Westbrook brought the ball upcourt again, then repeated the same play, continuing to look for the double screens on either side of the horns before driving and kicking it out once more.
This time, Batum was open on the perimeter. He caught the ball and, without hesitation, went straight into his shot.
With Gordon no longer daring to help off him, Batum made the right choice.
The ball skimmed low across the court, struck the back inner edge of the rim, and bounced in.
6–0.
Oklahoma had taken an early lead once again.
The Nuggets launched another attack.
Under immense pressure, Jokic took it upon himself to handle the ball.
He stood just inside the three-point line at the top of the key, leaned his side into Davis, then reached out for the ball from Murray near the sideline.
After catching it, he half-turned to adjust his stance and faced Davis, making a show of starting a post-up.
First, he used a shot fake to sell the jumper. Then he quickly put the ball on the floor, took a step inside while leaning into his defender, and suddenly gathered the ball before firing a long pass.
The ball sailed across half the Thunder Team's paint and straight to the weak-side corner.
Caldwell-Pope caught it and immediately launched a three.
This time, he made the most of the opportunity.
The ball dropped cleanly through the net.
"My bad!"
Westbrook touched his chest and let his teammates know the play had been his fault.
He'd fallen into his old bad habit again, watching the ball and losing track of his man's movement off the ball.
His teammates didn't make a big deal of it.
It was only a three-pointer.
The Thunder Team came back down the court and attacked again.
Westbrook initiated