This was a story of hubris, reprisal and the ultimate futility of one-on-one battles in a game of five players per side. In the third quarter of last night’s Thunder-Pistons battle, Serge Ibaka rejected an Andre Drummond dunk attempt by swatting it against the backboard. He then turned towards the crowd — not towards Drummond, since that would immediately earn him a technical for taunting — and wagged his finger like Dikembe Mutombo. As you’ll see, the Gods of basketball would grant Drummond a chance to respond to Ibaka’s supercilious display.
First, here is Ibaka’s rejection in the third quarter. It’s a masterful display of his timing and defensive acumen. Personally, we think he’s a good bet for defensive player of the year when May rolls around:
Except, the Mutombo finger wag has always struck us as baiting opposing players. These are NBA players, after all, and it’s not like Drummond wouldn’t get another chance at some point. He did in the same game, it turns out, and at a much bigger point in the contest than when Ibaka impeded his scoring attempt in the third.
With under a minute to play, and the Pistons trailing by four, Drummond received the inbounds pass from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, spins past the reaching Reggie Jackson and puts Ibaka on a poster.
This is how you retaliate when someone wags a finger after a block:
The Pistons only trailed by two at this point and they had a chance to win or tie after Russell Westbrook missed a mid-range jumper on the other end.
Alas, Caron Butler‘s celebration after Drummond’s poster dunk, also came a little too soon.
Josh Smith missed a three-pointer to win the game and OKC had the road victory, handing Detroit their 12th consecutive loss. Only the Sixers have a worse record, at 2-18, then the Pistons, and one of those wins came against Detroit in OT. Stan Van Gundy‘s group is in disarray, but at least Drummond got some small measure of revenge on Ibaka. But it was an empty victory as the tragedy of the Motown men continues this season.
What do you think?
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