Thunder's Perkins and Ibaka froze out ball-dominant Jackson

Given the injuries to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, many expected Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson to step up and shoulder a larger share of offensive responsibilities.

However, as told by Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman, two of the Thunder's bigs, Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins, were less than enthused about Jackson's ball-hogging during Oklahoma City's loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

According to Mayberry, Ibaka and Perkins simply stopped passing to Jackson during a third-quarter stretch, including on fast breaks after they'd secured the defensive rebound.

After the game, Perkins admitted that he and Ibaka's decision wasn't in the best interest of the team.

“Just let the game come to you,” Perkins said about Jackson. “But with myself and with Serge, we got to do a better job with our body language and leadership skills, because I didn’t like the way I acted in the Brooklyn game as far as my body language toward Reggie. 

"But we know Reggie means well. We support him. He’s one of my good friends off the court. So it’s no harm in that.”

In two games this season, Jackson has attempted an average of 17 field goals per game, using a career-high 27.8 percent of Oklahoma City's possessions while he's on the floor. By contrast, Perkins and Ibaka have only seen modest upticks in their usage this season.