OKC Thunder Blog – Page 92 – NBA Blog

Thunder recall two from D-League

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced that the team has recalled forward D.J. White and guard Kyle Weaver from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.

White has appeared in six games (five starts) for the 66ers during three assignments to the D-League. The 6-9 forward averaged 18.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 31 minutes per game while with Tulsa.

Weaver saw action in two games (two starts) during his first assignment to the 66ers. The 6-6 guard averaged 17 points, 9.0 assists and 7.5 rebounds in 44 minutes per game.

Both players will practice with the Thunder today.

Aldridge pushes Blazers past Thunder 107-72

The AP reports: LaMarcus Aldridge had 35 points and a career-high 18 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers added to their string of blowouts, routing Oklahoma City 107-72 on Friday night. The Blazers moved into position to clinch a playoff spot with a victory or a Phoenix loss. The Suns beat Sacramento on Friday night… Brandon Roy added 15 points, and Steve Blake had 14 points and 10 assists for Portland. Kevin Durant, another one of Barnes’ former pupils, led the Thunder with 13 points. Jeff Green scored 12 points, and Shaun Livingston made his Oklahoma City debut with 10 points off the bench.

Thunder assign two to D-League

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced that the team has assigned forward D.J. White and guard Kyle Weaver to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.

This is the third time this season that White has been assigned to Tulsa. In four games D-League contests this season White is averaging 14.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 30.8 minutes.

Weaver is being assigned to Tulsa for the first time this season. The Washington State product has appeared in 49 games for the Thunder this season including 17 starts. Weaver has averaged 5.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 20 minutes per contests.

Both players are expected to be in uniform tonight when the 66ers face the Austin Toros.

Hornets sting Kings on Butler’s 3 as time expires

The AP reports: Rasual Butler hit a 3-pointer as time expired to cap a final minute full of dramatic plays, and the Hornets improbably survived the Kings’ late rally for a 111-110 victory on Tuesday night, improving their playoff position by the slimmest of margins… David West matched his career high with 40 points despite injuring his ankle in the second quarter, and Chris Paul had 15 points and 15 assists as the Hornets snatched a win from the Kings, who thought they had it when Udrih beat the shot clock with a fallaway that looked like a terrible idea until it went in. Kings owner Gavin Maloof leaped onto the court to celebrate, and Divac beamed with pride… Andres Nocioni hit five 3-pointers while scoring 23 points and Kevin Martin added 20 for the Kings, who hung Divac’s No. 21 jersey in the Arco rafters during a halftime ceremony. Francisco Garcia scored 19 points, hitting two big shots and blocking Paul’s layup from behind in the final 2 minutes, yet Sacramento still failed to win consecutive games for the first time since early November.

Durant scores 31 as Thunder stun Spurs again

The AP reports: Kevin Durant scored 31 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder continued to torment the San Antonio Spurs with a 96-95 victory Tuesday night… Russell Westbrook had 16 points and 10 assists for the Thunder, who fought off a furious rally from the Spurs to break a three-game losing streak and win in San Antonio for the first time since 2004.

InsideHoops.com notes: For the Spurs, Tim Duncan shot 9-of-12 for 21 points and 12 rebounds. Manu Ginobili scored 17, and Tony Parker was quiet with 11 points and as many turnovers as assists. Mike Finley shot just 5-of-16, and no one else stepped up.

OKC Thunder sign Shaun Livingston

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed guard Shaun Livingston to a multi-year deal, Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced.

Livingston, 23, is being called-up from the NBA Developmental League’s Tulsa 66ers, where he averaged 9.5 points, 6.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 29.4 minutes in 11 games (10 starts). At the time of his call-up, the 6’7’’ guard ranked seventh in the D-League in assists (6.0). He scored a season-high 22 points on March 27 at Rio Grande Valley Vipers and dished out a season-best 11 assists against Iowa Energy on March 12.

Originally selected by the L.A. Clippers in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft (#4 overall), he has appeared in 149 NBA games with L.A. Clippers and Miami. The Peoria, Illinois native owns career averages of 7.3 points, 4.7 assists, 3.1 rebounds in 26.8 minutes per contest.

Livingston, who will wear jersey #14 with the Thunder, becomes the 19th Call-Up of the 2008-09 season and the 137th player since the league began play in 2001.

Thunder recall D.J. White from D-League

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

White was assigned to Tulsa for the second time this season on March 29. During his most recent stint, White appeared in one game and recorded six points, one rebound, one assist, one steal and a block in 11 minutes. Overall, he’s seen action in four games D-League contests averaging 14.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 30.8 minutes.

Pierce scores 27, Celtics beat Thunder 103-84

The AP reports: Boston Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss scored it as the first, unofficial triple-double in Glen “Big Baby” Davis’ career: 19 points, 10 rebounds—and 10 stitches. The Celtics power forward left in the third quarter after being elbowed in the head and returned after getting stitched up to score 15 points in the final 10 minutes and lead Boston to a 103-84 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night… “Baby’s a bleeder,” said Paul Pierce, who scored 27 points… Eddie House scored 14 of his 16 in the second half—nine of them during an 11-1 run in the third quarter when the Celtics took the lead for good. Reserve Mikki Moore scored 12 with 11 boards and Rajon Rondo had 12 assists to help the Celtics win their sixth out of seven despite missing Garnett for the 15th time in 19 games… Russell Westbrook scored 23 points and Kevin Durant added 21 for the Thunder, which lost their third straight and fifth of six.

Thunder re-assign DJ White to D-League

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has re-assigned forward D.J. White to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.

White was previously assigned to the 66ers on March 18 before being recalled on March 23. During his first stint in Tulsa, he appeared in three games averaging 17.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.0 assist in 37.7 minutes. He is expected to be in uniform tonight when Tulsa hosts Bakersfield at 6:00 P.M.

NBA teams can assign up to two players who are rookies or in their second season to their D-League affiliate. Players can stay with the D-League team for as long as the team wishes, and be recalled back to the NBA at any time. However, a player can only be sent to the D-League a maximum of three times during the season.

Kevin Durant likes Oklahoma City

The Boston Globe (Marc J. Spears) reports: There were a lot of unknowns for Kevin Durant concerning what basketball and life would be like in Oklahoma. But in a short time, the budding superstar has come to a conclusion. “I love it,” said Durant in a telephone interview. “The weather is unpredictable. You don’t know when it’s going to snow or rain. But the people here are nice. Nice people. I didn’t know anything about it other than playing here in college [at the University of Texas]. Flat land. “But after coming here and seeing the city, I love Oklahoma. The fans have been with me every night. What more can you ask for?” What Thunder fans can ask for are more wins, as the former SuperSonics visit TD Banknorth Garden tonight with a 20-52 record. But with Durant, other talented young players, plenty of draft picks, and money to use in free agency, Durant believes the future is bright.