OKC Thunder Blog – Page 75 – NBA Blog

NBA mandates metal detectors for playoffs

ESPN Chicago reports:

In the aftermath of the death of Osama bin Laden, the Chicago Bulls will use metal detectors to screen all patrons entering the United Center before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.

The NBA issued the mandate for the conference semifinals and all subsequent playoff games.

Not all arenas in the league regularly use metal detectors. At the United Center, patrons are visually inspected. Metal detectors are only employed in a full inspection when, according to the venue’s website, it is determined that “the potential is high for inappropriate or illegal items to be brought into the building.”

Kevin Durant says Zach Randolph is unstoppable. Randolph says Durant is right

I love trash-talk in basketball, both on and off the court. As long as a player can back it up, I think it adds a fun element to the game. With that said, here’s some great stuff after Grizzlies-Thunder Game 1:

Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports:

Someone informed Zach Randolph about what was being said about him in the Oklahoma City Thunder locker room, and the Grizzlies’ power forward shot back with a line as snappy as the one he put on the final statistical sheet.

Oklahoma City’s scoring machine Kevin Durant basically called Randolph unstoppable and the best on the planet at his position.

“I’ve got to agree with that. Thanks, KD,” a smiling Randolph said while sitting in front of a microphone as the interview room filled with laughter…

“You can not stop him,” said Durant, who led the Thunder with 33 points. “You have to make him take tough shots. He is the go-to guy. He gets into position and gets to where he wants to be. … We must help those guys (Ibaka and Perkins) out more.”

I love it, and wish Grizzlies-Thunder Game 2 was starting, oh, about right now.

Have a reaction? Share it with other fans in this InsideHoops forum topic.

Z-Bo, Gasol power Grizzlies past Thunder to win Game 1, 114-101

The AP reports:

Zach Randolph and the Memphis Grizzlies powered their way to another playoff upset—not that he considers it one.

Randolph had a playoff career-high 34 points and 10 rebounds, Marc Gasol added 20 points and 13 boards, and the Grizzlies outmatched the Oklahoma City Thunder inside for a 114-101 victory in the opening game of the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday…

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 33 points and 11 rebounds. Russell Westbrook scored 29, but the All-Star tandem couldn’t overcome a big advantage in the paint for Memphis…

Randolph started out with short jumpers to give Memphis the lead for good in the opening 2 minutes, then he followed a 17-5 run fueled by the bench with the Grizzlies’ lone first-half 3-pointer to make it answer Durant’s two-handed alley-oop and make it 54-38 with 2:26 left before halftime.

The Thunder used a 20-7 charge that spanned intermission to get back within 61-58 before Randolph steadied the Grizzlies again. He hit two free throws, a putback, a tip-in and then a jumper that caromed high off the rim before going in during a key stretch to keep Oklahoma City at bay…

The Grizzlies made 12 free throws in the final 3 minutes to close out another win for the underdogs—if you can even call them that anymore.

Durant scores 41, Thunder close out Nuggets 100-97

The AP reports:

Kevin Durant matched his best playoff performance with 41 points, including the final nine for Oklahoma City, and the Thunder closed out their first-round series against the Nuggets with a 100-97 victory in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

The Thunder overcame a nine-point deficit in the final 4 minutes, and Durant provided all the offense down the stretch to send the Oklahoma City franchise to its first playoff series win since it was still in Seattle in 2005…

Denver had two chances to duplicate the Spurs’ performance, but Durant blocked J.R. Smith’s potential tying 3-pointer with 9 seconds left and Arron Afflalo missed another 3 at the buzzer.

Afflalo, who missed the first two games of the series with a hamstring strain, led Denver with 15 points and Kenyon Martin added 14 points and 10 rebounds…

Westbrook had 14 points on 3-for-15 shooting, one game after he’d drawn criticism for attempting 30 shots.

Despite dreadful 37 percent shooting, Oklahoma City stuck with the Nuggets with a sizable edge in free-throw opportunities and offensive rebounds.

The Thunder made 34 of 42 foul shots—doubling the number of attempts Denver got—and also had 22 second-chance points off 16 offensive boards.

Kevin Durant downplays verbal dispute with Russell Westbrook

Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman reports:

Durant downplays verbal dispute with Westbrook

The cameras didn’t catch it, but the broadcast’s sideline reporter did.

Midway through the first half of Monday’s Game 4 loss at Denver, the Thunder’s All-Star duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook reportedly had a heated exchange during a timeout. TNT sideline reporter Pam Oliver reported the verbal dispute during the game.

On Tuesday, the Thunder insisted the jawing was positive.

“It was all about trying to do the right thing,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “We got to get a stop. That’s what it was about. We got to stop the ball. Their point guards are getting inside the paint. The bigs and the guards have got to do a better job of stopping the basketball. That’s what the conversation was about.

“It’s funny because it’s in the playoffs on national TV, but it happens a lot. It doesn’t happen every timeout every game. But guys are emotional. Guys care about what we do and they express that and I like that. I do the same thing.”

Durant also downplayed the incident.

“We’ve been doing that all season,” Durant said. “That’s a part of a basketball team. You’re not going to always be happy all the time. … Sometimes you have to scream at guys for them to get the point. That’s what we were doing.”

