• 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.”

• This is hard to ignore. The Thunder’s defensive-minded center had four more assists tonight than its All-Star point guard. A lot of Westbrook detractors could and perhaps would make a big deal about that. In no way am I trying to here. But in no way do I think that’s a good thing. One more? Fine. Two more, even? OK. But four more? C’mon man! If this was one isolated game, that would be one thing. (No, Perk hasn’t tallied more assists than Westbrook before.) But we all know Westbrook’s passing game hasn’t been at the level it was last season. This was his 10th game with four assists or fewer, tonight’s tally being a season-low. I’m all for having a shoot-first point guard. But I like my point guards a whole lot more when they get everyone else involved and make others better. I’m not sure anyone can make a case that Westbrook is doing that right now.

• In fairness to Westbrook, his teammates blow some of his passes. Westbrook fed Ibaka with a beautiful bounce pass in the first quarter. It was a little low, but Ibaka was wide open under the rim and all he had to do was scoop it and dunk. But of course, it trickled out of bounds. Sometimes this season, it’s been plays like that that have kept Westbrook’s assists numbers down.
• Who would have thought Perk would have twice as many assists as Durant and Westbrook combined? KD had one.
• After Ibaka muffed that pass, Westbrook chewed him out. And rightfully so. Still, I didn’t like it. We all know Westbrook’s temper and body language need work. But when you’re on your way to leading the league in turnovers for the third time in four seasons, it seems to me you should be careful how you react to a guy who couldn’t catch a pass. Again, Westbrook was right to get on Ibaka there. It just looked a little like Westbrook went overboard.
• I don’t know what’s gotten into Ibaka lately, but he needs to keep it up. The man had 16 points, 10 boards and six blocks tonight. I’ve already noted his defense. But his energy was once again great. And when he plays like that, the Thunder’s defense is really, really tough to score on.
• Said Brooks about Ibaka: “Serge was all over the floor, rebounding the ball, blocking shots. He’s getting better every game. His development is encouraging. Every day he works, and you can see the work that he puts in on the floor paying off for him.”

• Durant’s hustle was outstanding tonight, too. He ripped Josh Howard clean on one possession late in the first quarter and dove on the floor in front of his bench to recover the ball. He ended up saving it to Nazr Mohammed, who got it to Westbrook, who fired it to James Harden, who got fouled and marched to the line. The crowd went nuts, showing appreciation for the face of the franchise hustling like that and doing the dirty work.
• Gotta love Durant’s response when asked about diving on the floor. “I’m all about the win,” Durant said. “Because these guys will do it for me. I just want to try to do as much as I can to help out on the defensive end. That’s been my role, I think, this year is to provide a lot of defensive energy and be aggressive on the offensive end. So I’m just trying to make a conscious effort of playing hard and being a better defender and trying to be more of a two-way player.”
• I didn’t cover the game at Utah last Friday. If I did, I would have noted this then. But KD got beat on four backdoors and one break in which he didn’t get back on D. Tonight, I don’t remember a single lob play or backdoor play from the Jazz. Much better effort by KD and his mates. Said KD: “They’re a tough team to guard because they screen so well and they move so much. But I think we did a great job of helping each other out.”
• About midway through the first quarter, old friend Earl Watson tried to apply full-court pressure to Westbrook. After giving a few fakes like he was going to enter into a sprint, Westbrook finally turned on the jets and just blew right past Watson for a wide open layup. Watson didn’t try that again. I wondered how many times the Thunder saw that in practice three years ago.
• Perk absolutely LAID OUT Devin Harris on a screen with 3:33 left in the second quarter. I actually worried for Harris’ well-being. The pick freed up Westbrook for a pull-up jumper, and as the ball splashed through the net Perk gave a fist pump while Harris was slowly trying to figure out where he was. Classic Perk.
• Remember when Devin Harris was good at this game?

• The last time a player scored at least 20 points with at least 20 rebounds against Utah? Nov. 13, 2010. The guy who did it? Nazr Mohammed.

• Dead crowd tonight. What was up?
• Brooks cleared his bench with 5:11 left to play, inserting Cole Aldrich, Reggie Jackson and Lazar Hayward. Ryan Reid made his NBA debut when he checked in with 3:51 remaining.

• The crowd began filing out much earlier than that. I can’t blame the fans who took off.

• As a result of the most lopsided win of the year, every active player scored for the Thunder. Reid showed some nice footwork on one of his field goals that came from underneath the basket, and Cole continues to impress.

• Jackson recorded a career high with eight assists. He added four points, three rebounds and turned it over only once in 25 minutes. Not bad for a rookie backup who allegedly is the reason the Thunder can’t win it all this year, huh?

• Not everything was great tonight. The Thunder went 22-for-34 (64.7 percent) from the foul line and gave up 19 offensive rebounds leading to 22 second chance points.

• Just 15 turnovers. Can they please keep it about there?

• Up next. At Houston on Wednesday.

