Chicago Bulls vs Oklahoma City Thunder Match Player Stats On Nov 15, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Nov 15, 2017

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Some games are decided in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, others by halftime.

On Wednesday night, Oklahoma City (7-7) needed only 12 minutes to bury Chicago before eventually winning 92-79.

After racing to a 27-7 lead in the first quarter, the Thunder posted their third consecutive win by maintaining a steady lead in the final three quarters as Chicago (2-10) continued to wallow in its woeful season.

Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 21 points, five rebounds and seven assists, and Carmelo Anthony added 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Forward Lauri Markkanen led the Bulls with 16 points and six rebounds.

The Bulls sputtered in the first quarter, scoring only seven points -- one off from tying a franchise record for fewest points in a quarter -- while committing five turnovers.

Meanwhile, the Thunder shot 47.6 percent from the floor in the same span, led by Anthony's 3-of-5 performance from the floor for nine points.

After missing Sunday's game with a sore back, Anthony poured in seven consecutive points early in the first quarter to give the Thunder a 11-3 lead with 7:23 remaining in the first quarter. The Bulls went 1 of 7 from the floor in the same stretch, earning the only bucket from Markkanen.

While the Bulls' offense looked bleak in the first quarter, Denzel Valentine helped bring a spark off the bench in the second quarter. The second-year shooting guard was nearly perfect from the floor in the first half, missing just one of five attempts to score 10 points.

His efforts helped Chicago rebound with 27 points in the second quarter, but an eruption from Westbrook kept the Thunder ahead by a sizable margin.

Westbrook didn't score his first points until 6:41 left in the second quarter on a 3-pointer to give the the Thunder a 20-point lead. The bucket kicked off a personal scoring flurry where the point guard reeled off 12 points in three minutes.

By halftime, the Thunder had a 58-34 advantage with three players in double figures. Valentine was the only Chicago player in double digits.

The Bulls showed fight in the third quarter, opening with a 9-6 scoring edge as the Thunder's offense slowed down.

Chicago outscored Oklahoma City 22-19 in the third quarter and hung around in the fourth quarter to whittle the Thunder's lead to 14 with 2:44 to play.

But the dismal opening quarter put Chicago in an insurmountable hole and the Bulls weren't able to complete the fourth-quarter rally.

NOTES: Thunder C Steven Adams missed his third game with a right calf contusion. ... Thunder F Dakari Johnson got his third consecutive start with Adams out. ... Thunder G Daniel Hamilton was active for the game, becoming Oklahoma City's first two-way player to be activated. ... Bulls G Kris Dunn made his first career start with Justin Holiday on paternity leave ... F Quincy Pondexter replaced Paul Zipser at small forward in the starting lineup. ... Chicago scored seven points in the first quarter, its lowest opening-quarter output in franchise history. ... The Thunder forced three shot-clock violations in the first half. ... The Thunder return to action Friday against Sacramento. The Bulls play Charlotte.