The AP reports: David West scored a season-high 33 points and Chris Paul had a triple-double to help New Orleans beat Oklahoma City 109-97 on Saturday night, handing the Thunder their 11th straight loss and first under Scott Brooks… Paul and West each had four points as the Hornets finished of the Thunder with an 8-2 run to make it 100-89. West capped off the spurt with a layup after Paul came up with a steal. Paul finished with 29 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds. Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting, keeping the Thunder close with 24 points through three quarters. Jeff Green added 17 points, and Chris Wilcox scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Category: OKC Thunder Blog
OKC Thunder blog – Oklahoma City Thunder basketball blog
Thunder fire coach PJ Carlesimo
The Oklahoma City Thunder announced today that PJ Carlesimo has been relieved of his duties as the team’s head coach.
“This was a very difficult decision to make,” said Executive Vice President/General Manager Sam Presti. “It is one that I felt was necessary at this time. I am very appreciative of the hard work and effort that PJ gave to this team and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
Assistant coach Scott Brooks will take over as interim head coach of the Thunder.
Carlesimo was named head coach on July 5 2007, becoming the 15th head coach in franchise history. During his one-plus season Carlesimo guided the franchise to a 21-74 (.221) record.
Over the span of eight seasons Carlesimo holds a career coaching record of 204-296 (.408).
The team also announced that Paul Westhead was relieved of his duties as assistant coach.
Thunder assign Steven Hill to D-League
Oklahoma City Thunder General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has assigned center Steven Hill to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.
Hill (7-0, 245) saw action in one regular season game with the Thunder. The Branson, Missouri native scored two points and grabbed three rebounds in two minutes of action versus the Orlando Magic.
Hill is the first player to be assigned to the 66ers by the Oklahoma City Thunder since the Professional Basketball Club, LLC assumed control of the NBA Development League franchise on July 31, 2008.
Thunder fans are booing
The Oklahoma City Thunder are living up to expectations, and losing. A lot. Here’s Thunder swingman Damien Wilkins talking tot The Oklahoman on hometown fan boos: “I’ve been hearing it. When you’re sitting you’re hearing it all. So I’ve been hearing it. It’s really not a whole lot you can do. You can’t go apologize to all 19,000 people. The only thing you can do is really just give a better effort. It’s embarrassing really. It’s embarrassing for us. It’s embarrassing for I know my family, I can’t speak for everyone else but I’m sure it is. To hear those boos after the excitement that was built up in this season, for us to come out and play like we played recently is just not acceptable. And some how some way we’ve got to turn this thing around.”
Nov 19: Clippers 108, Thunder 88
The AP reports: Cuttino Mobley had a season-high 23 points and a career-best seven steals. Kaman scored a season-high 25 points and had 14 rebounds. Al Thornton scored 20, and Baron Davis and Marcus Camby 14 each. Mobley scored six points during a 14-2 run that saw the Clippers (2-9) cut a 15-point second-quarter deficit to three at halftime. He stayed hot in the third quarter, with 12 points coming during a 23-4 spurt that put Los Angeles in front by 15. The Clippers weren’t threatened after that… Kevin Durant had 18 points for the Thunder and Damien Wilkins added 17.
Nov 17: Rockets 100, Thunder 89
The AP reports: Tracy McGrady feels like he’s back to square one with a troublesome left knee that gave out on him again. At least his Houston Rockets seem able to pick up the slack if he’s going to be sidelined. Luis Scola scored 23 points, Yao Ming added 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Houston made a second-half surge without its injured seven-time All-Star to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-89 on Monday night. Offseason pickup Ron Artest also had an injury scare, but the Rockets still had enough firepower to hand the tumbling Thunder their eighth straight loss… People sprain their ankles all the time,” said Artest, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds. “It’s not broke.” … Durant had 29 points to lead the Thunder, Jeff Green scored 16 and Westbrook added 14 points.
Nov 15: Sixers 110, Thunder 85
The AP reports: The Philadelphia 76ers expended quite a bit of energy in overcoming a 26-point deficit in their victory at Indiana. Yet they still had plenty of pep one night later. Thaddeus Young scored 23 points, Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala added 15 apiece, and the 76ers cruised past the struggling Oklahoma City Thunder, 110-85 on Saturday… Samuel Dalembert contributed 13 points and 16 rebounds for the Sixers, who won their third straight game to even their record at 5-5… Jeff Green scored 21 points and Kevin Durant added 13 for Oklahoma City, which fell to 1-9 and dropped its seventh in a row. Durant, who was the Rookie of the Year last season, shot just 6-of-18. Russell Westbrook also had 13 points and Johan Petro grabbed 12 rebounds.
Nov 14: Knicks 116, Thunder 106
The AP reports: Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph each scored 29 points, combining for 10 in the final 4 minutes after New York had blown most of a 30-point lead, and the Knicks held on to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-106 on Friday night… Nate Robinson made his first five shots, giving him 13 in a row over two games, and Randolph had 19 rebounds in his seventh straight double-double… David Lee had a season-high 18 points and Robinson 15 for the Knicks, who picked up in the first half where they left off two nights ago… Kevin Durant returned from a one-game absence with an ankle injury to score 23 points for the Thunder, who dropped their sixth straight and fell to 1-8. Russell Westbrook, the No. 4 pick in the draft, had a season-high 19 points to go with 10 rebounds and six assists.
Dwight Howard puts up insane triple-double
Orlando magic center Dwight Howard put up an insane triple-double stat-line of 30 points, 19 rebounds and 10 blocks in a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The AP reports: It was the first time a player had at least 30 points and 10 blocks in a game since Hakeem Olajuwon had 31 points, 13 rebounds and 10 blocks against Dallas on April 13, 1996, according to the Elias Sports Bureau… “I’m going to try to do this again,” said Howard, who set a goal of leading the NBA in rebounds and blocks this season. “It felt good, trying to block every shot. And I know Coach is very happy.”
The Orlando Sentinel reports: Howard was ridiculously dominant to start the Magic’s three-game road trip. He blocked a career-high 10 shots to pad his NBA shot-block lead, besting his previous regular-season high of seven, to record his first triple-double. He finished with 30 points and 19 rebounds, and worked on his Tim Duncan-esque bank-shot.
Nov 12: Magic 109, Thunder 92
The AP reports: Dwight Howard recorded his first career triple-double with 30 points, 19 rebounds and 10 blocks Wednesday night and the Orlando Magic beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 109-92… Howard had a highlight reel full of dunks—a two-hander off an offensive rebound, a right-handed jam off a pass from Hedo Turkoglu and another two-handed slam off an alley-oop from Anthony Johnson. He also pulled up when he was all alone on a fast break and gently laid the ball in with two hands… Jeff Green had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Russell Westbrook added 13 points and Earl Watson and Desmond Mason each scored 12 for the Thunder. Mickael Pietrus and Jameer Nelson each had 17 points, Turkoglu scored 15 and Rashard Lewis added 13 for the Magic against the team he played nine seasons with before it relocated from Seattle. Nelson had a career-high 10 rebounds.