Postgame 32: Back To Business

Thunder Wins 109-85!

Players of the Night

Oklahoma City- Russell Westbrook (27 Pts, 3 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl)

Philadelphia- Nick Young (21 Pts, 4 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl)

Box Score

Takin' care of business. Every day. 

Oklahoma City got back to their winning ways tonight with their second win against the 76ers this season, putting the series at a 2-0 lead for the Thunder. This was a welcome sight and separation from the last game between these two teams which led to an overtime win for the Thunder. Tonight, OKC led for the majority of the game and win became more and more secure as time ran on. Both teams went to their benches with about three minutes left in the 4th quarter and the game was essentially over. 

Philadelphia played fairly well for most of the game, with the 76ers staying fairly close up until the 4th quarter. Nick Young was efficient off the bench for Philly, registering 21 points and keeping them in the game with many of his makes from behind the arch. The starters for the 76ers did not fare very well, however, with only 2 players making it into double digits. Turnovers were killers for Philly, with 20 turnovers and the Thunder scoring 24 points off those turnovers. Missing the production from the starters was the final nail in the coffin and led to the the outcome of the game tonight. 

Oklahoma City played very well tonight, shooting efficiently, crashing the boards, and playing stifling defense.  Russell Westbrook and Kevin Martin were both perfect from beyond the arch, going a collective 8 for 8 for three. Wolverine was lava-hot tonight, going perfect from three, making many of his mid-range jumpers, and finishing at the rim with finesse. Much of the hitch in his shooting motion is long gone and the Westbrook that was shooting at a high percentage in the beginning of the season is back. KD was himself like always, making the All-star plays and making his man look like a fool. Both would score 27 and 26 respectively.

Postgame 27: That Was A Foul?

Thunder Lose 103-97

Players of the Night

Oklahoma City- Kevin Durant (33 Pts, 7 Reb, 3 Ast)

Miami- Lebron James (29 Pts, 8 Reb, 9 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk)

Box Score

(Credit: ABC)

Tonight was just one of those nights. 

As sports blogger/journalist, I have a duty to leave my emotions out of my work to a point and display a piece of work that is un-bias, again to a point. I know many people tonight are absolutely furious at the officiating, including myself, and I could spend all of this post speaking on the horrific officiating in this game. However, the Thunder left this game in the hands of the refs and when that happens, the outcome is usually not pretty. 

The Thunder are usually almost, or nearly, perfect from the line. However, Oklahoma City was less the perfect at the line and it was pivotal. The team, as a whole, missed 6 free throws. Six points was the margin of victory for the Heat. Westbrook missed two, Kevin Durant missed two, and the standard-bearer of free throw line efficiency Kevin Martin even missed a free throw. 

Russell Westbrook had an absolutely horrendous shooting night. Now, don't take this as blaming Wolverine for the loss. Westbrook, however, did play a bit out of wack tonight, missing easy layups, shooting up bad mid-range jumpers, and falling asleep defensively. Coupled with the lack of foul calls, Westbrook could never get in a rhythm and it completely stymied the offensive flow. 

The one if not only bright spot for OKC tonight was the MVP candidate, Kevin Durant. KD absolutely destroyed LeBron with a flurry of spot up shots, three pointers, step backs, and even a floater. If not for extenuating circumstances, this game would have placed KD in the sole top position for the MVP and would have been a prime example in the argument of Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James. However, the winning team gets the press, and this beautiful game by the Durantula will be mired in the loss. 

Pregame 27: Merry Christmas!

Vs.

When: Tuesday, December 25 @ 4:30 CST

Where: Miami, Florida - American Airlines Arena

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)

TV: ABC (Cox 8, HD 705; Tulsa Cox 8; DirecTV 6; UVerse 5)

Stream: Click Here

The moment all Thunder fans have been waiting for. A chance to exact revenge. An opportunity to stick it to LeBron and his cohorts. A shot at showing not only that Kevin Durant is MVP worthy, but at showing that OKC is championship worthy. Barring any outstanding circumstances, all roads to the Larry O'Brien trophy run through the Heat. 

The last time these two teams met, one team was basking in the glow of victory, and another was consoling each other while looking towards the future. Most can guess who was which. The iconic image of James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook all arm-in-arm, watching the rest of the clock of Game 5 of the Finals tick away was one that was burned in the minds of all Thunder fans. 

