PHOENIX -- It was less than a week ago that Serge Ibaka was, if only briefly, struggling to even remain in the Thunder's rotation. Friday night in Phoenix, his presence there was one of the main reasons his team was able to pull away late for a 111-107 win over the Suns.Ibaka has been largely solid this season for Oklahoma City, averaging close to 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots in 25 minutes per game, while playing mostly with the second unit. But an uninspired performance against the Timberwolves on Jan. 26 in 18 minutes was followed by only 13 minutes against the Wizards two days later.
Then, in arguably the team's biggest game of the season to date -- a nationally televised home date with the Miami Heat -- Ibaka played a season-low nine minutes, and didn't fill up the box score with anything other than a blocked shot and two personal fouls.
Scott Brooks said at the time that the decrease in minutes had nothing to do with Ibaka's performance, and that it strictly had to do with matchups.
"He's not in the doghouse," Brooks said. "It's just, do you want him to guard LeBron James? He can't guard LeBron."
Fair enough. Brooks also promised that Ibaka would return to the rotation against a bigger Hornets team, and he did indeed. Ibaka played 33 minutes and finished with eight points, 12 rebounds, and six blocked shots.
That was nothing compared to what he did against Phoenix.
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