-DM-

Scott Brooks will coach the Western Conference All-Stars.

Observations from the Thunder’s 101-87 victory at Utah on Friday night. Forgive the delay in posting. Massive wireless issues for me in the Great Salt Lake:

• The Thunder’s victory clinched Scott Brooks becoming the Western Conference coach at the Feb. 26 NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, but director of team operations Marc St. Yves was the only person to shake Brooks’ hand on the court afterward. Why? Russell Westbrook didn’t know the win sealed the deal. Nick Collison knew, but forgot, same goes for Kevin Durant and Nazr Mohammed. It wasn’t that no one cared. It’s just their minds didn’t refocus immediately after the game.
• Durant playfully suggested Brooks’ first duty as All-Star coach might be to start Westbrook, even though fans voted for Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant as the starting guards. “Yeah, yeah,” a smiling Durant said when asked if Brooks should wield his power. “He might tell CP to sit down for a little bit to start.”
• Brooks’ effectiveness as the Thunder’s coach was clearly evident Friday. Based on answers given by several players that day, Brooks is dealing with the team’s turnover issue the right way – not with humiliation and threats but rather with calm concern. In addition, roughly three hours before the game at Utah, Brooks and Durant sat and chatted one-on-one for 20 minutes in the front row along the baseline. Judging from Brooks’ hand gestures, he appeared to be sharing advice on options Durant might have coming off the dribble and how a play could develop. The 46-year-old Brooks has the perfect temperament to handle a young and extremely competitive group like the Thunder. Brooks doesn’t get near enough credit. Perhaps his appearance at the All-Star Game will change that.
• Westbrook said Brooks becoming an All-Star coach is far-reaching. “It’s great for the organization, the city, the community. It’s truly a blessing to see what’s going on around here (OKC),” Westbrook said. “We’ve got a lot of talent on this team, but at the same time, we’ve got to be coached. He’s a guy who keeps us steady and keeps our head above water.”
• You must check out Nick Collison’s appearance with Dan LeBatard in “Highly Questionable.” With seven minutes left Friday against the Jazz, Collison drove hard to the basket and converted an acrobatic scoop layup with the shot clock winding down. At that exact moment, I thought, “Shooter!” Listen to the interview and you’ll understand.
• EnergySolutions Arena was another tough venue for the Thunder, just like the four previous stops during the road trip at San Antonio, Portland, Golden State and Sacramento. However, I’ve never heard the Jazz’ building so quiet. The Thunder did a superb job of not allowing the sellout crowd of 19,911 to take control. Winning helps, of course, but other than going on a scoring spurt, what’s the best way to take the home crowd out of a game? “Get fouls called, get some steals, get to the free-throw line,” Westbrook explained. By the way, all five arenas were sold out for the Thunder’s visits.
• Westbrook isn’t crazy about doing interviews, but one of his favorite subjects is discussing the Thunder’s ability to bounce back after a loss. “Oh, definitely,” Westbrook said after OKC upped its bounce-back record to 25-7 the past two seasons. “In this league, you can’t afford to lose three or four in a row and be an elite team. We know that and we’re getting better each and every season, and in every game. When we lose one, we take it personal coming back the next day to be ready to play.”
• The Thunder is now 34-10 in the regular season since center Kendrick Perkins joined the starting lineup last March. “Pretty impressive,” Perkins said, eyebrows raised. “I’ll take 24 games over .500 any day.”
• Perkins won the 2008 world championship with the Boston Celtics, who went 66-16 (.805) that season. The Thunder is 21-6 and has a similar winning percentage (.778). Perkins said even great teams still lose games. The trick is letting the losses go while not forgetting what happened. “Obviously, we’ve let a few slip away this year that we still think about, but we know what to do about it now,” Perkins said.
• An .800 winning percentage is truly impressive. Look at it this way: For every game that team loses, it must immediately go on a four-game winning streak to make up lost ground. The Thunder would have to finish 53-13 this season to reach .800 or higher.
• On Thursday, OKC had 23 turnovers. On Friday, it had 17, which is still about four or five too many, but it’s far better than 23. Pointing out the obvious, the Thunder sure looks much prettier when it’s collecting steals and not handing over the ball. “Oh, gosh,” reserve guard James Harden said with a smile. “It’s always such a relief when you get easy buckets on the road. It calms the crowd down. They’re game-changers.”
• Rookie guard Reggie Jackson missed his first five shots Friday and attacked the basket with 10 seconds left in the third quarter rather than playing for one last shot. He’s a rookie and has a long ways to go. Better decisions and less hesitation running the half-court offense are Jackson’s biggest challenges.
• I miss watching Eric Maynor play. Then again, I knew I would.

Darnell Mayberry returns in this slot on Tuesday. Commence cheering.

- JOHN ROHDE

The Thunder's game at Sacramento on Thursday essentially was "Chris Webber Night" on TNT and the Kings responded with a 106-101 victory over OKC. Reggie Miller looks on as Webber receives a commemorative Kings "black" jersey.

