As the Thunder battled through foul trouble Friday night against the Los Angeles Clippers, the team relied heavily on the second unit to keep the game close.
Although the Thunder ultimately lost 118-110, the bench was key in allowing the Thunder to stick around. The unit combined to score 39 points in the game, led by Dennis Schroder with 15.
The Thunder rank 28th in the league in bench scoring as the team often relies most on Paul George and Russell Westbrook to do the heavy lifting on offense. Occasionally, though, the team will need its second unit.
On Friday, the Clippers attempted 46 free throws against the Thunder. George, Westbrook and Steven Adams all fouled out of the game as George was the first go with 3:49 left in the game.
Of the 39 points scored by the bench, 22 of those points came in the second half as Markieff Morris had seven of his 12 in the half while Abdel Nader added six.
George liked the effort from the second unit.
[They] stepped up. With foul trouble, they stepped up, had big minutes. Dennis [Schröder], Abdel [Nader], Nerlens [Noel] played some big minutes for us. Markieff [Morris] came in and made some big shots.
Schroder echoed that statement by George.
The bench players are making a good run. We did a hell of a job just competing and we brought the team back. Russell [Westbrook] and Paul [George] came back and got their sixth fouls, and it was just tough overall. I’m proud of the bench, they did a great job of just competing.
The Thunder may not always need the bench unit to have huge games but they will certainly be crucial for the nights when George and Westbrook may not have it going or when they struggle with foul trouble like Friday night.
A key for the Thunder over the remaining 16 games until the playoffs figures to be solidifying the rotations and getting Morris up to speed as the team prepares for the postseason.
Quotes courtesy of Clippers PR
