The Spurs had a 46-43 lead at halftime, but the benches played each other to a draw when the full bench units went head to head early in the second quarter and the overall bench scoring favored OKC 18-13 at the break.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, Reggie Jackson had squarely taken over the game hitting his first four field goals to start the quarter. With five hall of famers between the two teams on the court, it was Jackson scoring 14 of his career high 23 points in the fourth to seal the game.
“Reggie was good in pick and rolls,” said OKC head coach Scott Brooks of Jackson’s aggressive play “He’s one of the best finishers around the basket. We put him in situations where he can get to the basket, and he does a good job of finding gaps, angles, and he gets there and he finishes around the rim.”
Lamb continued to show a growing confidence in his stroke going 5-7 from the field and 2-3 from 3-point land for his 12 points. Lamb hit a huge 3-point basket near the end of the first quarter to keep the Spurs lead at a manageable 21-17 and then another big triple and jump shot to end a Spurs rally and push the Thunder lead back to nine at the end of the third quarter.
“I’m just trying to feel my way through, learn more and more each day,” said Lamb of his confidence. “I think my confidence is growing, but at the same time I’ve got a lot to work on, a lot to learn. So I’m just soaking everything up.”
And, the confidence didn’t just spring up against the Spurs. The two guards are making a steady improvement in being aggressive with each game. The last five games the duo has attempted about two shots over their season average. Lamb actually scores better at home but shoots a tad bit more on the road.
As for Jackson, he has been living in the paint this year at home or on the road with 42 percent of his shots coming from within 5 feet of the basket. He’s shooting 51.5 percent on drives and makes 9.6 points off drives per 48 minutes which is comparable to another great finisher, Tony Parker, who’s at 9.9 points off drives per 48 minutes.
Obviously, Parker plays, drives and scores more, but the stat gives you a sense of how aggressive and effective Jackson has been in a more limited role than Parker.
It’s a small sample size for Jackson and Lamb, and you can’t really even chant the fun cliché that a regular season game was played with “playoff intensity” because the game against the Spurs hardly had that feel. Still, you can only pass the tests that are in front of you, and the Thunder bench passed this test rather aggressively.