Seeing the young, charismatic players, rarely seen without a smile, standing in the corner of the court with looks of sadness was more than many OKC fans could bare. Yet, there was always next year and always the promise of many more runs at it. The big three for Oklahoma City were the youngest in the NBA, looking forward to 10+ years together with opportunities abounding for this young super team. However, the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. 

A few days before the deadline to sign restricted free agents, James Harden was traded. The Beard, the threes to the ground, and the guttural roar from the darkness of Harden's face were all gone. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year was gone. Along with Aldrich, Cook, and Hayward (Lazar), Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, a few first round draft picks, and a second rounder. No one knew what was next for the cinderella team from America's Heartland. 

Neither did anyone know how little it would actually affect them in the regular season. 

So far, the Thunder are showing little to no negative effect from the Harden trade. Oklahoma City's offensive has been as potent as ever, ranking in the top five of most, if not all, of the monikers of offensive efficiency. Field goal percentage, three point percentage, and free throw percentage are all up from last season. The Thunder are shooting, assisting,  and rebounding better than ever. Kevin Martin has effectively filled in most if not all of the holes that were left by James. Martin is just as, if not more, efficient as James Harden while spacing the court even more with his consistency from downtown. The question is, can Martin do what James wasn't able to do during the Finals, show up?

Prediction: 113-105 Thunder

Points of Interest 

• Kevin Martin. Every Thunder fan saw the effect of a game without Kevin Martin. Now that problem needs to be fixed just in the case that he is injured again, but having Martin back in the lineup is pivotal. In order to beat the Heat, OKC must be able to space the floor and use all of its offensive weapons, not just Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
• Assists, Assists, Assists. The Thunder have been setting a great precedent for future years as a team with a high assist rate. To spread the floor and take advantage of the full power of their offense, the Thunder must assist much like they have before. 
• Small Ball. In last year's Finals, the one weapon that worked for the Thunder all season was used against them. Miami infused a group of hot shooting guards into the lineup, torching OKC from the arch because of their inability to match the small ball that they installed. Oklahoma City must be able to defend against the small ball of Miami in order to win tonight. 

Thunder UP and Merry Christmas!

Postgame 25: 12 of One, A Dozen of the Other

Thunder Win! 100-92

Leaders of the Night

OKC- Kevin Durant (41 Pts, 13 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Blk)

Atlanta- Jeff Teague (19 Pts, 1 Reb, 9 Ast, 1 Blk)

Box Score

Now that was a win.

Oklahoma City was obviously looking for revenge tonight against the Hawks. From beginning to end, save a scoreless stretch in the 3rd quarter where the Thunder couldn't buy a basket, OKC took it to the Hawks with force. 

Offensively, this wasn't much of a team game tonight. No other players other than Russell and Kevin got above double digits in scoring, but when you have the Durantula on your team, who needs scoring from role players. Durant exploded in the second half, showing exactly how Not Nice he really is. He would go on to score 40+ for the first time this season, lighting up Atlanta like a Christmas tree; just in time for the holiday season. KD would end up with 41 points and 13 rebounds at the end of the night. 

Regardless of a shooting slump in the second half, Russell started off with a BOOM, scoring with a fury and doing things such as this. He would end up with a double-double, scoring 27 points and registering 11 assists. Wolverine played with great control tonight, only having 3 turnovers and keeping the out of rhythm, off balance shots out of his game and taking nearly all good looks at the basket. 

Coming off his big game two nights before, Air Congo struggled to score much of anything tonight, going from a season high of 25 to shooting 2-9 and scoring only 4 points. Ibaka would be a terror on the boards, however, grabbing 14 of the Thunder's 52 rebounds. 

The real surprise tonight, even after Kevin Durant's 41 point game, was Scott Brooks wholesale roster change near the end of the 1st quarter. Along with normal bench players such as Thabeet, Maynor, and Martin, Brooks threw a curveball and played Jeremy Lamb for his most meaningful minutes this year. Lamb would go on to score 5 points with a sweet 3-pointer, showing either his trade worth or his worth in the rotation for Brooks. Nonetheless, the Thunder took the lead during that time and never relinquished it from there on. 

