Thunder 111, Jazz 85
Nuggets from my notebook from Tuesday’s win over Utah.
- Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka did a great job early of defending Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap. They contested extremely well without fouling and forced them into some difficult looks. And this time, for the most part, they finished possessions with rebounds. Thanks in large part to Perk and Ibaka, Jefferson and Millsap got off to an 0-for-7 start and never really found a rhythm. The defense by that duo set the tone, and the Thunder fed off of it the rest of the way to cruise to victory.
- Jefferson finished with 15 points, going 7-for-19 from the field. Millsap had 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting. They combined for just 13 rebounds. How impressive is that? Those two entered the night as Utah’s leading scorers, averaging a combined 35 points with 18.7 rebounds. Both were shooting at least 47.5 percent coming into tonight.
- The Thunder’s defense as a whole at the start of the game was excellent. Utah missed a few good looks, but the Thunder hounded the Jazz into missing 15 of their first 16 shots. Utah’s second field goal didn’t come until Jefferson scored on a putback with 4:50 remaining in the opening quarter.
- The first quarter was the key. The Thunder held the Jazz to 19 points on 30.8 percent shooting. It was the first time in 11 games that OKC has held an opponent to 20 points or less in the opening period. In the previous 10 games prior to Tuesday, the Thunder had allowed an average of 28.4 points and had yielded at least 30 points five times.
- Said Kevin Durant: “The last few games, we had some lapses and we didn’t play as well as we wanted to. We may have gotten some wins, but we kind of squeaked those out. But tonight was Thunder basketball; defense first, hustling, rebounding, helping each other out on the defensive end and playing together. I think we got some fast-break points as well. So we got back to our brand of basketball, and it feels good to be back.”
- The Thunder is 6-2 when it holds opponents to 20 points or less in the first quarter. In those six victories, the Thunder has won by an average margin of 10.4 points.
- This was the largest margin of victory for the Thunder this season. The previous high was 20 points, set in a 99-79 win over Detroit on Jan. 23. And guess what? The Thunder held the Pistons to 12 first-quarter points in that ballgame.
- For a while, though, the Thunder didn’t take advantage of Utah’s poor shooting like it should have. With eight minutes left in the second quarter, for example, the Thunder led 31-28 despite Utah shooting just 11-for-35. The problem? What else? The Thunder allowed the Jazz to take 11 more shots thanks to turnovers (six) and giving up offensive rebounds (six leading to eight second-chance points).
- Russell Westbrook played with great pace tonight. He pushed the tempo when needed but also scaled back and tried to get others involved, too. He scored 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting with five rebounds and two assists. With a fast break dunk at the 2:53 mark of the second quarter, Westbrook joined Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson as the only players in NBA history to record at least 5,000 points, 1,900 assists and 1,300 rebounds in their first 274 games.
- Said Durant of the milestone: “That’s a big-time feat. To be up there with the greats of the game is an honor. I’m sure he’s very excited. I’m happy for him. He’s done so much in this league and he has a lot to go. I’m glad I’m playing with him.”
- Uh, that dunk that put Westbrook in such elite company? It came off a break led by Perk. Westbrook flushed it off an alley from the big man. That’s the second time that I can remember where Perk led the break and threw a lob-pass. He also did it in game No. 2 at Minnesota. “He’s done that a few times, and we score,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. “Surprisingly, at times. But Perk, he plays hard. I don’t mind him doing that occasionally. But we can’t see a daily diet of that.”
- I asked Brooks if he’d consider moving Russ to the 2 and starting Perk at point. Brooks could only laugh. “Perk was nice, huh,” Brooks said.
- What I liked even more than the lob pass by Perk was his ho-hum reaction. He just trotted back on D like, ‘That’s what I do.’ But he let his emotions show on the ensuing possession after he allowed Jefferson to catch an entry pass over the top and score a point-blank layup. Perk banged the ball against his head and, I’m assuming, cussed himself out under his breath. Not trying to make too much out of it. But not too many players show that amount of passion on the defensive end rather than the offensive side. It’s small. But it’s a small something that always should be considered when evaluating what Perk brings to this team.
