Thunder top short-handed Bulls 107-95

The Oklahoma City Thunder caught a break when Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich were scratches from Thursday night’s game, and they were set to have an easy win. They were 12-0 at home, and the Chicago Bulls were facing a lot of injuries.

The game started out as everyone expected, as Oklahoma City came out hot, but things would turn quickly. The Bulls were fighting, and it looked like they wanted it more. The Thunder seemingly went through the motions in the first half, and the Bulls were able to keep it close. The score was 55-52 heading into the break, and the Bulls rode Joakim Noah and a ton of energy to play inspired basketball.

The game would turn around quickly, though, as Oklahoma City came out hot, and they wouldn’t look back. Jimmy Butler left the game early with an ankle injury, and the Bulls were treading water for the majority of the game. The Thunder outscored the Bulls 29-20 in the third quarter.

The Bulls made a small run late, but Kevin Durant didn’t allow the Thunder to lose the game, and they won 197-95. Kevin Durant finished the game with 32 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, and he now leads the league with thirteen 30 point games. Russell Westbrook finished with 20 points and 10 assists, and the Thunder a nice contribution from Reggie Jackson off the bench–as he scored 18.

The Bulls had a nice effort from Joakim Noah–who finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds, but they were too depleted to have a chance, and their offense was terrible. They shot just 37 percent from the floor, which makes it the sixth time in eight games that they have failed to reach 40 percent from the field. The Thunder are now 13-0 at home, and are 21-4 on the season. Let’s hope the Bulls can get Jimmy Butler, Luol Deng, and Kirk Hinrich back soon. This is just bad basketball from Chicago.