Some thoughts on the Thunder’s 106-101 loss at Sacramento on Thursday night at Power Balance Pavilion:

• I’m almost certain the answer to this question is “no,” but here it goes: Has any team ever won an NBA title leading the league in turnovers? My guess is no, and the answer will remain no because the OKC Thunder will not win an NBA title committing this many turnovers. The Thunder might win the Northwest Division again. It might be the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Heck, it might even finish with the best record in the NBA. But OKC will NOT survive a playoff series against a quality opponent by handing out free possessions at the rate of 17.0 per game.
• The OKC locker room was interesting after the Sacramento loss. Players were quiet, but not sulking. They weren’t angry, there was no sense of panic, nor did they seem helpless. The overwhelming feeling I got was disgust.  It was as if every OKC player under his breath was saying, “All right, enough of this (hooey). We have to take care of the ball.” True dat, but thinking about it is one thing. Doing something about it is another.
• Nick Collison on all the turnovers: “It’s been a common problem for us. We’re able to get by a lot of teams because we’re really talented. We’re more talented than most of the teams in terms of having guys that can bail us out, but we’ve got to play better. We learned that last year in the playoffs. We weren’t able to win a tough series because we weren’t able to execute. Defensively, we need to be better, too. They are things that can be corrected, but we have to actually do it. It’s been a problem for a long time now.”
• Russell Westbrook was having such a good day. He was named a reserve for the NBA All-Star Game for the second straight year. He had 27 points through three quarters and scored 16 points in the third quarter alone. He finished with 33 points, shot 15 of 26 from the field and also had six rebounds and three assists. But all these numbers consistently lose their luster up when you include the habitual kicker — turnovers. Turnovers routinely turn Westbrook into “Pig-Pen.” It’s his own dirty cloud. He had seven turnovers against the Kings.
• A commendable day for James Harden. He missed the cut as an All-Star reserve, yet still went out and scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds. Didn’t sulk and granted interviews afterward. Commendable.
• The Thunder shot 48.1 percent from the field compared to 40.4 percent for Sacramento. The Thunder NEVER loses when the numbers are like this. The more OKC players and coaches break down this game, the angrier they’re going to get.
• OKC was 11-0 this season when Serge Ibaka had three or more blocks. Tonight, Ibaka tied a career-high with 10 blocks, and the Thunder still lost to a last-place team on the verge of leaving town because it needs a new arena. Good grief (speaking of Pig-Pen). OKC also set a Seattle franchise record with 17 blocks … and still lost to a last-place team on the verge of leaving town because it needs a new arena.
• Kevin Durant has become an outstanding page-turner. “We’ve got to move on. We’ve got a game tomorrow (in Utah). We can’t harp on this one,” said the three-time All-Star. “This was just one of those games, man. Those guys played hard, scrappy. It was a tough game.”
• The Kings aren’t horrible, but they’re not nearly as good as OKC. Not even close.
• Thunder center Kendrick Perkins scowls. Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins sulks. There’s a huge difference. Cousins is an ungodly talent. If he ever learns to shut up and play, he’ll be an All-Star. Repeatedly.
• Kings point guard Tyreke Evans is a load at 6-foot-6, 220 pounds. He’s much larger in person than on TV. He dwarfs Westbrook.
• Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson came over to press row to say hello between the third and fourth quarters and granted an interview on the spot with Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. The topic discussed? Relocation. What else?
• I asked Condotta if everyone in Seattle still hated Oklahoma City. Condotta didn’t think so, but thought Thunder ownership chairman Clay Bennett likely remained one of the three most hated men in the history of the city. Didn’t ask who the other two were, but figured previous owner Howard Schultz was one of them. I told Condotta that Seattle only had itself to blame because if the city truly wanted to get back at Bennett, it should have built a new arena and made him keep the franchise in Seattle.
• Look for the NHL Phoenix Coyotes to move to Seattle before an NBA franchise does.
• Gotta admit, as the last three Thunder games were unfolding, I incorrectly predicted the outcome each time. I predicted losses at Portland and at Golden State — figuring LaMarcus Aldridge (39 points) and Monta Ellis (48) would simply be too much for OKC to overcome in the end, but the Thunder gallantly won both games. Tonight, I figured OKC would hang on to win despite its relentless generosity toward Sacramento. The Thunder ended up being far too kind with 23 turnovers, which resulted in 28 points for the Kings.
• At Utah on Friday night at 9:30, then it’s back home to OKC. Finally.

- John Rohde

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.

-DM-

• 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.”
  