Pregame 25: Thunder Vs. Hawks

                         vs.

When: Wednesday, December 19 @ 6:30 PM CT

Where: Oklahoma City- Chesapeake Arena

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)

TV: Fox Sports Southwest (Cox 37, HD 722; Tulsa Cox 27; DirectTV 679; UVerse 754)

Stream: Click Here

OKC heads out to Atlanta tonight to face the Hawks for the second time this season. Last meeting between these two teams ended up in a 104-95 loss for the Thunder. 

Atlanta has played fairly well in the wake of losing one of the best players last year to trade, Joe Johnson. Johnson, having been traded to the Nets, had been an integral part of the offense for the Hawks but had become too much of a financial burden with his high priced contract. Atlanta traded Johnson for Jordan Farmar, several non-essential role players, and a first-round protected pick in 2013. Atlanta has gone on to put up a 15-7 record, mostly against lower-tier Eastern Conference teams, with one marque against the Memphis Grizzlies, 93-83. Players such as Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Jeff Teague bear the scoring weight for the team, with several quality bench players like Zaza Pachulia and especially Louis Williams, the primary sixth man for the Hawks. 

Oklahoma City comes into Atlanta riding a league-best 11 wins in a row, mostly at home, including a 14-point win in a rematch of the Western Conference Finals from a season ago against the Spurs. The Thunder have been playing at a feverish pace as of late, beating many of the teams during the streak by double-digits and destroying Charlotte by a franchise-best 45 points. Kevin Durant and Co. have done quite the job lately passing the ball around with Russell Westbrook leading the charge, assisting and leading the Thunder with 8+ assists a game. 

In the last match-up between these two teams, two factors were key, Turnovers and Play in the 4th quarter. OKC turned the ball over 21 times which resulted in 31 points for Atlanta. Surging in the 4th quarter, compounded with non-existent defense from the Thunder, Atlanta closed the game out and registered the W in the Chesapeake Arena. However, after only 20 games,  Oklahoma City is worlds apart from the team they were at the beginning of the season. 3 games into the season, OKC had traded the reigning sixth man of the year 3 days before the first game. Kevin Martin was just integrating himself into the offense and the team was just learning to deal the lost of such an important player in their lineup. Now 24 games into the season, Martin has integrated himself into the offense fairly well, and the Thunder has found a rhythm on both sides of the ball. It will be extremely interesting to see how the Thunder fair in the second instance of the match-up. 

Points of Interest 

• Martin: Martin had his coming out game early in the season, scoring 28 points against the Hawks in the first match-up. It will be interesting to see how he plays against Atlanta tonight and whether or not he can repeat his performance. 
• Assists: The Thunder assisted very well in the first game, registering 27 assists despite the loss. With the rhythm and increased play from the team, assisting as such should result in another win for the Thunder. 
• Russell: Westbrook shot 5-18 in the last match-up against the Hawks, so increased offensive output from Russell should surely change the result the second time around. 

Go Thunder!

Postgame 24: 11 Games and Counting

Thunder Wins! 107-88

Leaders of the Night

OKC- Serge Ibaka (25 Pts, 17 Reb, 1 Ast, 3 Blk)

San Antonio- Nando de Colo (14 Pts, 2 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Stl)

Box Score

(Credit: NBA.com)

Gotta love a beat-down. Especially when its the Spurs. 

Coming into the game tonight, the Thunder were walking tall, kicking ass and taking names. There defense wavered slightly against sub-par teams, but it was never anything to worry about. Riding a 10-game win streak, OKC definitely started the game with a little bit of a swagger and ready to run over the Spurs. San Antonio came into the game, having gone 1-2 in the last two games and losing to the likes of Portland and Utah. Knowing the Spurs tendency to have a bounce back game and leave it till late in order to break the hearts of the opponents, no one would have been surprised if they just came out and took it to the Thunder because, unfortunately, it's happened before. Wow, was I surprised.

Air Congo took off for flight tonight, and there was no turbulence. Serge Ibaka was hot-lava smoking from the get-go, looking much like how he had in his game last year when he went a perfect 11-11 from the field against, you guessed it, San Antonio in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. He ended up shooting 8-8 from the field until a throw up ball before the halftime buzzer hit rim and bounced out. 

