The AP reports: No matter how many ways the Oklahoma City Thunder find to lose, they certainly don’t seem to have any trouble finding people to watch it happen. Despite having an NBA-worst 2-21 record heading into the weekend, the Thunder are one of the bigger draws in the league. Only this week did Oklahoma City fall out of the top 10 in attendance, and that came after the two smallest crowds of the season came to watch losses to Golden State and Memphis — two other teams near the bottom of the Western Conference. Still, the Thunder are averaging 18,473 fans per game to rank 12th in the NBA, just ahead of West playoff contenders Phoenix, San Antonio and Houston.
Category: OKC Thunder Blog
OKC Thunder blog – Oklahoma City Thunder basketball blog
Thunder recall Steven Hill from D-League
Oklahoma City Thunder General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has recalled center Steven Hill from the Tulsa 66ers of the National Basketball Development League.
Hill, who was assigned to Tulsa on November 21st, averaged 9.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 25.6 minutes per contest. Hill appeared in five games, including three starts, for the 66ers.
Hill will practice with the Thunder tomorrow.
Chris Wilcox out 10-14 days
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chris Wilcox left last night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies at 5:35 of the first quarter with a dislocated ring finger on his left hand.
He was taken to McBride Hospital where team physicians were able to reset the dislocation.
Wilcox is expected to miss the next 10-14 days.
This season he’s playing 22.5 minutes per game and averaging 9.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and little else on 47.7% shooting.
Dec 11: Grizzlies 108, Thunder 102
The AP reports: Rudy Gay had 22 points, and Mike Conley scored 14 of his season-high 16 points in fourth quarter to help the Grizzlies beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-102 on Wednesday night for their first winning streak of the season… Mayo added 18 points in the first three quarters to pass Magic Johnson for the third longest streak of double-figure scoring games to start a career at 22. Only Dan Issel (27) and Bobby Jones (24), who played for the Denver Nuggets in the franchise’s first season in the NBA in 1976, had longer streaks. Kevin Durant scored 28 points, Russell Westbrook added 15 and Jeff Green had 13 for Oklahoma City, which got one of its league-low two wins at Memphis on Nov. 29. Desmond Mason, Nick Collison and Joe Smith also scored 10 apiece.
Dec 8: Warriors 112, Thunder 102
The AP reports: Playing without two of their top scorers, Andris Biedrins had 17 points and 21 rebounds as the Warriors ended a nine-game skid with a 112-102 victory over the lowly Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night… Kevin Durant scored a season-high 41 and almost brought the Thunder all the way back from a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit, but Oklahoma City ended up losing its fourth straight and dropping to 2-20. Stephen Jackson (20.1 points per game) and Corey Maggette (19.1) sat out with injuries but it didn’t slow the Warriors. Jamal Crawford scored 19 points, and Brandan Wright and Anthony Morrow each had 15 as Golden State (6-15) shot 50.6 percent from the field.
Dec 3: Bobcats 103, Thunder 97
The AP reports: With 10 points and 11 rebounds, Sean May recorded his first double-double in nearly two years. With Emeka Okafor adding 25 points and 13 rebounds, the Bobcats had rare production inside, fueling their fourth win in six games under new coach Larry Brown… Gerald Wallace added 21 points and Jason Richardson scored 18 to surpass 10,000 points in his career for the Bobcats, who won consecutive games under Brown for the first time and sent the Thunder back to their losing ways. The Thunder were playing their first game since snapping a franchise record-tying 14-game losing streak Saturday at Memphis. Kevin Durant scored 24 points and Jeff Green added 18, but while Oklahoma City shot 54 percent, it couldn’t overcome 19 turnovers and its lack of depth inside in dropping to 2-17.
Thunder score more under coach Scott Brooks
The Oklahoman (Mike Baldwin) reports: Under interim coach Scott Brooks, smaller has been bigger, production-wise. Since “going small” two weeks ago when Brooks replaced P.J. Carlesimo, the Thunder is averaging almost 10 more points a game. “We’re creating a lot of mismatch problems for other teams,” said Jeff Green. “Against Memphis it forced them to take out (Marc) Gasol and Darko (Milicic). Hopefully we can continue to play well and create more (matchup problems).” … After Carlesimo was fired, Brooks immediately made changes. He inserted Damien Wilkins in the starting lineup, moved Kevin Durant to small forward and Jeff Green to power forward. Last Saturday, he flip-flopped point guards. Russell Westbrook is starting. Earl Watson is coming off the bench. Center Johan Petro is sitting the bench. Nick Collison’s playing time has been reduced.
Nov 29: Thunder 111, Grizzlies 103
The AP reports: Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped their long losing streak with a timely game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Durant scored 30 points, and Jeff Green added 22 to help the Thunder end the losing streak at 14 with a 111-103 victory over Memphis on Saturday night… Russell Westbrook had 12 points for the Thunder, and Damien Wilkins and Desmond Mason finished with 11 each. O.J. Mayo led Memphis with 30 points, while Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol had 16 each… The Thunder had come close to ending the winning streak in a couple of games recently, losing on a last-second shot against Minnesota on Friday night and dropping a 99-98 game against Phoenix last Tuesday night. This time, they were able to stop the skid by closing out the game.
Nov 28: Wolves 105, Thunder 103
The AP reports: Craig Smith scored a season-high 23 points, Mike Miller drilled the game-winning jumper from the left baseline with 0.1 seconds left, and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat Oklahoma City 105-103 Friday night to hand the Thunder a franchise record-tying 14th straight loss… Al Jefferson finished with 19 points and nine rebounds to narrowly miss his eighth double-double. Miller scored 18 points, reserve Sebastian Telfair contributed 12 and Gomes had 11. Durant and Jeff Green led Oklahoma City with 22 points apiece. Chris Wilcox scored 15 of his season-high 21 points in the fourth quarter to spark the Thunder’s comeback, and Russell Westbrook had 15 points and eight assists.
Nov 25: Suns 99, Thunder 98
The AP reports: Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns went back to basics to win without Shaquille O’Neal and spoil Scott Brooks’ home debut as the Oklahoma City Thunder’s head coach. Nash switched into pre-Shaq mode to guide Phoenix back from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter, and Matt Barnes finished it off by hitting the game-winning 3-pointer from the left wing with 25.7 seconds left as the Suns beat the Thunder 99-98 Tuesday night… Amare Stoudemire finished with 22 points, Nash had 20 points and 15 assists and Barnes scored 16. Kevin Durant scored 29 points and Chris Wilcox added a season-high 18 as Oklahoma City (1-14) led by 16 as late as the final 2 minutes of the third quarter. Still, the Thunder dropped their 12th straight game.