Wednesday night was the second half of a back-to-back for the Oklahoma City Thunder so you would think the players would be a little sluggish. Well that was not the case for OKC, as they blew out the Dallas Mavericks by the score of 108-89. Sluggish was actually the last word for this game, it was actually a very testy environment.

The game started off with OKC up 15-7, and you won't believe who had one of the biggest impacts in the first quarter. You probably didn't guess right, it's Andre Roberson. He finished with nine points on the game, but those nine points all came in the first quarter off 3-of-3 shooting. Durant also added 11 points to finish off a 30-20 lead at the end of the first.

Tempers Flare, Leads To Ejections

The second quarter is where the Oklahoma City-Dallas rivalry came to action. In a game that did not appear to be an eventful game due to Dallas sitting four starters, ended up being perhaps the most eventful game of the year. J.J. Barea and Russell Westbrook got into a minor altercation down in the paint after a shot, which caused other players from both teams to get involved.

One of the players ultimately was ejected after throwing a shot at two Oklahoma City players and that player was Charlie Villanueva, who left with seven points. A little bit after that altercation, J.J. Barea fouled Westbrook in transition and after the whistle was called, he fouled him again which caused Westbrook to swing his arm towards Barea in reaction to the extra foul. Westbrook would collect his second technical foul on that play that resulted in an ejection. Westbrook didn't have anything to say after the game about the altercation in  post game interviews. He also finished with no points for the first time since 2010, eight assists and seven rebounds. 

Thunder Cool Off But Held Commanding Lead

Things cooled off a bit in the third quarter, literally. The Thunder only scored 18 points and Durant had eight of those points. Oklahoma City at this point also had 11 missed free throw's which probably played a big role in why they weren't up even more. This quarter belonged to J.J. Barea, who was everything for the Dallas Mavericks tonight. Barea finished with 18 points for Dallas.

But in the fourth quarter when the reserves came in, things went back to normal for the Thunder. Oklahoma City could have ended the game better (or had a better third quarter) and they more than likely would have won by at least 25 points, with their largest lead being 29.

Top Performers

Kevin Durant led all scorers with 29 points off 9-of-14 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from three, along with 10 rebounds to complete the double-double. Serge Ibaka also continued his dominance with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and also made three three-pointers on the night. When the reserves came in Dion Waiters showed up, finishing with 18 points and five assists. Rookie Cameron Payne tops off the four players in double digits with 10 of his own off 4-of-6 shooting, while adding three assists and three steals to it.

Like it was stated earlier, Oklahoma City essentially blew out the Dallas Mavericks, but one has to think about the 17-of-29 shooting from free throw line and wonder how much of a blow out this game really could have been.

Up Next

OKC's next game will be against the Minnesota Timberwolves for the second time this week on Friday, Jan. 15 at 6 PM. This will be an ESPN televised game.