PHOENIX — Dennis Schroder came off a screen to start the fourth quarter and expected a defender to be there.
The 6-foot-7 Kelly Oubre was dropped into the paint.
A stunned Schroder hesitated he had so much space to shoot, space which was missing in the first half.
Schroder stroked the 12-foot jump shot and slapped himself in the head.
To that point, he was 3-of-12 from the field and struggling in the place of Paul George in the starting lineup.
The drought was over.
For three quarters, the Thunder struggled to find its rhythm without George, who's become the team's centerpiece through 2½ months.