Takeaways From The Thunder's Preseason Loss To Real Madrid

<p>Here are some takeaways from the Thunder's 142-137 preseason loss to Real Madrid.&nbsp;</p>

Monday, October 3rd 2016, 6:23 pm

By: Brett Coppenbarger


The Oklahoma City Thunder fell to Real Madrid 142-137 in overtime on Monday in its first taste of preseason action.

Here are some takeaways from the game:

Crazy Ending

After appearing to hold off Real Madrid’s second half rally, the Thunder held a five-point lead with 4.1 seconds left on the clock when rookie Domantas Sabonis fouled Andres Nocioni while attempting a 3-pointer.

Nocioni, who played five years in the NBA, stepped up to the line and drained the first two attempts to cut the deficit to only three points and intentionally missed the last free throw to give Real Madrid a chance to tie the game. Nocioni’s third shot hit off the right iron, and after a scrum for the ball Rudy Fernandez was able to tap the ball out to a wide open Sergio Llull, who sank the deep 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.

Real Madrid was fired up after the shot, and outscored the Thunder 16-to-11 in the extra session to pull off the preseason upset.

Steven Adams injured

Losing stinks, but losing one of your better players to injury in the preseason is even worse. Thunder big man Steven Adams sprained his ankle in the second quarter of the loss after coming down on a Real Madrid player’s foot while attempting a shot in the lane.

Here’s a look at how the injury occurred in the Tweet below:

We’ve seen Adams go down like that before and he’s always found a way to tough it out, but the Thunder obviously don’t want to push Big Kiwi when it’s in a meaningless preseason game.

Adams looked great before the injury, scoring seven points in only nine minutes of action while running the floor nicely. It’s clear Adams has a great chemistry with Russell Westbrook and will likely have a much bigger role in the OKC offense this season.

Also of note: With no Adams in the second half, Enes Kanter was a monster on the offensive end of the floor, finishing with 29 points and 10 rebounds in 33 minutes of action.

Russ is still Russ

With the fate of the franchise now resting solely on his shoulders, Westbrook looked great in his first taste of preseason action. OKC’s dazzling point guard finished with 18 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals while shooting 50 percent from the field and only turning the ball over once.

Westbrook was a force on Monday, and he looks more prepared than ever to lead this team without Kevin Durant. Much like last season, Westbrook was able to use the Thunder’s size to his advantage by dumping off passes to both Adams and Kanter for easy points, while he also hit some nice jumpers and connected 2-of-5 three-point attempts.

Westbrook only played 22 minutes in the game, and the Thunder held a nine-point lead when he checked out of the game with 1:39 left in the third quarter, so one can assume OKC would’ve been able to take care of business against Real Madrid if he would’ve played deeper into the game.

Oladipo domination

In his first game action as a member of the Thunder, guard Victor Oladipo was probably the most impressive player out on the floor. The former Hoosier finished with 34 points and five assists, while capping off his performance with a punishing dunk over two Real Madrid defenders.

Oladipo was assertive on offense while he seemed to fit in nicely next to Westbrook in the backcourt. He also played point guard at times when Westbrook was on the bench, and showed off his slashing ability with multiple contested layups and jumpers.

There were times he seemed to force the issue on a few possessions, but his dynamic playmaking ability far outweighs the negatives out on the court.  If this first preseason game is any indication, it looks like Oladipo will be the Thunder’s second scoring option next to Westbrook. 

We’ve seen Adams go down like that before and he’s always found a way to tough it out, but the Thunder obviously don’t want to push Big Kiwi when it’s in a meaningless preseason game.

Adams looked great before the injury, scoring seven points in only nine minutes of action while running the floor nicely. It’s clear Adams has a great chemistry with Russell Westbrook and will likely have a much bigger role in the OKC offense this season.

Also of note: With no Adams in the second half, Enes Kanter was a monster on the offensive end of the floor, finishing with 29 points and 10 rebounds in 33 minutes of action.

Russ is still Russ

With the fate of the franchise now resting solely on his shoulders, Westbrook looked great in his first taste of preseason action. OKC’s dazzling point guard finished with 18 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals while shooting 50 percent from the field and only turning the ball over once.

Westbrook was a force on Monday, and he looks more prepared than ever to lead this team without Kevin Durant. Much like last season, Westbrook was able to use the Thunder’s size to his advantage by dumping off passes to both Adams and Kanter for easy points, while he also hit some nice jumpers and connected 2-of-5 three-point attempts.

Westbrook only played 22 minutes in the game, and the Thunder held a nine-point lead when he checked out of the game with 1:39 left in the third quarter, so one can assume OKC would’ve been able to take care of business against Real Madrid if he would’ve played deeper into the game.

Oladipo domination

In his first game action as a member of the Thunder, guard Victor Oladipo was probably the most impressive player out on the floor. The former Hoosier finished with 34 points and five assists, while capping off his performance with a punishing dunk over two Real Madrid defenders.

Vic Oladipo introduces himself to @okcthunder fans around the world! #NBAGlobalGames https://t.co/PqFQdmHokY

— NBA (@NBA) October 3, 2016

Oladipo was assertive on offense while he seemed to fit in nicely next to Westbrook in the backcourt. He also played point guard at times when Westbrook was on the bench, and showed off his slashing ability with multiple contested layups and jumpers.

There were times he seemed to force the issue on a few possessions, but his dynamic playmaking ability far outweighs the negatives out on the court.  If this first preseason game is any indication, it looks like Oladipo will be the Thunder’s second scoring option next to Westbrook. 

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Here are some takeaways from the Thunder's 142-137 preseason loss to Real Madrid. 

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