• This was a great night for Perkins. As I blogged earlier Monday and put in Tuesday’s paper, Perkins admitted he’s struggling. But tonight, he had 10 rebounds, scored six points on 3-for-7 shooting and, of course, had the stellar late-game D on L.A. This could be the type of performance that changes his fortune. Perk said so himself. “It was huge,” he said. “I’m just trying to keep going. It said I had 10 (rebounds). I thought I had 12. I’m just going to try to build and keep going from there. Stay motivated. Stay positive. Keep working.”
• Perk was absolutely laying out cats tonight. He set a mean back pick on Aldridge (offensive foul), ran through Batum (offensive foul, possibly a flop) and crushed Wallace on a screen for KD. The next time Brooks talks about things that don’t show up in the stat sheet (aside from turnovers for offensive fouls), go back and watch this game.
• Aldridge made his first shot on Perk, and I thought to myself, ‘This can’t be good for the old confidence.’

• Then Aldridge kept making shots. Again and again and again and again. I started counting the ways he scored.
  1. Fadeaway on Perk, shaking him with a jab and blowing by on the baseline.
  2. Driving layup past Perk high off the glass, over the outstretched arm of Ibaka.
  3. An up-and-under/drop step on Nick Collison.
  4. A jump hook on Perk.
  5. A turnaround jumper on Collison, spinning right.
  6. A turnaround jumper on Perk, spinning left.
  7. A spin-out lob against Perk, catching a pass from Marcus Camby.
  8. A mid-range jumper from the top of the key out of a pick-and-pop.
• Needless to say, L.A. can put the ball in the hole. Brooks admitted at Monday morning’s shoot-around that he voted for L.A. to be an All-Star reserve. Perk called him an All-Star, too. (The reserves will be announced Thursday).

• I was becoming concerned with the lack of fluidity from the Thunder’s offense in the fourth quarter. OKC was just 8-of-21 in the final period of regulation, and it was, at times, some extremely ugly ball. There was no rhyme, no reason and no real effective attack. It was close to becoming the story of this game. Then the defensive stepped up even more when it counted most and sealed the win.
• The Thunder held the Blazers to 1-of-9 shooting in overtime.

• Westbrook saved the Thunder with that big block on Nicolas Batum at the end of regulation. How Batum got so free remains a mystery to me. But credit Westbrook for coming up huge. Of course, Blazers fans wanted a foul called. Durant on the block: “That was big. He had a clear lane to the rim. Russ stayed parallel. He jumped up and avoided getting the foul call on him and he made a tremendous block.”

• Overlooked shot of the game: Durant’s corner 3 with 2:06 remaining in regulation. And, boy, was it a tough, tough shot. KD ran off a baseline screen, caught a pass in the corner, turned and fired in rhythm and buried it. I’m convinced that if that shot doesn’t fall, the Thunder goes on to lose this game. The Blazers were on a 17-6 run and turned an 89-83 deficit into a 101-95 lead. Big-time shot.

• Ibaka brought a ton of energy. This is the type of performance everyone would like to see more often. He was rebounding, blocking shots, scoring on putbacks and providing nice all-around hustle to keep the Thunder on top in the first half.  He finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks and swore after the game that he should have had seven blocks and 16 rebounds. Oddly enough, it was Ibaka who picked up the slack for Westbrook in the first half with the All-Star point guard was struggling offensively.
• One sequence summed up Ibaka’s energy. It was the two straight blocks he had in the third quarter, first rejected Aldridge, then swatting Crawford following a Thunder turnover. It’s too bad the Thunder didn’t get anything out of those.

• Westbrook picked it up in the third, though, scoring 12 points mostly on easy transition dunks. It ignited him and put the Thunder ahead by as many as 12.
• I’ve got to say this about Ibaka, though. Westbrook would have had a triple-double if Ibaka could catch consistently. Russ finished with 28 points, 11 rebound and eight assists. But there was a possession late in the first quarter in which Russ drove and dropped off a nice, not perfect but nice, pass to Ibaka. The ball went right through Ibaka’s hands and squirted out of bounds. Had he caught it, he would have had an easy dunk. There were a few of those tonight.

• Let’s also not overlook KD’s defense tonight on Gerald Wallace. Durant held Wallace to four points on 2-for-9 shooting with just five rebounds and four assists in 38 minutes. Said Brooks: “I thought he was defensive-minded from the start. Wallace kind of had his way in Oklahoma, and Kevin took the challenge and made him take a bunch of tough shots.”

• Just before the horn sounded to start the second half, the Blazers showed a league-wide top 10 plays countdown on the big screen. Of course, Blake Griffin’s dunk on Perk was No. 1. But here’s the kicker. Perk was on the bench, seated right next to Durant, watching. Right after the replay of the flush KD turned to Perk and said something in his ear. I know Perk has got to be tired of seeing that by now.

• Apparently, one Portland reporter thought it was in poor taste by Durant to dunk the ball in the final seconds. He asked KD about it. Durant’s response: “I didn’t want to chance it. Maybe I was going to miss a free throw. So I just wanted to go in there and get two for sure points.”

• Collison picked up a charge tonight on Wallace. I feel like I haven’t written that nearly as much this season.
• Anyone notice how James Harden and KD waved off Reggie Jackson twice in the second quarter and brought the ball up themselves? No? Go back and replay the first period and pay close attention…That’s why having a rookie backup point guard isn’t the worse thing. He’s not being asked to lead the second unit.