Serge wasn't the only man getting in on the fun tonight against the Spurs. Kevin Martin was his usual super-efficient self, scoring from the arch, taking it to the hole, and stoppin' and poppin'. He would end up 7-10 for 20 points with 3 from the arch. 

OKC pounded the glass tonight like Amar'e, completely destroying the Spurs on the defensive and , most surprisingly, offensive boards. Serge lead the team with 17 and Nick Collison, having one of his best years of his career, registered 10. 

The Spurs finally bent to Oklahoma City's will in the 4th, keeping many of the starters out and resting for the next game against Denver. Gregg Popovich is a coach who, if he knows that he will lose, will rest his starters because there is not much of the point. 

The Thunder, having completed their home-stand with no losses and riding an 11-game winning streak, head to Atlanta. OKC has a touch stretch ahead, only playing 6 home games between the next game and the same day in February. If they can run the table against Atlanta, Minnesota, and Miami on Christmas Day, Oklahoma City will be a force to recon with and have the number 1 seed fully in there hands going into 2013. That's all depending on if we don't die on Friday. Just kidding!

Pregame 24: Thunder Vs. Spurs

vs.

When: Monday, December 17 @ 7 PM CT

Where: Oklahoma City- Chesapeake Arena

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, DirectTV 679, UVerse 754)

Stream: Click Here

I apologize to my faithful readers recently for missing the pre and post game on Friday. Because of the extenuating circumstances that we all know about, I decided not to write on that day. That is my personal choice and I apologize if I lost any of you readers because of it. However, on a lighter note, Here is your pregame! 

The Thunder host the San Antonio Spurs tonight in a battle for not just the Best of the West, but for the title of Best in the League at this current time. OKC has been riding a 10 game win streak that is the best in the league and the best winning streak in the Post-Sonics Era franchise. San Antonio themselves are limping into this game, having lost 2 of the last three games and having lost the hold on the top spot in the west. This is the second match-up between the two teams, with the first match up resulting in a Spurs win on the opening night for the Thunder, 86-84 on a Tony Parker buzzer-beater.

Oklahoma City seems to be clicking on all cylinders at the moment, bringing almost all parts of their game into a fine rhythm. The Thunder defense has been lax as of late but with offensive fire power like Kevin Durant, explosiveness such as Russell Westbrook, and the super-efficiency of Kevin Martin, a defensive slump can be easily overcome. Much of the product of the run-and-gun offense of OKC is players focused slightly more on the breakout then solid defense, which can lead to lapses in the defenses that are easily overcome.

The rivalry between these two teams has become a classic as of late, with all the parallels in the organization of the teams, the connections of the front offices, and the similarities of their lineups. Although there are very big differences in the way the teams play the game, with the Spurs playing a traditional, John Stockton-like, assist-heavy offense and the Thunder playing a fast-pace, fast break-heavy offense, all these differences accomplish are games that nearly always become instant classics. One teams weakness is another's strength, and all down the stat sheet, the advantage goes back and forth until it is nearly even and only factors outside of statistics determine the outcome of the game, whether it be clutch, luck, or the whim of Gregg Popovich. 

But enough words, lets get to the numbers!

“Far away, through the gash that led the way into the mountains, he heard the thick mouth of the perpetual thunder.”~ Stephen King (The Gunslinger)

Postgame 21: Setting The Pace

The Thunder secure the win tonight, 104- 93, tying the Spurs for the best record in the NBA at 17-4. The Thunder also increase their win streak tonight to 8, which is a league best. 

The game tonight was back and forth, even though the Thunder rarely gave up the lead during the course of the game. Several times the Pacers took the lead back but the Thunder kept Indiana far away enough towards the end of the game to secure the win. 

David West scored 10 quick points to keep the game close in the first quarter, ending in the Thunder leading 25-22. Kevin Martin would hit a few shots and free throws and then the real fun would begin. Kevin Martin would go on to score 20 points in the quarter, going 4 of 5 from the field, 3 of 4 from the arch, and 7-8 from the line all within 11 minutes spread over the two quarters. Indiana would keep up with the Thunder, however, trailing only 1 at half time, 57-56

The Thunder and the Pacers would go back and forth for most of the 3rd quarter, with Indiana and Oklahoma City trading baskets and the lead, with Indiana ahead for a few minutes during the 3rd. The game would then fall into a miss festival, with a two minute period where neither team made a shot and the score stayed at 79-72 until late in the 3rd quarter when both teams would make shots, ending the quarter at  82-74.