- Perk was a a passing machine tonight. He had another nice dime that came on a behind-the-back dish to Ibaka with 9:55 left in the third. For the game, Perk tied his career high with six assists. For all those who get frustrated with the Thunder throwing the ball into Perk on the low block, Brooks gave a pretty sound explanation for why he continues to allow it. “I’m doing a better job of letting him touch the ball more,” Brooks said. “Earlier in the season, he was facilitating our offense at times, whether it was at the low post and passing out or at the elbow. I thought we needed to go back to that, because when you have guys that touch the ball they feel better about themselves and they just play better basketball.” (more…)
Nick Collison On Highly Questionable
The other day, Nick Collison appeared on the ESPN2 show Dan Le Batard is Highly Questionable and provided a great segment.
You clearly can see why I’ve said in the past that Collison is the best interview/quote on the team. He talks about taking charges, the Blake Griffin dunk on Perk, the most basketball has ever hurt him emotionally and how he plans on protecting his daughter’s innocence…with guns!
Enjoy.
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Kendrick Perkins On The Jim Rome Show
You have got to listen to this interview Jim Rome did with Kendrick Perkins.
It’s a 16-minute segment that is worth every second. Perkins, of course, talked about Blake Griffin’s dunk and elaborated on . But he also weighed in on whether the Thunder is the best team in the league, his leadership, Kevin Durant needing to become more vocal, his weight loss and improved health, how he learned to care only for winning and being about the right things and when he found out he wasn’t a scorer.
Enjoy.
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Scott Brooks On The Brink Of Coaching West All-Stars
Thunder coach Scott Brooks (left) is one win away from coaching the Western Conference All-Star team. Will James Harden be selected as one of his reserves?
With the Los Angeles Clippers laying an egg at Cleveland last night, Thunder coach Scott Brooks moved one step closer to being named the coach of the Western Conference All-Star team, our man John Rohde notes.
With the Los Angeles Clippers losing 99-92 at Cleveland on Wednesday night, Scott Brooks’ magic number to become the Western Conference All-Star coach is down to one.
One more victory by the Thunder between Thursday and next Wednesday clinches the best record by the league’s Feb. 15 cutoff date. The coach with the best winning percentage in each conference at that time gets to coach his conference at the NBA All-Star Game in Orlando on Feb. 26.
The best record Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro can have is 19-8. (.704). The best record San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich can have is 21-9 (.700). With one more victory, the worst record Brooks can have is 21-8 (.724).
Nothing is guaranteed, of course. But this is as close to a sure thing as you’ll find. The Thunder has three cracks at notching one more win before Feb.1 5, starting with tonight’s game at Sacramento. And Oklahoma City has had only one three-game losing streak in its past 107 games. Additionally, the Kings, at 9-16, are the second worst team in the Western Conference. Sacramento has given up 100.6 points per game, the third most in the league, and has been outscored by an average margin of 8.8 points, the NBA’s fourth worst discrepancy.
The next two games will be a home-and-home set against Utah, with the Thunder playing in Salt Lake City on Friday before hosting the Jazz on Tuesday. In that second meeting, the Thunder will be on three days rest, while the Utah will be playing its third game in three nights, all of them on the road.
While it’d be premature to pop the champagne and congratulate Brooks at this point, the mere fact that he’s on the brink of earning this honor is a testament to the job he’s done in OKC. He took a team that was 1-12 and headed nowhere fast and helped to turn it into a perennial 50-win club. He’s helped develop two All-Stars (and maybe three if James Harden joins Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in Orlando as a reserve) . He’s won a Coach of the Year award. And he’s led his team to the Western Conference Finals.
Now, Oklahoma City has the best record in the league at 20-5. With that, central Florida is officially under a Thunderstorm watch for All-Star Weekend.
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Thunder 119, Warriors 116
Nuggets from my notebook from Tuesday’s win at Golden State.
- The Warriors got off to an 8-0 run after converting wide open jumpers and getting into the paint with ease. Meanwhile, the Thunder looked out of sync offensively early and couldn’t get shots to drop. In those first two minutes, it looked like this just might not be the Thunder’s night. Looked like the overtime thriller at Portland had taken its toll.
- Then Russell Westbrook decided to do something about his team’s sluggish start. Westbrook scored a layup on an ultra-aggressive and athletic attack. Then another one, both three-point plays. Then a pair of pull-ups. Before you knew it, the Thunder had tied it up at 14-all.
