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.
Category: OKC Thunder Blog
OKC Thunder blog – Oklahoma City Thunder basketball blog
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.”
Scott Brooks Thunder layup drill
The Oklahoman (Darnell Mayberry ) reports: Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks has implemented a layup drill he calls “Daily Dozen,” an exercise in which Thunder players must make six layups on each side of the basket — an overhand, underhand, reverse left hand, reverse right hand, baby hook shots and a pull-up jumper inside the key. Brooks said the team has performed the drill consistently in the last week, but he wanted to focus on the drill Wednesday after seeing the Thunder miss several layups against Los Angeles on Tuesday night. “We definitely need to improve on shots right around the basket,” Brooks said. “We’re going to try to get it in three or four times a week.”
Bryant leads late surge as Lakers put away Thunder
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant scored 10 of his 36 points in a 3-minute span of the fourth quarter to stave off the Thunder’s comeback bid and lead the Lakers to a 107-93 victory on Tuesday night. He didn’t emerge from the Lakers’ training room until about 40 minutes after the game, but he was in a good mood when he did… Kevin Durant scored 32 to lead Oklahoma City in its sixth straight loss. It was his ninth time scoring at least 30 points in the last 10 games, and the 13th time in 17 games, during a surge that’s landed him right behind Bryant in fourth place in the NBA in scoring. Rookie Kyle Weaver followed his career-best 19-point outing by scoring 16, and Russell Westbrook finished with 14 points for the Thunder.
Don Nelson 1,300th win, Warriors beat Thunder 133-120
The AP reports: Golden State coach Don Nelson earned his 1,300th victory Saturday night, with Stephen Jackson scoring 26 points and Corey Maggette adding 25 in the Warriors’ 133-120 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Nelson is just the second coach in NBA history to reach the milestone, joining good friend Lenny Wilkens, who has 1,332 career wins… Kevin Durant scored 32 points for the Thunder, who have lost five straight. Russell Westbrook added 31 points and 11 assists, but Oklahoma City dropped to 3-24 on the road. Jeff Green had 27 points and 15 rebounds for Oklahoma City, but the second-year forward combined with Durant for 12 of the Thunder’s 23 turnovers.