The game would stay close for most of the forth quarter, with the Pacers staying within 3-4 points until 6 minutes into the quarter, when the Thunder started to press the pace. With Russell Westbrook hitting several shots in a row and Kevin Durant adding to the late scoring, the Thunder would break the lead open to 11 where it would stay for a 104-93 Thunder win. 

The Thunder shot fairly well, regardless of Kevin Durant's "off night", shooting nearly 50% from the field and 83% from the line. However the Thunder would shoot horrendously from outside the arch, with KD going 1-5 from the arch, Russell going 1-3 and the team shooting 5-19 (26%). The Thunder rebounded well, however, out-rebounding the Pacers 40 to 36. Oklahoma City took care of the ball tonight, keeping their turnovers to 9. 

Oklahoma City's defense was sparse at times tonight, letting the whole starting 5 score 10+ points and letting the Pacers make runs throughout the game, keeping the game close until the end. The Thunder showed strength late in the game, though, holding the Pacers to 5 points in the last 6 minutes and effectively stemming the threat from Indiana. 

Pregame 21: Pacing the Court

The Indiana Pacers find their way to the Chesapeake Arena tonight, entering the match-up with a 7 game winning streak and tied for the least losses in the league, with Memphis, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City all losing just 4 games so far. 

The Pacers enter tonight with a record even at .500, 10-10. The Pacers have somewhat underwhelmed since their 6th game exit in the the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami heat and their gentleman's sweep of the Orlando Magic in the first round of the 2011-2012 playoffs. The Pacers were 14-6 last year this far into the season, winning games against teams such as the Bulls, Lakers, and Celtics. So the Indian Pacers have a ways to go to reach the heights they reached last year as a team. 

The Pacers do have a lot of youth to them at this point in the year, with still being a team that is trying to find their identity and their chemistry as team. Once Danny Granger returns from injury, it will be interesting to see how this team functions and integrates him back into the lineup. 

The Thunder come into tonight on a blazing hot streak of wins, winning their 7 last games, 15 of their last 17, and . The Thunder have really played up to their potential as of late, showing the NBA how good they still are even after the loss of James Harden in October to Houston. Kevin Durant has seemed to finally settle into a scoring rhythm this year, scoring 35+ in 4 of the last 9 games for the Thunder. 

Russell Westbrook has continued his improved clip of assists this year, registering 8+ assists in each of the Thunder's last 7 seven wins. Russell has also down fairly well keeping up with the Durant in terms of scoring,registering 25+ in the last two games in wins against Los Angeles and Brooklyn. 

Tonight's game should be interesting, with a rolling Thunder team who might be resting on their laurels as of late and a Pacers team who has stayed close in games against several teams in loses, such the 92-89 loss to the Nuggets and a 104-97 loss to the Spurs. This is more than definitely a trap game for the Thunder, who has a tendency to drop a game here and there with the simple fact that they have won so much. However, I think the Thunder are going to play a solid game here, with a big crowd for a Sunday afternoon game cheering for them all they way there. 

Prediction: 107-92 Thunder. I am going to go with the hope that the Thunder can keep their streak of 10 straight games with 100+ points going for an 11th game. 

Now onto the stats.

"Mother, it's cold here. Father, thy will be done.Thunder and lightning are crashing down, they got me on the run."~(Only the Young) The Killers

SFHM: Straight From the Horse's Mouth

Straight From the Horse's Mouth is a 3-part Q & A series with different Thunder journalists and their views on a couple of current Thunder topics. 

Part 1 of this series starts with Charles Chaney, who runs the Thunder blog, Thunder Obsessed. 

Q: What do you believe is the Thunder's greatest strength?