- Kevin Durant didn’t really have it going early. He missed his first three shots, all good looks, and just didn’t appear to be in rhythm. And just when you thought KD just didn’t have it, the guy starts throwing in off-balanced leaners for and-ones. Crazy how good he is.
- Durant finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. He would have had his first career triple-double had Serge Ibaka not blown at least two of his set-ups.
- Warriors forward David Lee actually did have a triple-double with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Remember when everyone in OKC wanted the Thunder to break the bank to sign him?
- You’ve got to be happy with the win. But defensively, the Thunder left a lot to be desired. The Warriors’ point total was an opponent season high (116), Golden State shot lights out (55 percent), the Thunder had no answer for Monta Ellis (game and career-high 48 points) and OKC struggled once again in the pick-and-roll and defending the three-point line (9-of-21).
- Said Durant: “We want to strive toward perfection. We want to be one of those teams that are looked at as a really good team, and tonight we kind of had too many lapses. As a leader, I’m a little upset at myself for letting that happen. Of course we’re happy about the win. But the stuff that went on in the game, we have to correct it and try to get better. We don’t want to have games like this every game. We’ve got to get back to the drawing board.”
- The best thing you can take from this one is the Thunder showed again that it can play fast and win a shootout. The more versatile the Thunder is the better. But, really, this team is built to win shootouts. It’s the slow-paced, grind-it-out, games that require halfcourt efficiency that the Thunder still needs to prove it can consistently win. When the Thunder figures out both styles, it will be a dangerous, dangerous team come playoff time.
- There was a mysterious score change at the end of the third quarter that appeared controversial at first. What had happen’ was the refs went back and ruled a 3 by Westbrook with 4:18 remaining in the third period was actually a two. That changed the score from 93-92 going into the fourth quarter to 93-91, Warriors, at the start of the final period.
- The Thunder is now 6-1 in games decided by four points or less.
- Nazr Mohammed had brought it the past two games. He scored all eight of his points during a 13-2 run the second unit used to start the second period. Between his scoring tonight and his rebounding at Portland, I figure that will silence Thunder heads clamoring for Cole Aldrich at least until, oh, Thursday.
- What I liked best about Naz’s game tonight? His stand-still block of Ekpe Udoh. Naz just put his arms straight up and stuffed Udoh on a post move. Made him look like a little kid.
- Durant said he didn’t call glass on his go-ahead jumper. What is it about the Thunder and bank shots at Golden State?
NBA Says Kevin Durant Basket Shouldn’t Have Counted
The NBA has released a statement saying that Kevin Durant’s basket with six seconds remaining in regulation of last night’s 111-107 Thunder win at Portland should not have counted. Durant was awarded two points when an official ruled that a blocked shot by LaMarcus Aldridge was goaltending.
With six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the Blazers’ LaMarcus Aldridge was called for goaltending on a shot attempted by the Thunder’s Kevin Durant. With the benefit of slow motion replay following the game, it has been determined that Aldridge made contact with the ball just before the ball hit the backboard. Therefore, this should have been ruled a good block and goaltending was the incorrect call. (As determined by the NBA’s Competition Committee, referees may not use instant replay on goaltending calls.)”
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By The Numbers: Thunder-Blazers
Numbers to note from Monday’s 111-107 overtime win at Portland.
1: Free throw attempt by Kevin Durant. It was his least amount of foul shots in a regular season game since April 13, 2011, when he played just 23 minutes in the season finale against Milwaukee.
2: 3-pointers made by Durant on eight attempts. It continues a bit of a slump from deep for Durant. In four February games, KD is now 4-for-21 (19.3 percent) from beyond the arc. In 15 January games, he was 21-for-67 from 3 (31.3 percent).
4: Overtime points scored by the Blazers. The Thunder held Portland to 1-for-9 shooting in the extra session.
7: Rebounds for KD. By finishing three shy of double digits, Durant’s streak of double-doubles ended at five games.
13: Lead changes Monday night. The two teams also exchanged the lead 13 times.
19: Points scored by James Harden…on the road! Harden was 6-for-12 from the field, the second time in as many road games that he’s shot exactly 50 percent. He’s just 1-for-8 from 3 in those games. But baby steps are better than no steps.
20: Turnovers by the Thunder. OKC had just 17 assists, marking the ninth time in 24 games that the Thunder has finished with more turnovers than assists.
