Written by Chase Hughes at CSN Mid Atlantic.com
Scott Brooks’ first matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team that fired him after the 2014-15 season, did not go quite as planned. The second went about as perfectly as it could.
After losing in overtime on Nov. 30 after Russell Westbrook hit a game-tying three to force the extra period, the Wizards thoroughly dominated the Thunder on Monday night at the Verizon Center. They tied a season-high with 38 points in the first quarter and had 101 points at the end of the third. They shot 57.5 percent from the field, 61.9 percent from three and held Westbrook, an MVP candidate, scoreless in the second half.
This was an unequivocal beatdown and it happened to come against a team Brooks has every right to want revenge against. Except it’s not Brooks’ style to admit any extra motivation of that sort. He did his best to downplay the win and act like it was just another game.
“It’s nice to beat them. But we are hopefully going to do the same thing and play well against Indiana [on Thursday]. That would be nice. They’re all nice. They aren’t easy to get,” Brooks said.
“Obviously, I had a great experience there. I had a lot of good players to coach. They put me in this position that I’m in now and I’m thankful for that. I’ve moved on. It’s another part of my coaching career. I’m excited to be here. I love the group of guys. Ernie [Grunfeld] has been great to work with. We communicate every day, so that’s nice.”
Brooks didn’t want to go into detail about what it felt like to beat his former team. But his players took pride in helping him get the win.
“For sure. He’s never going to talk about that,” guard Bradley Beal said. “He’s a Wizard in my mind. I forget all about the OKC days. He’s a terrific coach. It’s great to get him a win against his previous team, for sure.”
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