• One thing I’m getting sick of from RJ. Homeboy dribbles like he’s still in college with a 35-second shot clock. Make a move, man!!!
• The skip pass was back tonight! Harden to Daequan Cook. I love it.

• I’ll make this quick. Ignore the Sonics fans behind the Thunder bench and throughout the arena. Who cares that they’re there? Who cares who they’re rooting for. Oklahoma City has a team, and it’s the best in the league right now. Stop majoring on the minor.

• Rubber Boy was the halftime act. I can’t stand him. I wish he was banned.

• I counted two times that the Blazers switched to a zone, once midway through the first period and once late in the third. I could be way off on my count. But those were the only two times I noticed it. Portland seemed to get in it for one possession and then get right out of it. I never can understand why teams do that. Give it a chance and it just might work.

• Up next. At Golden State on Tuesday.

-DM-

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.”

Perkins is shooting a career-low 45.3 percent from the field. Last year, despite not being anywhere near 100 percent as he recovered from knee surgeries, Perkins managed to shoot 49.3 percent in 17 games with the Thunder. He shot 54.2 percent in 12 games with Boston. Perk’s 4.6-point scoring average is his lowest since he averaged just 4.5 in 06-07.

“I don’t know whether it’s my focus or what. But it’s on me,” Perkins said. “I really don’t care about the points. But I do worry about picking up my field goal percentage and my rebounding. I at least need to be at eight a game. So that’s unacceptable.”

Thunder coach Scott Brooks, for the most part, has stuck with Perkins, who’s averaging 26.6 minutes, four more than his career average. Brooks has said repeatedly that he doesn’t look at Perk’s stat sheet after games to determine how well or poorly he played.

“Perk’s numbers, I think they can improve and he’ll probably tell you the same thing,” Brooks said. “He does so many other things for us that I don’t really focus on his rebounds.

“I look at our team rebounds more than individuals. I know some guys are up, which is great. I’d like for Perk to rebound more. But, I keep saying it and it’s true with him, he does a lot of things that does not show up. He fights their bigs every night.”

Defensive rebounding, coupled with turnovers, has been the Thunder’s Achilles’ heal this season. OKC has overcome it thus far, compiling a league-best 18-5 record going into Monday’s game against the Blazers. Still, the Thunder yields 12.5 offensive rebounds per game, the fourth most in the league, and it’s an area of concern.

“I’d like all of our guys to get a few more rebounds and take the offensive rebounds that we give up away,” Brooks said. “Until we get that, you’re never really going to be happy with how we rebound.”

Perkins admitted that he does look at his stat sheet. And lately, it hasn’t been pretty.

“It’s frustrating for me when I’m looking at the stats and I’m getting like one or three rebounds,” Perkins said. “I just got to play better. And that’s on me. It ain’t on nobody else. I got to be more productive.”

The road to more productivity, Perkins said, is unclear. For now, Perkins said he’s just trying to find ways to continue impacting games while he struggles.

“The thing is, I never have been in a slump,” Perkins said. “This is my first time being in a slump. I just got to find my way. I figure the only thing I can do is go up from here, though.”

-DM-

• In answering one of my post-game questions, Kendrick Perkins told the story of this game. It was a simple response, but it easily was the most disturbing thing about tonight’s performance. “They just out-smarted us in every way,” Perkins told me. I thought the Thunder was past that point in its development. I thought OKC could now handle a Spurs team that is missing its best player and, really, is now reliant on one aging future Hall of Famer, a speedy point guard and a bunch of role players. I was wrong. This looked liked the Spurs-Thunder matchup of three years ago, when San Antonio used to take OKC to the woodshed and teach it a lesson in Basketball 101. We’re supposed to be beyond those days. You can make one excuse after another for this type of performance. You could say it happens. You could say the Spurs are great at home. You could say the Thunder was on the second night of a back-to-back. But that’s not what happened here. The Thunder looked over-matched and out of its league for the last 43 minutes. The Spurs, as Perk said, simply out-smarted the Thunder. And by the time the trip to the woodshed had ended, San Antonio had taught OKC yet another lesson.

• Russell Westbrook got the biggest schooling tonight. At least you can only hope he learns from this one. It’s not so much that Tony Parker went completely off on him. It’s much more about how Russ couldn’t control his emotions and figure out a way to contribute nearly anything positive once the snowball started its descent. We saw classic bad Westbrook tonight. Poor defense. Forced shots. Frequent complaining. Inadequate focus. Costly turnovers. The usual. Tough night. Tough, tough night.