23: Thunder points off Blazers turnovers. Portland committed just 13 turnovers, but the Thunder scored six more points off seven fewer Portland turnovers.
24: Wins the Thunder has after losses over the past two seasons. OKC is 4-1 after a loss this season and 24-7 after a loss including last season.
33: Shot attempts by Durant, a new career-high. Durant needed all 33 shots to net his 33 points. The most shots Durant had previously attempted was 31 in a home loss to San Antonio on Jan. 13, 2010. When you think about how great of a scorer KD is, it’s kind of amazing that he’s attempted at least 30 shots only twice, huh?
39: Points scored by Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge. The soon-to-be All-Star now has two of the top three individual scoring performances against the Thunder this season. Tony Parker leads the pack with 42. Aldridge also scored 30 against the Thunder on Jan. 3. L.A. was 0-for-3 in overtime, though.
45: Minutes played by Durant, a season-high. Not exactly the way you’d like to see him start a back-to-back set.
59: Rebounds by the Thunder. Oklahoma City put together its best rebounding game this season, out-rebounding the Blazers by 20, including an 18-15 advantage on the offensive end. Serge Ibaka had a season-high 13 rebounds, two shy of tying his career high. Kendrick Perkins gobbled up 10 boards, only the second time he’s pulled down at least 10 rebounds. Nazr Mohammed pulled down seven boards, tying his season high. Russell Westbrook had a season-high 11 rebounds.
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Thunder 111, Blazers 107
Nuggets from my notebook from Monday’s win at Portland.
- Kevin Durant said the Thunder remembered some trash talking by Blazers players after they won by 10 in Oklahoma City on Jan. 3. “It was a lot of trash talking after that first game with them,” Durant said.
- When asked to elaborate, Durant toned it down but did provide a few more details. “It wasn’t too offensive. Of course, they said they thought they were the better team; they’re the best team in the West. All of that stuff, which is cool for them to say. They beat us and we had to take it. But I think that ever since then we’ve gotten better, they’ve gotten better and tonight was just going to be a battle between two tough teams and I’m glad we came out on top.”
- Kendrick Perkins on the trash talk: “Oh, we don’t forget stuff like that. But we ain’t about to respond, either. I wish they would have had their whole starting five in so they wouldn’t have no excuses about the game tonight. But we don’t forget nothing.”
- I don’t know whether that block by LaMarcus Aldridge was a goaltend or not. Even the in-arena replays that I saw were inconclusive. Many have said on Twitter that it was clearly a clean block. If so, there’s obviously going to be a large segment of fans who insist the Thunder got a gift. I can’t disagree. The Blazers probably would have won. But it was a bang-bang play (when I saw it live I thought it hit the backboard first) and you can’t fault the officials if they got it wrong. That’s the breaks.
- KD on the goaltend call: “I got it up there quick enough and it hit the glass first and it was a goaltend. So it was a good play for us.”
- Thunder coach Scott Brooks on the goaltend call: “I didn’t look at it. I saw it live. The referees…it’s a hard game. We won the game. I’m happy we won the game.”
- This was a great win. By far the best of the season. It wasn’t always pretty. But when you’re the best (by record), you’re going to get everyone’s best, and it’s going to sometimes be hard-nosed, physical contest. That’s what this was. And the fact that the Thunder came into the Rose Garden, where the Blazers had only lost once in 12 games, and slayed a team that was whupping opponents by an average of 18.3 points in their building, speaks volumes.
- Durant on the win: “It was one of those wins where we come back in the locker room a little bit emotional.”
- People tend to get a little carried away with the superlatives after games like this. So pardon me if what’s coming fits that bill. The defense the Thunder played on the game-clinching Blazers possession was the best I’ve ever seen from OKC. It was a big-time, dominant defensive effort. Everyone did what they needed to do. Russell Westbrook was pressuring Jamal Crawford. Perk was bodying Aldridge. Serge Ibaka provided great help. And Perk got the big block. You won’t find a more impressive 24 seconds of defense. Anywhere.
- Perk on the sequence: “It’s just talking and communication. You’ve got to give credit to the coaching staff. They called the play out. Russ kept pursuing. And you just never give up on the play. You especially can’t give a guy like Crawford a clean look at the basket. He’s known for hitting (game-tying shots) and game-winners.”
