NBA schedule & results: Heat fall flat against Bucks, Thunder dunk on Nuggets

As usual, Westbrook was the catalyst. The Nuggets jumped out to a 12-point lead in the second quarter, but the Thunder were just getting warmed up. They erased the deficit with ease and went into the half with a four-point lead. Kanter was a jolt off the bench, hustling for rebounds and sprinting ahead of the Nuggets transition defense for easy fast break points. Meanwhile, Westbrook put on his own personal dunk contest.

The Thunder let the Nuggets stick around because that intensity can lead to trouble, too. They want to attack at all times, which sometimes means rushing the offense and taking bad shots. And on a night when they made only 6-of-28 from deep like they did against the Nuggets, they might be missing better looks at the hoop. The Thunder often make the extra pass that finds a cutting player down by the bucket, but on more than one occasion against the Nuggets they grabbed an offensive rebound only to fire up another quick shot that didn’t drop. It’s the reason the Nuggets stayed close around despite the daggers Westbrook kept slamming home.

Russ. Oh. My.

If you want another angle.