NBA scores 2017: The Thunder barely beat the Grizzlies

OKC’s won a few games, but its recent success is nothing to smile at. And oh yeah, LeBron James is a beast.

Dec 10, 2017, 12:30 PM UTC

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

If you’re a Thunder fan, you should have mixed feelings this morning.

Oklahoma City came back from down 20 to snap its eight-game road losing streak with a 102-101 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. The Thunder won without Paul George, who missed his second game with a calf bruise, and advanced to a 12-13 record to claw back into the Western Conference playoff picture.

But that’s all on paper. What you see on the court is another thing.

The Thunder don’t look like a cohesive basketball team. Russell Westbrook had a triple-double, but needed 29 shots to get 20 points. Carmelo Anthony’s shooting woes continued with a 21-point night on 7-of-20 shooting. The offense lacked motion and ball movement; an unfortunate, but everyday occurrence. And Oklahoma City gave up a sizable lead to a team with the second-worst record in the conference, one that fired its head coach after eight straight losses and doesn’t have its starting $153 million point guard.

“We had our opportunities,” Grizzlies coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game. “We let it slip away from us.”

OKC needed five extra minutes of overtime to dispatch of a team that shouldn’t even be in the same gym as them. That’s the unsettling part.

It is now 25 games into the regular season, and the Thunder still don’t look like a playoff team. Yes, they’ve won four of their last five games, but Oklahoma City almost let San Antonio steal a win late. They let Brooklyn win in Mexico City, and have wins against Utah and an equally puzzling Minnesota team.

A team with three All-Stars — including the reigning league MVP, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, and a legitimate two-way playmaker — should be able to figure things out. More than a quarter of the way in, OKC is still a sub-.500 team.

Maybe this stretch is what the Thunder needed to get back on track. But if Oklahoma City is still dragging its feet into the new year, a change may be in order. And there’s no telling who could go.

Mike Scott went off

Do you remember Mike Scott? Here’s a clue: He used to be a stretch four for the Hawks, and has dunked on both Bradley Beal ...

... and Ian Mahinmi:

Hopefully that jogged your memory. Anyway, Mike Scott plays for the Wizards now. And he planted a seed in viewers’ minds on Saturday: He might be more than a dunker and streak shooter after all.

Scott finished with 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field, off the bench, and the Wizards lost by one after a crazy ending. Washington fans shouldn’t expect this to be a nightly occurrence for their reserve forward, but if he can even do this every once in awhile, that’s a come up for the Wizards.

LeBron took over again

LeBron James isn’t human. This time, he proved it by going off for a triple double — 30 points, 13 assists and 13 rebounds — in a 105-98 win over the 76ers. He scored or assisted on Cleveland’s last 22 points. ... in the second game of a back-to-back.

Voters may have gotten LeBron fatigue when it comes to the league’s Most Valuable Player award, but The King might be reminding them of his greatness. In his 15th NBA season at age 32 (soon to be 33), James is averaging 28.3 points, 8.7 assists and 8.3 rebounds per game. He is shooting 57.6 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from deep.

LeBron’s even hitting step-back threes now. The man is in a world of his own, and after a rocky start, the Cavs are 19-8 with the second-best record in the East.