Ty Lawson scores 27, Nuggets stay alive vs Thunder

The AP reports:

Ty Lawson scored a career playoff-high 27 points and J.R. Smith and Danilo Gallinari hit clutch shots down the stretch to help Denver beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-101 on Monday night as the Nuggets avoided a first-round sweep…

In denying the Thunder their first playoff series win since moving from Seattle in 2008, the Nuggets went to the hoop better than they had all series and relied on the smooth touch of Gallinari, who totaled just 13 points in the previous two games but finished with 18 Monday night to counter Durant’s 31 points and Westbrook’s 30…

Despite shooting just 31 of 44 from the stripe, the Nuggets sank eight straight during one key stretch in the fourth quarter as they grabbed control and then sank 6 of 8 in the final 23 seconds…

Durant’s four free throws pulled the Thunder to 89-87 with 4 1/2 minutes left, but Lawson’s layup sparked a clinching 8-0 run that included Gallinari’s fadeaway and 3-pointer.

InsideHoops.com notes: The Nuggets shot just 38.6% but hit 9-of-19 three-pointers and spent the night at the free throw line, where they shot 31-of-44… Raymond Felton shot just 2-of-10 for the Nuggets off the bench… Al Harrington and Wilson Chandler came off Denver’s bench and combined to shoot 0-of-8… Russell Westbrook took 30 shots for the Thunder, hitting 12. He was 0-of-7 from three-point range and finished with 30 points… Kevin Durant shot 8-of-18 for 31 points… Thunder forward Serge Ibaka had 13 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks… Aside from Westbrook, Durant and Ibaka, no other Thunder players scored more than seven… The Thunder still control the series. We at InsideHoops.com still expect them to advance.

Ibaka steps up for Thunder in Game 3 win over Nuggets

The AP reports:

The Oklahoma City Thunder are on the verge of winning their first playoff series since moving from Seattle in 2008 thanks to All-Stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and their terrific supporting cast.

Following Eric Maynor’s lead in the opener and James Harden’s step-up performance in Game 2, Serge Ibaka was Denver’s dagger Saturday night…

Transforming from a shot-blocker into a shot-maker, Ibaka, the second-year pro from the Congo tied his career high with 22 points and pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds in sparking the Thunder’s 97-94 win over the Nuggets that gave them a 3-0 lead in their best-of-7 playoff series…

Ibaka, who led the league with 198 blocks during the regular season, gave the Thunder a third dimension on offense to go with Durant (26 points) and Westbrook (23), and his bucket with 10 seconds left helped the Thunder fend off Denver’s furious rally in the final minute…

Not even the return of Afflalo (13 points) from a troublesome hamstring injury or bounce-back performances from J.R. Smith (15 points) and Chris “Birdman” Andersen (13) could keep the Nuggets from falling to 0-5 against Oklahoma City this month and inching closer to elimination…

Nene had 15 points and 10 boards for the Nuggets, who took a 73-71 lead into the fourth quarter before going cold—29 percent from the floor, 20 percent from long range and 62 percent from the line—and watching Oklahoma City pull away behind Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka.

Thunder rock Nuggets 106-89, take 2-0 lead

The AP reports:

Kevin Durant scored 23 points, Russell Westbrook added 21 and the Oklahoma City Thunder built a huge first-half lead on their way to a 106-89 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 on Wednesday night…

The Thunder relied heavily on their All-Star duo in Game 1, getting a combined 72 points from Durant and Westbrook. But they got contributions from everyone to build a 26-point lead early in the second quarter of a dominant victory.

Ty Lawson scored 20 points to lead Denver, which got as close as 10 in the fourth quarter before Oklahoma City put the game away.

Nene and Raymond Felton added 16 points apiece for the Nuggets…

Oklahoma City got a balanced performance, with James Harden providing 18 points and Serge Ibaka adding 12 points and 12 rebounds. Kendrick Perkins had 11 rebounds as the Thunder piled up a 41-19 edge on the boards by late in the third quarter.

The Sports Network reports:

James Harden scored 14 of his 18 points in a first half controlled by the Thunder, who went up by as many as 26 points early in the second quarter and led by double digits the rest of the way.

Ty Lawson scored 20 points, while Nene and Raymond Felton both had 16 for the Nuggets, who shot just 39 percent from the field and head back to Denver for Saturday’s Game 3 trailing the series, 2-0.

Fan discussion of this game took place as it happened in this forum topic.

Thunder recall Robert Vaden from D-League

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has recalled guard/forward Robert Vaden from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.

Vaden, who helped lead the 66ers to the D-League semifinals, averaged 16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 32.3 minutes in four postseason games for the 66ers. During the regular season, he averaged 10.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 28.0 minutes in 45 games (17 starts).

He will join the Thunder for tonight’s first round playoff game against the Denver Nuggets. Game two will be played tonight at 7 P.M. inside the Oklahoma City Arena.

Danny Ainge defends trade of Kendrick Perkins

The Boston Celtics gained versatility but lost toughness in their trade of center Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Pieces they received in return — center Nenad Krstic and small forward Jeff Green — have not helped as much as a healthy Perkins did in the past. But Celtics general manager Danny Ainge still feels good about the trade. Publicly, at least.

CSNNE reports:

Danny Ainge tells Comcast SportsNet New England’s Greg Dickerson that he has no second thoughts — at the moment — about the trade that sent Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City.

But ask him again in a few months, and he might have a different answer.

“I would do the trade over again in a heartbeat, as of today,” said Ainge. “But at the end of the season, I’ll look at all the things and I’ll be the first one to say . . . some things that we could have done or that we didn’t, or things that we did do that we shouldn’t [have].”

The Celtics are definitely missing something without a dominant defensive center manning the middle. But, we must remember, the team feared losing Perkins to free agency, and that’s why the trade happened in the first place.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.