• Westbrook’s mano-a-mano mindset clearly started with four minutes left in the second quarter. That’s when Westbrook and Parker hit the floor while fighting for a loose ball. It’s worth noting that replays clearly show that Parker pushed Westbrook just before the scrum. But Westbrook got up fuming, and it was downhill from there. Over those final four minutes of the first half, Parker scored five points on 1-for-2 shooting with an assist. Westbrook scored two points on 1-for-2 shooting with an assist and a block. The battle boiled over in the third quarter and got ugly for the Thunder.
• I hesitate to include this because I have no idea what the conversation was about. But referee Dick Bavetta appeared to try to calm down Westbrook as the Spurs shot free throws with 4:20 remaining in the third quarter. Bavetta put his arm around Westbrook as he bent over and whispered for a while in his ear. It didn’t look like Westbrook had any reaction at all to whatever was said. He just walked away when Bavetta was done.
• Parker finished with 42 points, the most any player has scored on the Thunder this season. He did absolutely whatever he wanted to do against the Thunder tonight. He got into the paint. He created open shots for himself and his teammates. He knocked down jumpers. He dished dimes. And he took amazing care of the ball, playing 40 minutes without turning it over a single time.

• It’s debatable how much blame Westbrook deserves when it comes to the Thunder’s pick-and-roll defense. That’s where Parker really had his way. Defending the pick-and-roll is really a team game. The guard’s got to start with pressure. The big has to show hard. And everyone else has to be on a string, with help to help the helper on the weak side. That’s at least three things that need to happen on every single pick-and-roll, maybe even four. It’s not going to be perfect every time. But I do know that a team has no shot at success if the guy leading the defense — the point guard — doesn’t bring the right amount of intensity. Unfortunately, that’s what I saw out of Westbrook tonight.
  

• After the game, Westbrook basically blew off a reporter’s question about his matchup with Parker. He didn’t take responsibility for what happened. Instead, like everyone else, he put the blame on the entire team (which includes him so don’t read that the wrong way. He did not throw anybody, or everybody else, under the bus). “They moved the ball well,” Westbrook said. “They got in the paint and moved the ball with quickness. We were just a step late.”

• The crazy thing is the pick-and-roll defense actually started off great. The pressure was there. The rotations were excellent. And the help was consistent. Where did it go wrong? “One, Tony Parker is really good,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. “We didn’t get good enough control of the ball and we didn’t stop the ball and that broke down our defense. That’s always the first line of defense. That’s something that we have to get better at.”

• That poor pick-and-roll defense played a large part in the Thunder giving up 12 3-pointers, one shy of the opponent season high set by the Clippers on Monday. It never fails. Watch the Spurs or the Mavs and you walk away thinking ‘Why can’t the Thunder play like that?’
• Parker became the Spurs’ all-time leader in assists tonight with a dish to Tim Duncan at the 4:56 mark of the third quarter. No surprise that it came on a ball screen. Parker now has 4,477 assists. To put that number in prospective, Westbrook has 1,889. The NBA’s all-time leader, John Stockton, has 15,806!
• Perk on San Antonio’s ball movement: “The ball was like a hot potato; bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. Whoever it was, they were trusting their teammate and trusting that extra pass.”
• The Thunder got off to an 11-4 start…then the Spurs went on a 13-2 run that served as the start of things going south for the Thunder the rest of the way.
• Westbrook’s streak of games with at least five turnovers came to an end at five. He had only three giveaways in this one. That’s something positive, right?

• Kevin Durant’s early passing was a small bright spot. He read the defense perfectly on one possession and slipped a pass to Serge Ibaka. He lobbed another beauty to Ibaka for a thunderous dunk. And he had a textbook drive-and-kick to Reggie Jackson, but the rookie missed a corner 3.

• Could Air Congo be back for good? After finally unveiling it Friday against Memphis, Ibaka spread his wings again in the first quarter against San Antonio. He did so after throwing down that monster dunk off the alley from Durant.
• Perk picked up two fouls in the first minute and a half after two mix-ups with Duncan. The first time, the two got tangled up near the end of a Spurs possession. The second time, Perk appeared to unintentionally pop Duncan with an elbow while trying to complete a post move. Hey, at least he didn’t get called for a technical foul.
• The Spurs switched to a zone on one possession at about the four-minute mark of the first half. And Westbrook ate it up. He dashed right through it and got a layup. To me, that’s been the team’s best offense for a zone. The Phoenix game last year sold me on that.

• I don’t mind dumping it into Perk. I really don’t. I actually agree with it. But it’s time Perk gets a counter. We all know when he catches it, it’s going to be: pound, pound, pound, and then a jump hook over his left shoulder. Defenses are more than prepared for that. A counter is the answer.

• Perk had just three rebounds, one night after grabbing just one. Duncan had 15.
• I loved Perk’s two blocks, though. He had a monster stuff on Matt Bonner that led to a Daequan Cook 3 at the other end. Then he blocked DeJuan Blair and it led to an Ibaka layup and three-point play chance.
• Of course, Ibaka missed the free throw on that three-point play chance. He was just 2-for-7 from the stripe tonight. Not his day.

• KD had four blocked shots. That ties his season high and is one shy of his career high.

