The AP reports: Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook each scored 24 points, and the Thunder made it a nice homecoming for their popular interim coach, holding on for a 99-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night. Oklahoma City, which started the season 2-24, won for the fifth time in six games… Thabo Sefolosha had 17 points for the Thunder and Nenad Krstic added nine points and 15 rebounds. Spencer Hawes tied a career high with 20 points and added 10 rebounds and five assists for the Kings, who had 22 turnovers. Francisco Garcia made four 3-pointers and scored 18, Andres Nocioni had 16 points and seven rebounds, and Rashad McCants added 13 points. Kevin Martin, the Kings’ leading scorer, was on the bench in the game’s final 15 minutes and scored 12 points.
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Krstic hits 10-of-13, Thunder beat Sixers 89-74
The AP reports: Malik Rose set season highs with 14 points and seven rebounds, and Nenad Krstic added 20 points as the Thunder continued their strong play without their two leading scorers, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 89-74 on Sunday night… Oklahoma City has won four of five without Kevin Durant (ankle) and three of four without Jeff Green (back)… Andre Miller and Thaddeus Young led Philadelphia with 20 points apiece. Miller has scored at least 20 points in five straight games for the first time in his career. Andre Iguodala, who was averaging a team-best 18.1 points, was limited to nine on 3-for-11 shooting and committed six of Philadelphia’s 21 turnovers. The 76ers were held to their second-lowest scoring total of the season.
Cavaliers sign Joe Smith
The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed free agent forward/center Joe Smith to a contract, Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry announced today. Per league rules, terms of the contract were not released.
Smith, 33, played in 36 games (three starts) this season for the Oklahoma City Thunder and averaged 6.6 points on .454 shooting and 4.5 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game before being waived on March 1. He is eligible to be on the Cavaliers’ postseason roster.
The 6-foot-10, 225-pounder has played 13 years in the NBA, including spending part of last season with Cleveland after being acquired on Feb. 21, 2008 in a three-team trade in which the Cavs also acquired Wally Szczerbiak, Ben Wallace and Delonte West. In 27 regular season games (one start) with Cleveland, Smith averaged 8.1 points on .512 shooting and 5.0 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game. He also played in all 13 postseason games during the 2008 Playoffs and averaged 6.6 points on .486 shooting and 4.6 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per game.
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Westbrook, Sefolosha lead Thunder past Wizards 88-83
The AP reports: The Oklahoma City Thunder are finding ways to win without their top two scorers. Russell Westbrook and Thabo Sefolosha made big baskets in the final 2 minutes Wednesday night, leading the Thunder to an 88-83 victory over the Washington Wizards for their first three-game winning streak of the season. Oklahoma City, which beat Dallas on Monday, was without both Kevin Durant (sprained ankle) and Jeff Green (back spasms) for the second straight game, with Durant missing all three wins… Antawn Jamison had 29 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards, who have been banged up all year and played without Caron Butler for the second straight game. Andray Blatche and Darius Songaila scored 14 points each.
Undermanned Thunder stun Mavs 96-87
The AP reports: Russell Westbrook had his first triple-double of his rookie season with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and midseason pickup Nenad Krstic added a season-high 26 points as the undermanned Thunder beat Dallas 96-87 Monday night despite playing without their two leading scorers… Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas’ charge back from a 23-point deficit, and his 3-pointer from the right wing got the Mavericks back within 88-84 with 4:13 to play. Those were the last of his 28 points, and Dallas didn’t score again for 4 minutes… Kyle Weaver, who answered Nowitzki’s final 3-pointer and then added a runner to help Oklahoma City stop the comeback, finished with a career-high 18 points and Thabo Sefolosha added 15 points. Jason Terry scored 20 points for Dallas in his second game back after surgery on an injured finger.
Rookie Russell Westbrook rocks
The Oklahoman reports: Thunder officials like to point out how Russell Westbrook’s averages of 15.8 points, 5.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds nearly place him among an elite list of players who are averaging at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists — Miami’s Dwyane Wade, Cleveland’s LeBron James, New Orleans’ Chris Paul, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala. Since 1990, the only rookies to pull the feat have been James, Paul, Grant Hill, Steve Francis and Anfernee Hardaway. “Those are incredible numbers,” Brooks said. “We can’t expect him to be a 24-year-old point guard at age 20. He’s only 60 games into his career. And he’s improved a lot.”
Green 27 and 10, Thunder beat Grizzlies 99-92
The AP reports: Jeff Green had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Russell Westbrook added 25 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 99-92 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night. The Thunder won despite playing without Kevin Durant, the league’s fourth-leading scorer with a 26.0 average, who suffered a right ankle sprain in Friday night’s 110-108 overtime loss to Dallas. Durant is listed as day-to-day. Thabo Sefolosha, playing only his fourth game for Oklahoma City after a trade from Chicago, recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds, season-highs in both categories. Nenad Krstic also scored 10 points. Rudy Gay scored 20 points to lead Memphis, which lost its seventh straight. O.J. Mayo finished with 18 points, while Mike Conley had 17.
Kevin Durant out 1-2 weeks
The Oklahoman (Darnell Mayberry) reports: Thunder forward Kevin Durant will miss up to two weeks with a Grade II ankle sprain, according to a team source. Durant is expected to miss seven to 14 days after rolling his right ankle in Friday’s game at Dallas when he stepped on the foot of Mavs forward Josh Howard while driving to the basket with 7:13 left in the first quarter. He remained in the game for about three minutes before walking off the court with a limp.
Mavericks rally to defeat Thunder 110-108 in OT
The AP reports: Even with Oklahoma City missing Kevin Durant, the Dallas Mavericks turned to two of its stars to fend off the Thunder on Friday night. Dirk Nowitzki scored 17 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, Jason Kidd hit two big 3-pointers in the extra period, and the Mavericks overcame a 12-point deficit to beat the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder 110-108… Russell Westbrook, who hit a 3-pointer to send it to overtime, scored 33 points and Green added 28 points for the Thunder, who have lost seven straight. Dallas’ Josh Howard had 13 points and James Singleton added 12 points and nine rebounds.
Kevin Durant’s college jersey retired
The Oklahoman (Darnell Mayberry) reports (via blog): Kevin Durant had his No. 35 jersey retired last night at the University of Texas and called it an “unbelievable” experience… “I told myself I wasn’t going to cry,” Durant said. ”But once they played a video of highlights from when I was there and then unveiled the jersey I got real emotional. It was one of the best days of my life. I’ve come a long way. A lot of people doubted me when I was growing up. A lot of people doubted me and said I wasn’t going to be anything when I went to Texas. So it feels good to prove all those people wrong and shine some light on the university and also Oklahoma City. So I was excited and it was a great time for me and my family.”