The AP reports: Kevin Durant had his best game since returning to the Oklahoma City lineup after missing seven games with a bum ankle. But it wasn’t Durant’s 30 points that caught the eye of his coach. “Like I told him before our last game, ‘Kevin, you can fill up the stat sheet, but you don’t have to worry about your points to help us win,”’ Thunder coach Scott Brooks said after the Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 97-90 on Sunday… Durant had eight rebounds and five assists, and Jeff Green added 17 points for the Thunder, who jumped on the lethargic Timberwolves early to make up for a humiliating, 42-point defeat the last time they visited Minnesota… Craig Smith scored 19 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota and Bobby Brown fueled a late Wolves run with 12 points in the fourth quarter.
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Rose shines, Bulls beat Thunder to snap road skid
The AP reports: Derrick Rose didn’t know what he had to do, but his team needed him to do something. A perfect second half took care of what was ailing the Chicago Bulls. Rose scored 20 of his 25 points and didn’t miss a shot in the second half and the Bulls snapped a seven-game road losing streak by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-96 on Wednesday night… Russell Westbrook, the fourth overall pick in the draft, had 15 points and pulled the Thunder within 99-96 by driving past Rose for a layup in the final minute before Oklahoma City’s rally fell short. John Salmons added 20 points and Ben Gordon scored 18 for the Bulls. Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 28 points and Jeff Green had 18.
Thunder assign DJ White to D-League
Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced that the team has assigned forward D.J. White to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.
White, 22, has yet to appear in a game for the Thunder this season after undergoing initial jaw surgery on October 9, 2008. The 6-9 forward was cleared by team doctors on March 16th to resume full contact drills.
White was the 29th overall pick by the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft. The Thunder acquired White as a part of a draft day trade. He was the Big Ten Player of the Year as a senior at the University of Indiana where he averaged 17.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest.
Nick Collison breaks finger
The Oklahoman reports: Playing with a broken left thumb the past two months, the Thunder’s Nick Collison suffered a chipped fracture in his middle finger on his right (shooting) hand Monday vs. San Antonio. He sustained the injury while blocking a shot and slapped the backboard. The injury occurred during the fourth quarter. Team officials said Collison will play Wednesday night against the Chicago Bulls unless the pain is too severe.
Thunder spoil Popovich’s 1,000th, beat Spurs 78-76
The AP reports: Gregg Popovich didn’t coach 1,000 games in the NBA without having a few leads slip away on him. Courtesy of the Oklahoma City Thunder, he can add another to that list. Kevin Durant scored 25 points, Thabo Sefolosha added 12 and the Thunder spoiled Popovich’s 1,000th game as San Antonio’s coach by overcoming an early 17-point deficit to beat the Spurs 78-76 on Monday night… Tony Parker scored 28 points to lead San Antonio, and Tim Duncan had 14 points and 12 rebounds. Matt Bonner added 10 points.
Barbosa’s late surge helps Suns beat Thunder
The AP reports: The way things have been going lately, the Phoenix Suns will gladly take a sputtering victory over Oklahoma City. The 106-95 win Saturday night lacked the impressiveness of Phoenix’s 140-118 romp over the Thunder three weeks ago, but it was good enough to snap a six-game losing streak, the Suns’ longest in four seasons… Leandro Barbosa scored 11 of his 22 points in the final 6 1/2 minutes. Nash added 18 points and eight assists for Phoenix but saw his career-best streak of seven 20-point games come to an end. Grant Hill added 16 points… Kevin Durant, back after missing seven games with a sprained right ankle, scored 22 and Russell Westbrook 20 for the Thunder, who led by 13 in the first half.
Balkman rises, Nuggets beat Thunder 112-99
The AP reports: Renaldo Balkman to the rescue, of all people. The Denver Nuggets snapped a three-game losing streak with a 112-99 win over Oklahoma City on Wednesday night that was fueled by Balkman, who made the most of a rare start with a double-double… With Kenyon Martin’s bad back putting him in street clothes again, Nuggets coach George Karl needed some size in his starting lineup, so he inserted Balkman… Carmelo Anthony led seven Nuggets in double figures with 22 points. Jeff Green’s 19 points led the Thunder, who had won five of six since losing leading scorer Kevin Durant to an ankle injury. Earl Watson added 18 points for Oklahoma City.
Thunder beat Kings for 5th win in 6 games
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.
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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