• The Nick Collison to James Harden backdoor play was back tonight. They pulled it off masterfully early in the second quarter.

• Duncan was 1-for-8 in the first half…and the Thunder trailed by 10.
• Here’s how cool and confident KD has become in his fifth season. When he leaned against the scorer’s table waiting to check back in midway through the second quarter, he had his legs crossed and his arms folded as he chewed on his mouthpiece and carefully watched the action. Perhaps my description doesn’t explain much. If not, just trust me, the guy looked like he had ice in his veins.

• KD’s offensive performance clearly didn’t match his smooth outward appearance. He finished with 22 points on 9-for-19 shooting. Spurs rookie Kawhi Leonard did a great job on Durant, making his looks tough and playing physical defense. Durant actually admitted that he was taken out of the game, but not by Leonard. “They got physical in the third quarter and I picked up two cheap fouls,” Durant said. “Once you’ve got four in the third, you can’t play as physical as you want to play. So I was kind of hesitant to push off or get to the ball as hard as I normally do because, of course, I had four fouls. That’s how the game went.”

• With all the questions about whether the Thunder can win a title with a rookie backup point guard, did anyone notice how much more poised Jackson was compared to Westbrook? One game, I know. But the point is, once again, he’ll be fine.

• Lost in everything tonight: Harden played well on the road again.

• All 10 of Cook’s shots were 3-pointers. That’s got to be hard to do, even for a 3-point specialist.

• I sat next to Michelle Beadle’s dad tonight, she being Michelle Beadle of ESPN’s SportsNation fame. By far the most random thing that’s happened to me this season. Well, actually a distance second. The runaway winner was Omar from The Wire sitting next to me on a plane from Newark to Denver.

• The Thunder has not won in San Antonio since Nov. 14, 2009. Apparently, it was a three-point win. I don’t even remember it.
• Up next. At Portland on Monday. In the meantime, forget about this one by enjoying the Super Bowl, everybody.

-DM-

Nuggets from my notebook from Friday’s win over Memphis.

• Kevin Durant is indeed The Real McCoy.

• The way KD took over the game tonight just leaves you shaking your head and admiring his greatness.

• Durant scored 16 of his game-high 36 points in the final quarter. It was one less than the Grizzlies had as a team!!

• More impressively, 14 of KD’s 16 fourth-quarter points came in the final five minutes with neither team ahead by more than five points. Those are all clutch-time points, folks.

• Memphis coach Lionel Hollins on KD: “He’s a great player. I mean, that’s all you can say. He’s a great player. He made great plays and great shots down the stretch. He took over the game. He’s going to be one of the all-time greats if he stays healthy.”

• I said this tonight on one of our award-winning video recaps (you don’t really believe that do you?). I was more impressed with Durant’s rebounding in the second half than his scoring down the stretch. The points will be what’s remembered, and rightfully so. But KD’s rebounding is more of a testament to his development into an all-around player. Better yet, a cold-blooded killer. He had zero at the half. He finished with 10, including four in the fourth quarter. It helped the Thunder take control of the boards in the decisive fourth quarter after Memphis manhandled OKC for the first three.

• OK, back to KD’s scoring. Dude had missed all five of his 3-pointers before burying perhaps the biggest shot of the night with 53.8 seconds remaining. Said KD: “That 3, as I was shooting, it looked good. But I was missing. So it was just a matter of time before one of those were going to go down for me.”

• Durant said he liked the 3 more than the beautiful, off-balance J he hit over Rudy Gay with 22 seconds left. “Because I had missed five of them that looked good,” Durant said. “But that one finally went in for me and it was a critical part of the game. So it was a big shot.”

• Consider this the second time Durant has stolen shine from a teammate. James Harden was about to be the player of this game before Durant decided to turn deadly. Harden ignited a 22-10 run that turned an eight-point deficit at the start of the fourth period into a four-point lead with 3:14 left to play. Over that run, Harden scored or assisted on 14 of the Thunder’s points.

• When it’s a close game in the fourth quarter, I don’t like to see much of anything out of the Thunder’s offense except the ball in Harden’s hands. That’s the only time I can relax. And it’s the only time I know something good will happen.

• One thing I didn’t like about Harden tonight. He got the Durant treatment by the Grizzlies after getting hot and didn’t respond that well. Tony Allen switched onto him, and Memphis even sent a few doubles his way. But when Allen began playing more physically in denying the ball, Harden couldn’t get open. Keep an eye on that. If teams start doing that, the Thunder’s saving grace is gone.

• Daequan Cook got the start again for the injured Thabo Sefolosha and played his tail off…defensively! Cook started the game 0-for-4 from the field but was a pest at the other end. He blocked a putback attempt by Allen, broke up an alley-oop intended for Gay, boxed out Marc Gasol so well he pushed him all the way under the net and blocked another shot by Allen. And that was all in the first five minutes. Cook’s final line was five points on 2-for-7 shooting with seven rebounds and three blocked shots in 32 minutes. Be honest. You’d love it if Kendrick Perkins provided that production.