- Perk’s defense on Aldridge in the overtime period was as good as it gets. Perk held L.A. to two points on 0-for-3 shooting. Said Perkins: “He wore out himself. He hit some tough shots early…But I think he wore out through the fourth and overtime. The first three quarters, he had his legs.”
- Brooks on Perk’s D: “I thought Perk was the difference-maker. It’s kind of weird to say that when the guy he was guarding had 39, but he made him work for every shot. His activity, his rebounding, his defense, his toughness I thought won this game.”
(more…)
Kendrick Perkins: “I just got to play better”
Kendrick Perkins is not pleased with his production so far this season.
PORTLAND — Everyone these days seems to have a problem with Kendrick Perkins.
Including the man himself.
Perkins thus far has kept quiet about his individual performance. But on Monday morning, seconds after walking off the Rose Garden court following the Oklahoma City Thunder’s shoot-around, the center confessed that he hasn’t played particularly well.
When told he was requested to be interviewed because of his subpar rebounding of late, Perkins cut off the attempt at providing background. He didn’t need to hear any more.
“Man, what else?” Perkins said, suggesting rebounding wasn’t his only issue. “I’m struggling.”
Perkins ranks third on the Thunder in rebounding. But at 5.4 per game, he’s puling down his fewest rebounds since he averaged 5.2 during the 2006-07 season. Perk’s 11.6 percent rebound rate (the percentage of total missed shots a player rebounds) is the worst of his career. Only four centers who have logged enough games and minutes to qualify have a lower rate. In 23 games, Perkins has pulled down less than five rebounds eight times. Perk’s past two performances were grounds to sound the alarm. He grabbed one rebound in 30 minutes against Memphis. He corralled three in 21 minutes against San Antonio. His matchups in those games, Marc Gasol and Tim Duncan, combined to out-rebound him 23-4.
Against Portland center Marcus Camby, Perkins will be matched up tonight against the league’s leader in rebound rate.
“I just got to play better,” Perkins said. “It’s not just the rebounding. My points are down. I’m usually one of the league leaders in field-goal percentage. I just got to play better. It’s nothing else to it. I just got to play better.” (more…)
By The Numbers: Thunder-Spurs
Numbers to note from Saturday’s 107-96 loss at San Antonio.
11: Rebounds by Kevin Durant. Coupled with his team-high 22 points, Durant registered his fifth straight double-double and his 10th of the season. Durant’s 11 rebounds raised his team-leading rebounding rate to 8.3 per game, currently 0.7 more than his career high for an entire season.
12: Made 3-pointers by San Antonio. It was one shy of tying the most a team has made against the Thunder this season. The Los Angeles Clippers made 13 on Jan. 30. Five Spurs players made at least one 3. Three Spurs players made three 3s.
15: Rebounds by Tim Duncan, tying Dwight Howard for the second most rebounds an opposing player has pulled down against the Thunder. New Jersey forward Kris Humphries holds the record with 16.
17: Second-chance points scored by the Spurs. The Thunder scored just seven second-chance points.
19: Points scored by James Harden. The Bearded One made 5-of-10 shots in 30 minutes. In his previous two road games, Harden scored a combined 17 points on 5-for-21 shooting.
24: Largest lead by the Spurs. It’s the most the Thunder has trailed by in any game this season. The previous widest margin was a 22-point lead held by the Clippers on Jan. 30. San Antonio blew open the game in a nine-minute stretch of the third quarter, using a 26-10 run to turn a 59-51 advantage into an 85-61 game.
42: Points scored by Spurs guard Tony Parker. It was the most any player has scored on the Thunder this season. The previous high was 30 by Portland forward LaMarcus Aldridge on Jan. 3. Parker’s scoring by quarter: six, 10, 16, 10.
60.7: Free throw percentage by the Thunder. OKC made just 17 of 28 foul shots to finish with the franchise’s lowest free throw percentage in a game since Dec. 31, 2008, when the Thunder converted just 14-of-28 foul shots (50 percent).
107: Points scored by San Antonio. It was the third time in five games that the Thunder allowed at least 100 points. Oklahoma City is now 3-5 when it allows 100 points or more.
4,477: Career assists by Parker, who now is the Spurs’ all-time leader in helpers.
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