A: Just their offense in general. You have two MVP-type players in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant on your team, you're always going to be an offensive threat. When Westbrook isn't on, you can always rely on Durant and vice=versa. Oklahoma City's ability to develop players is showing greatly with the offensive progression of Serge Ibaka. Ibaka's shot is just improving, which means his confidence is growing, very scary. I haven't even began to mention Kevin Martin's lethal three-point shooting gives Oklahoma City another source of points that hasn't always been there in the past. Watch out N.B.A.

Q: What, in your opinion, does the Thunder need to do to win a title?

A:  Rebound the basketball. I know, very curious why. In losses, Oklahoma city is allowing on average of 12.4 offensive rebounds contributing to 16 second chance points to the opposition. That means you're giving a team an extra 12 possessions a game, adding up to 16 extra points each contest. That's like starting the game down 16-0 and having to fight back. 

I could talk about the turnovers, but honestly that is just a product of being aggressive. We showed everyone last year that, come playoff time, Oklahoma City can take care of the ball when it matters. Not worried there.

Q: Do you believe the Thunder will win a title with the current lineup? Including coaches?

A: Part two of this question made me stop and really think. With the current line up? Oklahoma City can easily win a title if Miami was to be upset some how. However, I think the head coaching position is a weakness for Oklahoma City. I feel that if Oklahoma City is ever going to win a tight N.B.A Finals match up, they'll need solid coaching moves, I don't think Scott Brooks has the ability to do that. He's too stubborn in his way right now. He needs to realize that sometimes you have to buck the trend for the better of the team.

Q: What ceiling do you see for Kevin Durant? Multiple MVPs and Championships? 30,000+ points? Hall of Fame? One of the best players of all time?

A: I think Kevin can become one of the top 10 players of all-time. He's on pace for 31,890 points if he was to stay in the league for 16 years. That would put him at fifth all-time. I do believe he'll win an MVP or two, and hopefully a championship. However, take this in, Karl Malone, one of the best power forwards to ever pick up a basketball has zero NBA titles. He did win two MVP awards. One of them was without Michael Jordan being a threat. Kobe Bryant has only won one MVP award, and look at how great he is. So, I think he'll be a first ballot hall-of-famer, but hard to predict 'ships and MVP's with Lebron James in the league.

Next Up: Royce Young of the Daily Thunder. Check in often to see the second part of this three part series, Straight From the Horse's Mouth. 

Postgame 20: Cut!

The Thunder win it tonight 114 to 108, moving the Thunder to 16-4 on the year. 

This game ended a lot closer than the game felt the whole night. The Thunder led by as much as 19 in the second half at one point, but the Lakers kept it close towards the end, with Kobe making shots like only Kobe Bryant can make. 

The Thunder played the Lakers nearly even in the first quarter, with the Lakers ending the first quarter up 27 26 with Westbrook hitting the sweet buzzer-beater to end it. Who knew that would define the whole rest of the half?

Westbrook would go off in the second half, pushing the Thunder point total in the second quarter to 41, first half total to 67, and his own first half point total to 27, the most points scored in a half by Westbrook in his whole career. Russell went 5-6 for three pointers in the first half, making the most 3-pointers in a half of his career. 

The game would even out in the third quarter with both teams scoring the same amount leaving the lead at 16 by the end of the third. Russell cooled off considerably after his hot-as-lava first half, going 0-8 from the field, struggling even to make free throws. Serge Ibaka and Kevin Durant would pick up the scoring duty for the third quarter, with Durant scoring 10 points and Ibaka scoring 6. 

The fourth quarter would be much of a colluded mess, with the Lakers constantly pulling the lead down to less than double digits, threatening to make the game much closer and leaving the possibility of a comeback. However, the Thunder's new renewed defensive focus held the Lakers at arms length and ensured the win tonight against the Lakers. 

The Thunder shot well tonight against a pretty non-existent defense of the Lakers. Thunder shot nearly 50 percent from the field, with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook shooting very efficiently from the field, the arch and the line. The Thunder once again had an assist total over 20 tonight, totalling up 22 assists with 8 of them being from Westbrook. Both KD and Russell scored 30+ tonight, with 36 and 33 respectively. This is the 21st time that Westbrook and Durant have scored 30 or more in the same night in their careers. Collison added 13, Serge added 14, and Kevin Martin scored 11 to round out the double digit scoring for the Thunder tonight. 

