This, apparently, is what it looks like when Kendrick Perkins’ impact does show up in the stat sheet.

Perkins played perhaps his best game of the year in the Thunder’s 106-94 win over Utah on Friday night inside Chesapeake Energy Arena. It certainly was his most complete game thus far.

“Perk was really good,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. “He had a great overall game.”

This time, Brooks didn’t have to insist that he did things that didn’t show up in the box score.

The Thunder moved to 13-4, winning for the seventh time in eight games, largely because of Perkins’ contributions. He held Utah leading scorer Al Jefferson in check much of the night and limited him to 16 points on 7-for-18 shooting.

Jefferson entered the night averaging 16.6 points and 10.6 rebounds. He ultimately netted his averages in both categories, finishing with 11 rebounds, but those figures belie how effective the Thunder was against one of the best low-post scorers in basketball.

“Perk did a good job of pushing me out of the paint,” admitted Jefferson, who teamed with Perkins for three years in Boston. “And then when I did get the ball, there was a guy in my lap. They just had a good defensive plan.”

“He’s going to score because he’s a scorer,” Perkins said of Jefferson. “I just wanted to make sure he did not get to his jump hook and he stayed out the paint. Contest his jumpers outside the paint and I could live with that.’

via Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman