Thunder point guard Eric Maynor at Virginia Commonwealth. (AP photo)

The Thunder has the NBA’s third-youngest roster and its second-youngest starting lineup.  Several players should still be in college, or are not that far removed from college.

Of the Thunder’s 14 roster players, only three attended college for four years — Nick Collison (Kansas), Royal Ivey (Texas) and Eric Maynor (Virginia Commonwealth).

This youth certainly is evident inside the Thunder locker room in March during the NCAA Tournament. Four Thunder players are No. 1 seeds in Daequan Cook and Byron Mullens (Ohio State), plus Cole Aldrich and Collison (Kansas). 

Ohio State faces Nazr Mohammed’s No. 4-seeded Kentucky team on Friday in Newark. Cook playfully suggested he and Mohammed might not pass to each other Wednesday (Utah) or Friday (Minnesota) because of that game. KU plays Richmond in San Antonio on Friday and potentially could face Maynor for a berth to the Final Four on Sunday.

Kevin Durant and Ivey were underseeded at No. 4 and Texas suffered a painful 70-69 loss to Arizona in large part due to a questionable five-second violation against the Longhorns on an in-bound play, which still has Durant shaking his head. Russell Westbrook’s No. 7-seeded UCLA team ousted Michigan State in the opening round, but couldn’t survived Florida. Nate Robinson’s No. 7-seeded Washington Huskies could have, and probably should have, beaten No. 2 North Carolina, but wilted down the stretch.

No one is puffing out his chest more than the 175-pound Maynor, who was recruited to VCU by former Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel. Maynor is a No. 11 seed who many inside (and outside) the locker room believed didn’t deserve a tournament berth. Instead, VCU is two wins away from advancing from the so-called First Four (play-in games) to the Final Four. The Rams have beaten teams by an average of 16.3 points — Southern Cal by 13;  Georgetown by 18;  and Purdue by 18.

Each time VCU has a game, someone from the other side of the locker room (usually Cook) tells Maynor to enjoy his last game of the season. “You’ve been saying that for three games now,” Maynor said.

The only player on the Thunder roster from a school that didn’t qualify for the tournament is Arizona State’s James Harden.

2011 NCAA Tournament bracket

• You could tell the Thunder’s defense came to play from the opening possession. Thunder players packed the paint, swarmed as the ball swung from side to side and collapsed on the ball when it was dumped down low. Russell Westbrook blocked Elton Brand on the opening possession and the Thunder forced Brand into a miss after the Sixers recovered the loose ball. The sequence set the tone for the entire night.
• On the Sixers’ second possession, Westbrook played the passing lane and stole a pass intended for Jrue Holiday.
• The early defense led to an early 21-12 lead, and from there the Sixers never came close to threatening. OKC was ahead between seven and 11 for much of the game and led by as many as 25 points.
• Westbrook, and Nenad Krstic didn’t even play in the fourth quarter, which could be a big boost going into Boston on Wednesday night.
• Really not sure why Scott Brooks insists on playing starters’ late in blowouts. Kevin Durant didn’t come out until the halfway point in the fourth quarter despite the Thunder being up 20. And when he exited, Thabo Sefolosha and Jeff Green checked in. James Harden played until the final buzzer. One of the rotation guys obviously is going to have to play. But if I’m Brooks, I make it a point to make my garbage time lineup Eric Maynor, Kevin Ollie, Kyle Weaver, Serge Ibaka and Etan Thomas. You could reason that Harden’s a rookie and could benefit from the experience. But Harden is fifth on the team in average minutes. Doesn’t seem like that logic will wash. Harden nearly sustained a serious shoulder injury while flying in for a dunk against the Lakers the other night. I wouldn’t risk an injury to Durant, Green, Sefolosha or Harden. No way. No how.
• With Westbrook leading the way, the Thunder had just 10 turnovers on the night.
• Westbrook didn’t have his shot going, shooting just 3-for-12 from the field. But he had 14 assists and only one turnover. He had five assists in the first quarter and six in the third, carrying the offense effectively as he’s done so many times this season.
• Durant got it going offensively early on and had one of his easiest scoring nights this season. The thing that stood out most was his growing ability to put the ball on the floor and attack the rim. He did it on the Thunder’s opening possession, blowing by his man from the left baseline and drawing a foul at the rim. He then went coast-to-coast a few trips later. And his drive to the cup at the end of the first quarter, although the officials overturned the foul call and whistled him for a charge, was impressive because it illustrated how he no longer settles nearly as much as he once did.
• In fact, the entire team didn’t settle tonight. After shooting just 3-for-15 from long distance against Portland, and 2-for-18 against the Lakers, the Thunder utilized much better shot selection tonight and worked inside, out. The Thunder made 6-of-12 shots from 3-point range and was 3-for-4 in the first quarter, but those looks were wide open attempts off drive-and-kicks or the result of players coming off screens.
• The best example of the improved shot selection came when Durant had Marreese Speights isolated at the top of the key but took two dribbles in and pulled up from the free-throw line extended rather than the 3-point line. That never would have happened last season and might not have happened earlier this year.
• While the Thunder deserves credit for much better shot selection, you couldn’t have faulted the players if they decided to jack up 3s all night tonight. You could clearly see why the Sixers are last in the league in opponent 3-point percentage. They don’t rotate well, close out on shooters effectively or fight hard through screens. Philly’s perimeter defense is what makes jump shooters lick their chops.
• Sefolosha had nine points tonight and had some nice offensive plays early.
• Weaver got in the game early in the second quarter. And I don’t know why.
• Andre Iguodala had the prettiest play of the night when he faked a behind-the-back pass with 4:25 left in the third quarter and finished with a one-handed dunk. And in what quite possibly explains why the Sixers stink, Philadelphia allowed Green to knock down a momentum-killing 3-pointer at the other end. to go back ahead 77-65.
• Ibaka’s offensive game is coming along nicely. He had a very impressive up-and-under move in the lane late in the game. And when he missed one of his early jumpers, leaving it short, he made it a point to shoot with more arc on the next attempt. He swished it. He is really a fast learner.
• The Thunder out-rebounded the Sixers 47-36.
• The Thunder now has 45 wins with nine left to play. Tonight’s win moved OKC back into sixth place. If the playoffs started today, the Thunder would play, surprise, surprise, Utah. Not the seeding many might have expected, but it’s the matchup Thunder heads sound like they prefer.
• Can somebody explain to me why Jason Kapono wears No. 72?
• Holiday is going to be a good point guard in this league for many years. He’s crafty, smart, slippery and has a nice change of pace to his game. Think Baron Davis in terms of pace. Holiday is the youngest player in the league and still doesn’t appear to be rattled or rushed. He’s got a nice handle and what looks to be solid shooting mechanics. He got where he wanted on the court fairly easily tonight, and when he matures as a player and gets more experienced he could be dangerous. It’s worth keeping an eye on his development.
• Ollie got a nice ovation from the Philly fans (those who stayed throughout) when he checked into the game for the first time with 4:37 left to play and the Thunder ahead 103-81. Ollie had three stints in Philly and was on the 2000-01 team that lost to the Lakers in the NBA Finals.
• According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Thunder will sign Mustafa Shakur for the rest of the season.

Thabo Sefolosha and Nenad Krstic had the longest stays when they were acquired in mid-season last year. Kevin Ollie and Russell Westbrook had a brief stay, and rookies James Harden and Byron Mullens were guests in the days after the Thunder drafted them last June.

Krstic stayed at the Skirvin for about 10 days before moving into his residence. The Thunder’s center stayed on the third floor and said he didn’t experience anything out of the ordinary.

Sefolosha, who was at the Skirvin for about 2 1/2 weeks, was on the fourth floor and said he didn’t witness anything creepy either. When asked about the report in the New York Daily News quoting Knicks players saying they didn’t get much sleep before Monday’s game because they were scared, Sefolosha said, “That’s an excuse.”

The Thunder won 106-88.

Sefolosha called the tale of a 1930s woman jumping to her death from the 10th floor with her baby in her arms a “pretty scary story.”

“I don’t know if it’s true or not,” Sefolosha said. “I like it for a horror movie. It’d be pretty good.”

Thunder players, according to Sefolosha, briefly talked about the Daily News report before Tuesday’s practice. Sefolosha said the report, “put a smile on some faces.”

What no one, including Thunder coach Scott Brooks, found funny was the team’s hotel in Milwaukee. The Pfister in downtown Milwaukee, according to several members of the Thunder organization, is haunted.

“In Milwaukee it’s not really a comfortable stay when you’ve heard those stories,” Krstic said. “But for me, it’s hard to believe that something like that exists. I don’t really believe in it, but when you hear stories like that and you’re by yourself in you room and you need to go to sleep it’s not very comfortable.”

It’s worth noting that the Thunder lost a 103-97 decision at Milwaukee on Jan. 2 — a defeat that ended the Thunder’s season-long five-game winning streak.

When asked about the Skirvin during a press conference Tuesday, Presti joked that the hotel many visiting teams use could become the Thunder’s secret weapon.

“Some locker rooms are really small and really hot,” Presti said. “I guess that’ll be our thing. ”

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Guard Kyle Weaver will miss at least four months after undergoing surgery today to repair damage sustained by a dislocated shoulder, the team has announced.

Weaver becomes the second Thunder player who will miss a significant chunk of the season, dealing yet another blow to the team’s backcourt rotation. The Thunder announced earlier Monday that reserve guard Kevin Ollie is out up to four weeks after undergoing successful surgery on his right knee.

Guard Shaun Livingston is still recovering from a Nov. 17 surgical procedure on his knee and likely is at least a week away from returning to the lineup, although Livingston and Thunder coach Scott Brooks have said Livingston is doing more in practice every day.

Weaver, who averaged six points, 1.7 assists, one rebound and one blocked shot in 10 minutes per game over three contests, was headed for a prominent role as the Thunder’s emergency backup point guard behind starter Russell Westbrook when Livingston and Ollie went down. But after an encouraging performance in his first meaningful action of the season last Tuesday in a road win at Utah, Weaver injured his shoulder a day later while driving in for a layup during practice.

The diagnosis is the latest setback for Weaver, the second-year guard out of Washington State. The Thunder traded for guard Thabo Sefolosha last February and drafted another shooting guard, James Harden, with the third overall pick in June. Weaver then underwent surgery on July 28 to repair the extensor tendon in his left thumb, an injury sustained while playing with the team in summer league.

Now, it looks as though Weaver could miss the rest of the season. The team announced Weaver’s status will be updated as necessary, but only eight April games would be left on the schedule if Weaver is out the entire four-month minimum timetable.

Recently signed guard Mike Wilks is now expected to play a significant role off the bench over the next few weeks while the Thunder gets healthy.

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Ollie, according to a release by the team, had a minor procedure to relieve pain in his patellar tendon. If he is out all four weeks, Ollie will miss all 15 games in December, leaving recently signed guard Mike Wilks and healing reserve Shaun Livingston to man the position off the bench.

Livingston is getting closer to returning to the lineup and recently said he could be back in a week or two. Kyle Weaver, meanwhile, is set to undergo surgery on his shoulder Tuesday.

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Bowen made the roster as the team’s 15th man after beating out Mike Harris, Michael Ruffin and Tre Kelley in training camp for the final spot. It was clear since October that Bowen could be waived at some point if a better option came along or the Thunder needed to fill the 15th spot with a player who filled a pressing need.

Well, with injuries to reserve guards Kevin Ollie (knee), Shaun Livingston (knee) and Kyle Weaver (shoulder), the Thunder now has a pressing need. Starter Russell Westbrook is the only healthy point guard on the roster. And while James Harden is capable of manning the point position, and Kevin Durant and Jeff Green can bring the ball up the court, OKC would walk into Friday’s nationally televised game against Milwaukee without an experienced playmaker if a move is not made. That’s why I expect a move to be made soon, perhaps no later than Friday morning.

It’s unclear who the Thunder might be targeting or whether the team’s preference is a trade or free agent contract. The likely approach seems to be signing a player to a partially-guaranteed deal so that when Ollie, Livingston and Weaver return that player can easily be waived. A 10-day contract is out of the question at this point because, under Collective Bargaining Agreement Rules, teams can’t sign players to 10-day deals until Jan. 5.

History suggest if the Thunder makes a move it will be for a veteran guard who can provide a steady hand behind Westbrook as opposed to a young, inexperienced player who can be rattled. The Thunder brought in Chucky Atkins last season and Ollie last summer hoping they would fit that bill. The usual suspects this time around are free agents Jacque Vaughn, Antonio Daniels, Brevin Knight and Keith McLeod.

Bowen appeared in just one game for the Thunder. He scored four points and grabbed two rebounds in eight minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

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That’s the question I asked Scott Brooks following Tuesday’s 104-94 win over Utah at Energy Solutions Arena. It’s a subject that is gaining more and more steam as this season snakes along. The latest and arguably most surprising case for the youngsters came when the Thunder walked into Utah and whipped a veteran Jazz team, leading by as many as 19 points and, with the exception of the final minutes of the second and fourth quarters, played with poise, patience and pride.

With Nick Collison and Kevin Ollie out with knee ailments, the Thunder’s bench unit was comprised of two rookies and one sophomore. Veteran Etan Thomas, the only other reserve to see action, played just nine minutes. Serge Ibaka, James Harden and Kyle Weaver took over the heavy lifting, and they showed they are more than capable of handling the load.

Weaver, who was relegated to the D-League on Saturday and recalled from the Tulsa 66ers hours before tip-off only to provide emergency duty behind starting point guard Russell Westbrook, had played only 15 garbage-time minutes in the Thunder’s first 14 games. Fourteen of those minutes came in one contest. But on Tuesday night, Weaver matched his season total in minutes. And he provided more than just a steady hand. Weaver made plays, pestering Jazz point guards Deron Williams and Eric Maynor with his defense and seamlessly setting up the offense and swishing key shots. He finished with seven points on 2-for-3 shooting. He turned the ball over twice but had a career-high-tying three blocked shots to go with one assist.

Ibaka, meanwhile, continued to be a game-changer around the basket. One game after a career night — an 11-point, 13-rebound, five-block performance against the Lakers — Ibaka pulled down five rebounds and had one steal and one block in 21 minutes. He coolly filled in for Jeff Green when the Thunder’s starting power forward picked up two early fouls. He gobbled up a rebound following a Paul Millsap miss. He netted an 18-footer following a feed from Kevin Durant. He pulled down another board after Mehmet Okur’s missed jumper, giving him two points and two rebounds in just four minutes. Ibaka later spelled a foul-plagued Nenad Krstic and did much of the same. But most impressive was the 20-year-old’s confidence. When the Jazz came alive in the fourth quarter and used a 4-0 spurt to cut the Thunder’s 19-point lead to a tenuous 15 with eight minutes remaining, Ibaka smoothly sank an 18-footer. Thabo Sefolosha then nailed two free throws to push the lead back to 19.

And all James Harden did was bounce back from a woeful performance he turned in two nights earlier that could have rocked the rookie’s confidence. After a 2-for-15 shooting night (0-for-10 from 3) against the Lakers, Harden netted four of five shots and one of two 3-pointers for his 10 points during his 19 minutes. His second-quarter production showed his moxie. He poured in all of his points during a 3 minute, 14 second span that started with the Jazz leading by a point and ended with his 3-pointer that gave OKC a 39-36 lead with 6:54 remaining in the half. The Thunder trailed only twice the rest of the way, both times by just a point.

“Sam Presti, our general manager, has done a great job of finding guys who are competitive,” Brooks said after the game. “You can have talented guys, but if they’re not competitive what good are they? Our guys are competitive. They get better. They get better in practice. It’s a fun group to coach because they compete against each other in practice. Sam has done a good job of putting a good group together.”

So why not play the kids?

“One of the things that Sam and I talk about every day, we have a team that has to earn minutes,” Brooks said.

Translation: the days of PT liberally being handed out ended with Russell Westbrook last season. No longer is the Thunder in the phase of speeding players’ development by awarding extended minutes without merit. Ibaka and Harden are clear cases. Neither figure to unseat Thomas/Collison or Sefolosha so long as those veterans are more consistent and better defensively, no matter how lofty the rookies’ ceilings.

But that doesn’t mean the position battles won’t intensify as the season marches on.

“Guys are competing for minutes and it puts pressure on our guys to come with it every day in practice,” Brooks said. “And it pays off. I think the way guys work in practice pays off and it gives them opportunities to show what they do. And our starters have to be ready because we have guys that can play.”

While the pups wait their turn, the fans will be waiting with bated breath.

QUICK HITS

• Once again, the player of the game award goes to Thabo Sefolosha. His defense on Deron Williams saved the day. Thunder coach Scott Brooks switched Sefolosha on Williams to start the second half and Williams disappeared. The Jazz looked lost offensively without him.
• Russell Westbrook didn’t seem to care for the switch afterward, not in an angry, bitter, team cancer sort of way. But he spoke as if he would have liked to remain on Williams. I think that’s a good sign that the youngster has that competitive fire in him.
• A few Utah media members, like others along the road this season, gushed about the Thunder’s core after the game.
• Again, Kyle Weaver was extremely steady in a backup point guard role. He was matched up against rookie Eric Maynor to start before Deron Williams was  reinserted. He played stout defense on them both and got the Thunder into offensive sets without problem. And he made shots when he needed to.
• Kevin Durant’s season-high eight assists is a testament to his continued development as a playmaker but more than anything the Thunder’s commitment to sharing the ball tonight. Durant made a few really nice drive-and-dish plays. But a lot of his assists came in the flow of the offense, simple passes to guys who were wide open. The Thunder had 25 assists as a team.
• Jeff Green had a nice all-around game. His 19 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals and three 3-pointers were huge. But he played some really nice defense on Mehmet Okur and, at times, Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap.
• Green had a nasty fall on an aggressive drive to the basket with two seconds remaining in the first half. He sat on the court for a minute before taking and making two free throws. Before going into the locker room he lingered on the court and talked with trainer Joe Sharpe about something regarding his left leg. He returned for warm-ups near the end of halftime with his left knee covered with a black wrap. Like he always does, he said he was fine after the game….even though he walked with a limp.
• The Jazz closed the first half on a 10-4 run, a surge that looked to be a momentum-killing swing and made it a one-point game going into the third quarter. But after trading a few early baskets to start the third quarter, the defense tightened up and the Thunder outscored the Jazz 31-16 in the period.
• Jazz fans started booing the home team midway through the third quarter after Russell Westbrook made a 3-pointer to give the Thunder a 75-64 lead.
• OK, I know Mehmet Okur can fill it up. But dude passed Jeff Hornacek for fourth all-time in franchise history with 440 3-pointers. Uh, how did that happen? Where have I been?
• Can someone tell me why Ronnie Brewer isn’t better? Five points, three rebounds, three assists? Two of six shooting? Seems to me Brewer should be Shawn Marion in the making. Athletic as all get out. Pesky defender. Ugly shooting form. I mean, it’s all there.

THEY SAID IT

• Scott Brooks on Thabo Sefolosha’s defense on Deron Williams: “Thabo is one of our better defenders. We feel that we can put him on ones, twos and threes. And he does a good job. He just stays with it. Deron is an All-Star player in my mind and he did a good job on him.”
• Brooks on Kevin Durant’s performance: “He’s a special player. He understands the game more each year. It happens that way. He’s working. He’s playing hard. He’s humble. He’s coachable. And our assistant coaches do a great job with him.”
• Brooks on Kyle Weaver: “Kyle was huge tonight. He hasn’t played much and he comes in and does a great job of running the team and making plays. And defensively he had three blocks. He was active. He got a lot of deflections.”
• Brooks on Serge Ibaka: “He’s coming along. I like what he’s doing. He’s going to get in some foul situations because he’s aggressive. But that’s going to work itself out. I like the fact that he’s aggressive and competing and helping his teammates on defense.”
• Brooks on the team’s 3-point shooting: “Anytime we can make some 3s that helps us. We’ve got some guys that can put it on the floor and get to the basket. We have to just continue to work on it and sprinkle it into our game. We have to hit some 3s and get to the free throw line. I thought the key tonight was we really did a good job of moving the ball, sharing the ball, all of our starters had a lot of assists tonight.”
• Jerry Sloan on the Thunder’s improvement: “They are better, much more experienced. They execute their plays and are much, much better defensively. They also really get into the open court and get some easy baskets.”
• Deron Williams on Sefolosha’s defense: “He is a bigger guard, took a lot of things away from me. That is pretty much it. It was just his size and length. I always have bigger guys on me. I just have to be more aggressive next time.”
• Thabo Sefolosha on his team’s performance: “It’s great. We are playing great right now. We’ve got a lot of confidence. Coming in a gym like that and being able to win that game is big for us. I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people this year because if we play like that, with the same intensity, we can go far.”
• Sefolosha on his defense on Williams: “That’s my role, playing defense and trying to be that spark on the defensive end. I think tonight the whole team did a great job defensively helping me on Deron Williams and closing down the paint a little bit.
• James Harden on the bench’s play: “I think we all wanted to bounce back from that last game. That wasn’t us. So just going out there and competing. We knew it was going to be a tough game, a very physical game. So we wanted to go out there and compete and help those guys out that were starting.”
• Harden on his bounce-back performance: “It’s good. It’s 82 games. The biggest thing is I can’t go into a slump now. You have to always stay confident. I got up some extra shots yesterday at practice. And I just have to stay focused and keep my mind right.”
• Russell Westbrook on the team’s confidence: “I can tell. When Utah made their run and got within eight, that’s when we came back and got some scores, got some fouls, knocked down free throws and got some stops. That shows maturity as a team.”
• Kevin Durant on Weaver: “That’s good to see. He’s been working his tail off every day in practice and after practice. He came in and gave us some great minutes, great minutes. I’m happy for him.”

BY THE NUMBERS
3: Blocked shots by Kyle Weaver, tying a career-high.
4: Steals by Jeff Green, a career-high.
5: Road wins for the Thunder.
7: Turnovers by Jazz guard Deron Williams, tying his season-high.
19: Biggest lead by the Thunder.
24: Jazz turnovers, 11 more than their average.
25: Thunder assists.
31: Third-quarter points by the Thunder.
17,937: Announced attendance at Energy Solutions Arena.

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It was a pressing problem for the coach because he didn’t have more than one healthy point guard, starter Russell Westbrook. And Utah’s guard play, with starter Deron Williams and backups Eric Maynor and Ronnie Price, is one of the best in basketball. But the Thunder issued a press release which provided the answer just before the team opened its shootaround. Kyle Weaver had been recalled from the Tulsa 66ers of the D-League and will be in uniform tonight against the Jazz. With Kevin Ollie and Shaun Livingston both out with knee ailments, Weaver will play extended minutes behind Westbrook.

The emergency duty the Thunder has called on Weaver to provide is what makes the second-year guard valuable. The 6-foot-6 guard can play multiple positions while also being a pest on defense and an asset as a spot-up shooter. Thunder coaches specifically had Weaver work on his point guard skills in the Orlando and Las Vegas Summer Leagues for moments like this.

“Kyle needs to just run the team,” Brooks said. “Get us in, make plays offensively. Defensively, he’s solid. He has great length. He’s a position defender. He uses his body well and he’s gotten stronger. I think he’s improved. He’s going to get an opportunity tonight and I expect him to play well.”

For Weaver, it’s the opportunity he’s waited on all season, one that has seemed to take much longer to arrive than the 14 games it’s been. Weaver has played in only two games this season, averaging 5.5 points, 2.0 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 15 minutes, his partial playing time coming only in blowouts, 14 of those minutes during the 14-point loss at Orlando. It’s been a frustrating transition at times for a player who, as a rookie, played in 56 games, 19 as a starter, and averaged 20.8 minutes.

“You’re a competitor,” Weaver said. “You want to be out there, especially after having that first year where you did have a few chances to be out there on the floor contributing. But it’s a learning process, too. A lot of players go through this. Some of the best players go through it or have been through it. I’ve just got to take it for what it’s worth, and the time that I’m out there just pick up on things.”

Last season’s experience, Weaver said, will help him go into tonight’s game with confidence and poise when his number is called. He now knows what to expect rather than having to be thrust into a backup role while still being unsure of himself.

“Last year was definitely a big help, being able to be out there on the floor,” Weaver said. “It makes everything a bit smoother and hopefully I’ll be a lot more comfortable out there.”

Ollie, who had been the team’s calming force off the bench behind Westbrook, said his biggest advice to Weaver is to take command of the offense.

“Be confident,” Ollie said. “I know he has great belief in himself and knows the team is behind him. Just be assertive out there. Be a leader. As the point guard, your voice has to be projected over everybody. And they got to know that you’re in command.”

KEYS TO THE GAME
In identifying the keys to tonight’s game, Thunder coach Scott Brooks started with, well, defense of course.

“We’re going to try to take away as many paint points as we possible can,” Brooks said. “They want to get to the basket, they want to cut hard. And they do. They’re one of the best screen-setting teams and coming off screens. Obviously there a very well coached basketball team. But we just can’t allow them a lot of paint points.”

Brooks also said the Thunder has to match Utah’s physical play and avoid allowing the Jazz to let their toughness dictate what the team does offensively. Protecting the basket, closing out on shooters and getting back in transition, Brooks said, will be vital to OKC’s chances for victory.

“We have to have a great five-man defensive effort,” Brooks said. “This is a team that runs their offense. They don’t break their offense many times throughout the game. Deron Williams has the ability to break it off and drive to the basket and create for himself. But they execute.”

OLLIE TO HAVE MRI ON KNEE
Kevin Ollie said his right knee became unbearably painful during the first quarter of Sunday’s road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. He will have a MRI on Wednesday in Oklahoma City to diagnose the cause for the discomfort.

“When I explode it hurts, but when I’m running it’s fine,” Ollie said. “That’s the frustrating thing. In basketball you have to jump. You can’t go out there and play cautious and whatnot. So I think I’m hurting myself and most importantly I think I’m hurting my team.”

OKUR TO PLAY TONIGHT
Jazz center Mehmet Okur, who has missed the past three games with flu-like symptoms, said he doesn’t feel 100 percent but will play tonight.

Okur said he was dragging a little Tuesday morning and isn’t sure how many minutes he will play tonight. Okur said he struggled a little with re-acclimating to everything on the court but added he felt better Tuesday morning

“Hopefully I’ll be close to 100 percent tonight,” he said.

In nine games, Okur ranks fourth on the Jazz in scoring at 14.3 points per game and second behind Carlos Boozer at 6.8 rebounds per game.

COLLISON OUT, IBAKA IN
Nick Collison will miss his second straight game with a sore knee. Rookie forward Serge Ibaka again will receive Collison’s minutes as the backup power forward. Brooks liked what Ibaka provided at Los Angeles and said he needs to do the same things defensively against the Jazz that he did against the Lakers.

“I thought he did a great job of getting us some extra possessions defensively with his effort and shot-blocking ability,” Brooks said. “And he runs the floor well and sets great screens.”

WILLIAMS ON WESTBROOK
Utah point guard Deron Williams had high praise for Thunder guard Russell Westbrook on Tuesday morning following the Jazz shootaround.

“He’s a great scorer, great at getting into the lane and making things happen and creating havoc down there,” Williams said. “So I just got to try to stay in front of him and contain him on pick and rolls.”

Williams called Westbrook one of the fastest and most athletic point guards in the league and noted that he uses his speed and quickness to try to beat you.

TOUGH CROWD
Utah has historically been one of the toughest places to win in the NBA. The Jazz have an incredible 477-162 home record over the past 16 seasons and enter tonight’s game with a home mark of 105-24 over the past three seasons.

“Great crowds,” explained Scott Brooks. “It’s always been a great building. And the building, the way it’s set up, basically the crowd is right on top of you. And it’s kind of like our place where it’s loud no matter what time of the year it is, opening game through January, February. And when the playoffs are here they even take it up another level. They play well at home. They just have a great comfort level in this building.”

KEVIN DURANT “MINI-MOVIE” TO AIR TONIGHT
During tonight’s Fan Night coverage on NBA TV, the network will air a “mini-movie” of Kevin Durant. It’s a 1 minute, 47 second feature that shows Durant in a private workout setting, practicing with Team USA and features stand-alone shots of Durant talking about himself as a player.

QUOTABLE
“Deron is one of the best point guards in the game. Surprisingly, he’s never made an All-Star team. I voted for him. Make sure you tell him that.” — Thunder coach Scott Brooks on Jazz guard Deron Williams.

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That’s when the Thunder recorded its fourth road win last season, a full four months into the season.

Shocking isn’t it?

But in what’s become the latest bit of evidence of how much Oklahoma City has improved, the Thunder secured its fourth road win Tuesday night at Miami, just three weeks into the 2009-10 season. It was a dominating 100-87 win over Miami at American Airlines Arena, one that bumped the Thunder’s road record to 4-2, or half its win total from last season’s 41 road games.

Good teams win on the road, and Tuesday’s win proves the Thunder is blossoming into a good team. This 6-5 start is no fluke. Oklahoma City has a better road record than it does at home (2-3). Granted, Miami is far from the toughest place to win in the league. Heat officials were so desperate for fans that two entire sections in the upper deck were allowed to move down to the lower bowl. But the Thunder has also gone into Detroit, San Antonio and Los Angeles and won, holding off talented Pistons, Spurs and Clippers teams in the fourth quarter with solid late-game execution and exceptional defense.

Road wins are vital for any team looking to land in the postseason when the regular season music stops in mid-April. Seven of last season’s 16 playoff teams finished above .500 on the road. Another two, Portland and Houston, were one game under .500 away from their home buildings. The Thunder could be on that same track, especially when you consider OKC’s two road losses, at Houston and at Sacramento, both came down to the fourth quarter, the Kings loss ending with a last-second shot that could have forced overtime.

Since that letdown in Sacramento, the Thunder has now won three straight road games. Oklahoma City’s 4-2 road record now trails only Phoenix (6-2), Portland and Dallas (both 5-2) in the Western Conference.

The best sign is that the Thunder is succeeding because of a commitment to defense. The Thunder held Miami to 43.1 percent shooing and limited a hot-handed Heat team to 5-for-18 shooting from behind the 3-point line. OKC now ranks fourth in opponent scoring, allowing just 90.1 points per game. The Heat’s point total was the seventh time in 11 games that the Thunder has held an opponent to less than 100 points. On one of the four occasions that a team did score in triple digits on the Thunder, it took the Los Angeles Lakers overtime to notch its 101-98 win.

One thing that has been proven early this season, though, is the Thunder, because of its youth, is as erratic as it is stingy. The Thunder followed up big wins against San Antonio and Orlando with heart-breakers against Sacramento and the Clippers. Oklahoma City very well could travel to Orlando for Wednesday’s game against the Magic and get run out of Amway Arena.

But the Thunder is now conscious of how to win and confident it can clinch victory on anyone’s court. And at this rate, would anyone really be surprised if the Thunder beat the Magic in Orlando on Wednesday, even if Oklahoma City didn’t see road win No. 5 until March 10?

QUICK HITS

• Russell Westbrook and Jermaine O’Neal got into it late in the first half, exchanging words and shoves after Westbrook’s offensive foul on Mario Chalmers. It was an odd sequence that looked to have started with O’Neal trying to hold up Westbrook after bodies collided before then shoving him away. Westbrook took exception and charged O’Neal but was restrained by Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem.
• Kevin Durant is finding his shooting stroke. He finished with 32 points, nine rebounds and five assists in 40 minutes and was 11-for-23 from the field. It was the fourth time in five games that he’s scored at least 30 points.
• Offensively, Jeff Green was quiet again tonight, scoring just 13 points on 4-for-14 shooting. But defensively, it’s important to realize that Michael Beasley scored just eight points on 3-for-9 shooting.
• Thabo Sefolosha had to be the player of the game for the Thunder. His defense on Dwyane Wade made this game worth watching. From the Heat’s opening possession you could tell Wade was in for a tough night. He looked like a carefree MVP candidate, running through the motions while being unaware he was going up against one of the league’s up-and-coming bulldog defenders. Sefolosha forced Wade into a tough shot that missed badly, and by the end of the game Wade needed 19 shots to get his 22 points and turned the ball over a season-high six times.
• Scott Brooks after the game called this Russell Westbrook’s best game. Westbrook had 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting to go with seven assists and only two turnovers. But it was the defensive end of the court which Brooks praised Westbrook for setting the tone for himself and the Thunder.
• Nick Collison was huge off the bench with 10 points and six boards in 24 minutes.
• Kevin Ollie was his usual steady self, avoiding mistakes while but not making much happen. He went scoreless in 15 minutes but had three steals and one assist.
• Serge Ibaka again got some burn inside the final three minutes of the first half. And now I have to ask Brooks the next time I see him what is it about that stretch that he likes giving Ibaka some run.
• Daequan Cook tried to spoil the Thunder’s party, scoring 14 of his 17 in the fourth quarter.
• The Thunder is 6-5. OKC was 6-32 last year.
• The Thunder had a 20-1 run in this game. That seems almost impossible.
• The Thunder made 21 of 22 free throws. Shame on Nick Collison for messing with the streak. : )

