Astute viewers may notice that this video abruptly ends after the conclusion of the second quarter. That is not an error. Alex Abrines scored 16 points in the first half, then decided he was done for the night, not done as in literally not playing, but done as in not going to shoot to score anymore. This is not my fault. I did everything I could to show some highlights from the second half of this one, but unless you want to see bricks, fouls, or turnovers, there wasn’t much I could do.
In the end, it didn’t matter what Abrines did, because his early 16, combined with some other good efforts from marginal Thunder players, meant that this game was well in hand long before the final buzzer sounded. Who needs Carmelo? Who needs Westbrook? When you have Patterson and Abrines unchained from their former meager roles, anything is possible.