Thunder Rallies For First Road Win Of The Season

No one made a lot of noise when Oklahoma City signed sharpshooter Anthony Morrow in the offseason. After missing the first seven games of the year with a sprained MCL, Morrow showed Wednesday night how much of an asset he can be to the Thunder this year.

Morrow came off the bench to score 28 points to lead OKC to its first road win of the year, 109-94 over Boston.

Morrow has been known as an elite shooter ever since he came into the NBA and that shooting ability was on full display against the Celtics. Morrow hit 11-of-16 shots, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. 22 of those points came in the second half, when the Thunder shot 62 percent to turn a struggle-fest into a runaway victory.

The Thunder ball movement was terrific in the second half and Morrow took advantage, consistently finding himself wide open for jumpers. If Morrow can find himself wide open with this patchwork lineup, imagine how open he'll be when he's on the floor with Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.

With those two out, the Thunder have had to play team basketball as much as they ever have in OKC. Wednesday's game was another example of that as OKC got contributions from all over the floor to get a much-needed win.

The Thunder had four players in double figures, as Reggie Jackson joined Morrow with 28 points and Nick Collison chipped in 12 points (and two more 3-pointers!) off the bench. Serge Ibaka had 11 points.

It wasn't just about points for the Thunder, either. Lance Thomas had just seven points but pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds, five of those on the offensive end. He also dished out six assists. Steven Adams had nine points, but all of them came in the third quarter when OKC turned a 51-42 halftime deficit into a 76-72 lead when Jackson hit a 30-foot 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds left on the clock. Kendrick Perkins also had moments of brilliance, starting the second quarter on a personal 6-0 run to kick-start the Thunder comeback.

The Thunder started as poorly as they finished Tuesday night's game against Milwaukee, falling behind 18-3 in the first quarter. OKC didn't hit its second field goal until the 5:20 mark of the first quarter. For the second straight night, Jeremy Lamb struggled mightily from the field, shooting just 2-of-10 and missing all five of his 3-point shots.

The momentum from a win like Wednesday's can have a lasting impact. With the Thunder trying to keep their head above water until the stars return, every little bit of momentum helps.