THEY SAID IT

• Scott Brooks on the team’s defensive identity: “Going into training camp in late September, we were focused on the defensive end. After last season, we felt one area we were going to need to improve was defensive basketball. We needed to play with a toughness and we needed to have an identity of playing with defensive thoughts in our mind from the first practice. And I thought the guys really bought in. They’re doing a great job. We’re not perfect. We’re still understanding what we need to do, but we’re trying to do a really good job of helping each other defend.”
• Brooks on the team’s growth since camp: “We wanted to start off playing basketball that we could be proud of, our fans could be proud of, our ownership could be proud of. We are creating an identity to play winning basketball. That is competing for each other every time down court and playing unselfish basketball. We talk about keeping effort in the game and keeping selfishness out of the game. I thought we did that tonight. It was displayed throughout the game.”
• Brooks on the team’s composure down the stretch: “I love the way Coach Erik coaches the team. He coaches them hard and he makes them play physical basketball. It’s a good challenge for us. We are trying to be more physical as the days go by, and I thought this was a big test going into tonight’s game that we were going to play one of the more disciplined, physically-tough teams in basketball. And I thought we did a good job of not backing down. I’m proud of the guys’ effort because they battled throughout the game.”
• Brooks on Russell Westbrook: “I thought Russell, from the start of the game, dictated the game with his defense. He challenged himself to be a 94-feet pressure point guard and that’s what we need. I thought it actually not only sparked our team, it sparked his play throughout the game. I thought this was his best game.”
• Brooks on Thabo Sefolosha’s defense on Dwyane Wade: “Thabo did a great job, but we focused on Dwyane with four other defenders. That’s one of the things going into the game, we wanted to make his touches very difficult and we wanted to keep him off the free throw line. He got to the line too many times in the first half, but I thought the entire team defense did a good job on the weak side. But he missed some shots. He missed some shots that he would normally make.”
• Brooks on Jameer Nelson being out for Orlando: “They have two good point guards, veteran point guards. One championship point guard in Jason Williams and they have Anthony Johnson. I’m sure it’s going to hurt them, but we have to go in there and play our basketball. We want to continue to play good basketball, make winning plays throughout the game for each other.”
• Kevin Durant on Sefolosha’s defense: “He’s unbelievable, man. He’s so long and athletic and he causes a lot of problems. He got his hands up on Dwyane’s shots. But (Wade) is a great player. He made shots. We just wanted to make Dwyane see five players and that’s what we did tonight.”
• Durant on winning on the road: “We wanted to get stops. Dwyane Wade’s a fourth-quarter player so we wanted to stop him. And also Daequan Cook was in the lineup and can hit big shots. It was a great team defensive effort. We played hard and it was a great win for us.”

BY THE NUMBERS
3: Straight road wins for the Thunder.
4: Steals by Thabo Sefolosha, the third time he’s had four this season.
10: Points for Nick Collison, a season-high.
11: Turnovers for the Thunder, a season-low.
100: Points by the Thunder, now 4-0 when scoring 100 points or more.
14,443: Announced attendance at American Airlines Arena.

-DM-

Durant dominated the Clippers in every respect before the final buzzer sounded on the Thunder’s 83-79 win, undoubtedly assembling his best and most complete outing of his two-plus years.

On this night, Durant arrived, his coronation unfortunately coming courtesy of L.A.’s forgotten team, which had only a generously-announced 14,248 spectators sprinkled throughout Staples Center as witnesses.

Statistically, Durant has had more impressive showings. His line Wednesday — 30 points, 10 rebounds and four assists — won’t wow you because it’s what we’ve come to expect of Durant. On numbers alone, this wasn’t even Durant’s best night in Staples Center. He poured in career-highs of 46 points and 15 rebounds against the Clippers last January, getting to the foul line 26 times and swishing 24 freebies. Both the attempts and the makes from the stripe stand as franchise records.

But this game wasn’t about numbers. It was about winning, which the Thunder failed to do against a short-handed Clippers team last winter despite Durant’s career night. It was about the mega-talented Durant, maybe for the first time, coming to the realization that he is capable of doing whatever he needs to do on the court to lead his teammates to victory.

Durant hunkered down on defense, playing the passing lanes and pestering his man to come up with steals and deflections. Durant played point forward offensively, controlling the ball and the pace of the Thunder’s offense throughout much of his 36 minutes, 22 seconds. He created for himself and others, refusing to settle but rather weaving his way into the lane for easy baskets or showing off an improved mid-range game with pull-up jumpers. Durant’s first 3-point attempt didn’t come until the opening seconds of the second quarter.

And this time, on a play that illustrated everything he did right offensively, Durant netted the big shot.

The Thunder took a 78-71 lead with 5:43 left to play but scored just one point over the next five minutes as the Clippers crept back to tie the score at 79-all. Thunder coach Scott Brooks then ran an isolation for Durant on the left wing. With Al Thornton defending closely, Durant drove left with two dribbles before reaching the baseline. He stopped and hit a step-back jumper over Thornton with 38.9 seconds remaining.

“That’s what I do,” Durant said. “That’s what I’m here for is to make big plays, miss or make.”

It wasn’t the make that stood out. It was the decision-making.

Equally impressive, although it will be overshadowed, was the play in which Durant didn’t take the shot. It came on a sequence that saw the Thunder aiming to milk the final 27.3 seconds off the game clock with the shot clock showing a 4.3-second differential. With all eyes on Durant as he stood near halfcourt, much like he did against the Lakers before settling for a 28-footer, Durant jabbed right took one dribble left and passed to a wide open Jeff Green after Marcus Camby helped. Green swung it to Kevin Ollie in the left corner. Ollie missed a 3-point attempt but retrieved the rebound and iced the game with a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds remaining.

“We’ve definitely made some strides,” said Nick Collison. “I think we’re just starting to learn how to play. What I like is we have a lot of guys just concerned with winning and making winning plays.”

Durant did both Wednesday and assumed his rightful place at the front of the line on a night that you might have viewed simply as Game No. 8 of his third season.