OKC played good defense against the Lakers, holding them to 43 percent from the field and 39 percent from the arch.  The Thunder ran away with the game for the most part, outscoring the Lakers in the fast break 28-8. However, the Thunder lacked inside presence, allowing the Lakers to score 44 out of their 108 points in the paint.

Postgame 19: Nets Get TKOed

The Thunder win it tonight 117-111, improving to 15-4.

The Thunder pulled it out tonight in a close one at the Barclays Center. OKC relied greatly on their big three tonight, with the trio combining for 75 of the 117 points tonight. Kevin Durant chipped in another on of his signature games with 32 points on 16 shots and adding 5 rebounds along with 6 assists. This is the 3rd game in the past 6 that Kevin Durant has scored 30+ plus points (About damn time!). He was also perfect from the line, 12 out of 12, and the arch, 2 of 2.

Russell had a very typical night, with ups ( 25 points, 9 assists, and 3 steals) and downs (5 turnovers and 5 fouls). Russell seemed to have a hard time defending D-Will tonight, with Williams shooting 5 of 9 from the arch and scoring a total of 33 points. However, you can't really blame Russell. Brook Lopez, one of the the leading scorers for the Nets, was out with an injury which caused the ball to fall into D-Will's hands more than usual.

Serge Ibaka continued his extremely efficient streak as of late, shooting 66% and scoring 18 points along with his usual 3 blocks. Thabo Sefolosha added to the scoring tonight, adding 14 points although 10 of them came in the first quarter. Three other Thunder players scored above five points with Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Martin, and Eric Maynor chipping in 7, 7, and 9 respectively. The team shot an impressive 60.6% from the field and 50.0 percent from the arch with the typical 88% percent from the line. The Thunder got out fast tonight and pushed the pace, scoring 20 fast break points, and pounded the paint against the Lopez-less Nets, scoring 44 points in the paint.

The Thunder defense did a decent job tonight, holding the Nets to 43% from the field and out rebounding the Nets on the defensive boards 31-24. They also kept the Nets from keeping up with their pace, holding the Nets to only 9 fast break points.

Postgame 18: Hornets Get Stung

The Thunder handily beat the Hornets tonight, 100-79. 

It was a total team effort tonight for the Thunder, with all starters registering at least 5 rebounds, 4 starters registering an assist, 3 starters registering a steal, and all 5 starters registering a block. The bench also got into the theme of the night, with Nick Collison scoring 12 points with 3 rebounds and 3 steals and Kevin Martin with 19 points with 2 rebounds and 2 steals. The Thunder as a team rebounded, stole, and blocked well with 45  rebounds, 10 steals, and 12 blocks. Every Thunder player got minutes tonight, giving DeAndre Liggins,  Perry Jones III, and Reggie Jackson quality time to work on their game against another team. 

The Thunder starters shot well tonight across the board, with Kevin Durant scoring 20 points, Russell scoring 18, and Ibaka, Perkins, and Sefolosha scoring 5, 10, and 8 respectively. Thunder shot 50.6% in field goals, 43.8% percent from the arch and 76.5% from the line. The defense for the Thunder effectively shut down the Hornets, making New Orleans shoot 37% on field goals and 25% from the arch. They also shut down Greivis Vasquez for a second straight time and held the Hornets to just 3 players in double digits.

Pregame 18: Thunder Vs. Hornets

Unfortunately, for all the NBA and anyone who watches the game tonight, the Brow is still benched with injury. I was kinda looking forward to the stare down contest between Perkins and Davis, seeing if the power of one could overcome the scowl of two. Anyways, the Thunder head down to the Big Easy for an interesting contest between two Western Conference teams. The Hornets have playmakers, especially Ryan Anderson and a great facilitator like Greivis Vasquez, so it will be interesting to see how the Thunder handle the Hornets and whether or not they beat them with a comfortable margin.

The Thunder are finally rounding into form, having the best opening month in franchise history with a record of 13-4. They are tied for the third best record in the league with San Antonio. So the Thunder have a chance tonight to pick up a quality win tonight, increasing their lead in the Northwest division and pulling ahead of San Antonio for the third-best record in the NBA and second best record in the Western conference. 

"I go where the sound of Thunder is"~ Alfred M. Gray

Now onto the stats.