QUICK HITS

• I just wrote all that then looked at the box score and saw Durant was a minus-2 in the plus-minus. Exhibit A of why I’m not big on stats. Durant played his tail off.
• Russell Westbrook had a terrible night. He was out of control, then he was out of the game with a mild left ankle sprain. Marcus Camby stepped on his left ankle with 4:12 remaining in the third quarter. Westbrook returned to the bench with 1:07 left in the third and was said to be available to return but didn’t. He finished 1-for-11 with two points, two rebounds, two turnovers and three assists in 22 minutes. Westbrook’s lone basket didn’t come until a tip-in with 7:13 left in the third quarter. Now watch him have a  career night at San Antonio on Saturday.
• Serge Ibaka looks to be getting some burn now. Scott Brooks has stuck him in there inside the final three minutes of the first half the past two games. But tonight Ibaka also got some run at the end of the third quarter and most of the fourth until fouling out with 1:36 left to play. Maybe his time has come.
• Ibaka had a great sequence midway through the fourth when he contested Chris Kaman’s baseline jumper on one end, forcing the Clippers’ big man into an airball. Then, he had a driving layup at the other end to give the Thunder a 76-71 lead.
• Because of Ibaka’s effectiveness, Etan Thomas played just six minutes.
• Give Nenad Krstic credit for his excellent defense on Chris Kaman on the Clippers second-to-last possession. The refs, however, seemed to have missed a traveling violation and Kaman stepping out of bounds.
• Speaking of Krstic, I saw a mean streak out him for the first time since he joined the team. It happened in the final second of the first quarter when Baron Davis drove the lane and held Krstic’s jersey for no reason. Krstic took exception and got in Davis’ face. It was a real shocker considering Krstic is one of the nicest guys in the league.
• Kevin Ollie is the unsung hero tonight. The big steal on Kaman’s bad pass. A couple of big shots. And just overall solid play in relief of the ineffective Westbrook. Maybe the demands for Shaun Livingston will be silenced now. I doubt it.
• James Harden is coming along nicely. This was probably his best game yet. He passed, rebounded and scored when the opportunity presented itself. It was a very encouraging performance.
• I’d assume Harden had the majority of fourth-quarter minutes because Brooks didn’t need Thabo Sefolosha’s defense nearly as much against Rasual Butler. Still, it was valuable experience for the rookie.
• Kaman hit Nick Collison with the “Dream Shake” from the left block with 2:36 remaining in the second quarter. I didn’t know Kaman had that in him.
• The Thunder closed the third quarter on a 10-4 run to pull within three after trailing by as many as nine in the period.
• If you ever wonder whether all that talk about the Thunder’s chemistry is a bunch of hot air, all you needed to do was watch this game. The Clippers chew each other out on every turnover, every missed assignment and every pass that is fumbled and results in a ruined assist. It’s shocking.
• Too many Thunder players have begun a disturbing trend of leaving their feet on pump fakes. It’s leading to an open shot by the man doing the pump fake or resulting in an open shot elsewhere because someone has to rotate over to help.
• Jeff Green big-boyed Al Thornton every time he matched up against him in the post. Green tried to do it against Kaman late and he traveled. Green almost became this game’s goat when followed up his traveling violation by fouling Thornton on a 3-pointer. Thornton made all three to tie the score at 79-79.
• Baron Davis torched the Thunder’s defense all game with his passing and complemented his dishes with timely aggressiveness as a scorer. He finished with, get this, 17 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, three steals, two blocked shots and zero turnovers.
• DeAndre Jordan air-balled the first of two free throws with 10:58 left in the fourth and you could clearly hear him scream, “Oh (expletive).”

THEY SAID IT

• Scott Brooks on the win: “We’re going to stay humble in our victory. But it’s important that we defend. I said it all summer long and all through training camp, defense is going to be our identity. We’re going to have to play gritty, scrappy basketball.”
• Brooks on Kevin Durant: “He’s a special player. He works hard, and I’m proud of the fact he got 10 rebounds. He had a nice offensive game going other than missing three free throws after 18 in a row last night. But he had a good game because he competed on both ends of the floor.”
• Brooks on Serge Ibaka: “Like I said after the game to the guys, that’s not easy to do, sit out four or five games and only play a couple of minutes here and there. And to come in with that type of confidence, that says a lot about what he’s been doing with coach (Mark) Bryant and preparing himself to get ready and be prepared. He comes in with great energy. We know that. He’s a tremendous athlete. He’s a serious competitor.”
• Kevin Ollie on the win and his performance: “It was a great win for us. It was a total team effort. I just tried to come in and spark us. Russell’s ankle was king of hurting. We played a collective great game and we did it on the defensive end. We didn’t score that many points, but we got stops when we needed it.”
• Ollie on Durant: “Our big fella, KD, was knocking down big shots. That shot in the corner, I don’t know how he made it but he does make them. He’s just a great player and we just try to rally around him.”
• Kevin Durant on his game-winning shot: “It feels good to know that my team has confidence in me. I couldn’t hit the shot in the last game and the couple before that, but tonight it went in.”
• Nick Collison on the fourth win and last season’s 3-29 start: “There are no words to describe how disappointing that start was last year. We knew we weren’t that bad a team  but we played hard.”
• Chris Kaman on Durant: “Durant is 6-10 who can make amazing shots. It is very hard to guard him. If you put someone on him that’s too big then he just gets around him. And if you put someone on him that’s too small he’ll post up and take advantage of him.”
• Mike Dunleavy: “If you told me before this game we would hold them to this amount of points based on our shooting, I would’ve told you we would have a very good chance.”

BY THE NUMBERS
4: Fast break points for the Clippers.
6: Ties.
10: Clipper points in the fourth quarter.
12: Lead changes.
22: Percent shooting by the Clippers in the fourth quarter.
30: Points for Kevin Durant, his second straight game with 30 points or more.
35.9: Percent shooting by L.A., a new opponent season-low for the Thunder.
14,248: Announced attendance at Staples Center.

-DM-