• Perk’s actual line: five points, one rebound and one blocked shot in 30 minutes. Insert Scott Brooks‘ favorite line here.

• Is Cook making a case to remain in the starting lineup even when Sefolosha returns? Some already think he deserves it. And as I wrote after the Mavs game, at least one player thinks he’s a good fit in the first string. I doubt it will ever happen. But Cook has quietly become a much better defender than he was when he first got here. And, although I don’t know where he ranks among other shooting guards, his rebounding appears to be above average. And we all know his shooting gives the first five a different dynamic. Could it at least be worth Brooks considering?

• Brooks on Cook: “D.C. was all over the ball. He was all over the floor. It’s a nice luxury to have one of the best 3-point shooters play the defense that he plays. He plays hard. He’s always in the right spot. He’s a great help side defender.”

• It seems Cook will get some more time to present his case to crack the first five. As our man John Rohde reports, Sefolosha will be sidelined a tad longer.

• So much for Perk chilling out on the techs. One game after he told me he would, he was whistled for a double technical foul after getting tangled up with Gasol. It was Perk’s ninth of the season. He’s now four shy of an automatic one-game suspension. With 44 games left, I’m not sure Perk has enough chill in him.

• Was that Perk on that early reverse layup of Dr. J? (Too far? Yeah, definitely too far.)

• What an awful opening three quarters the Thunder played. What, you thought I was going to overlook it? The Thunder won this game thanks only to a terrific fourth quarter in which it outscored Memphis 32-17.

• The first 36 minutes were the worse I’ve seen the Thunder play this season. I mean it. OKC didn’t even look interested in being on the court. The Thunder’s defensive rebounding was disgusting (Memphis had 14 offensive boards). OKC gave up way too many second-chance points (19). There were sloppy passes being made all over the court. Turnovers galore (15 leading to 22 Grizzlies points). Missed free throws (20 of 25 through three but just 11-of-16 with 4:16 left in the third). A lane violation (by Perk, wiping out a KD freebie) and some terrible transition defense.

• When Brooks admits his team didn’t play with effort, you know it was bad. “We were a little flat for some reason,” Brooks said. “We usually don’t play as sluggish as we played tonight.”

• Harden when asked why the first three quarters were nothing like the last one: “That’s a great question. We were trying to figure the same thing out.”

• Boy, that fourth quarter was might impressive, though. Don’t overlook the defense that helped decide the outcome. The Thunder held the Grizzlies to 5-for-18 shooting, blocked five shots and turned Memphis over five times. OKC also kept Memphis off the free throw line, holding the Grizzlies to just six attempts in the final period. Only four of those came in the final five minutes.

• If I had a Fave Five of NBA players, I think Tony Allen would be in it. He is one tough sucker.

• I could have sworn Allen was about to fight somebody tonight. First it looked like it would be Russell Westbrook. Then it looked like it might be Harden. In between, it looked like it would be O.J. Mayo.

• Did you see KD’s left handed jump hook attempt tonight. I don’t think I even want to see him add that to his arsenal. That’s scary.

• The M-V-P chants for KD as he stood at the stripe with 17.4 seconds left…fitting.

• Harden on KD’s clutchness tonight: “When he gets it going like that, you just got to sit back and watch. He made every shot tonight at the end of the game. He led us to victory.”

• Y’all like the man-leggings that’s sweeping the Thunder roster? Westbrook, KD, Perk and Reggie Jackson all wore them tonight. Most guys wear an even longer, tighter version of them under their clothes after games. But I’ve never bothered to ask why. I asked Nick Collison tonight. He told me they’re supposed to help with recovery. Then he said, “But I don’t know if they helping during the game.”

• It seems the Thunder gets better after every game against the Grizzlies. They’re a tough, hard-nosed, never-say-die team. They’re physical. They play smart and together (at times). And they’re extremely well-coached. It’s always a battle between these two. Said Brooks: “When you play against them, you know that you have to play tough. They step up to that level. So hopefully we take something with us to the next game.”

• Up next. At San Antonio on Saturday.

-DM-

• The first three nuggets in my actual notebook were as follows:
  1. Serge Ibaka blows nice Russell Westbrook pass, nearly air-balls layup.
  2. Ibaka blows putback layup after Kevin Durant miss.
  3. Ibaka dropped feed from Russ on a cut (not a great pass)
• As you can see, I was all ready to warm up these Rumblings and rip Ibaka a new one. He was that awful in the opening quarter. I was shocked, shocked I say, that Thunder coach Scott Brooks stuck with him for as long as he did. I just knew Brooks was going to yank him for Nick Collison 3 1/2 minutes in. Boy, are you glad Brooks didn’t?

• Ibaka was incredible in the last three quarters. Save a few defensive lapses (my fifth nugget was Ibaka’s slow recovery on a pick-and-roll that allowed Jason Terry to thread the needle to Brandan Wright for a layup) and some blown opportunities offensively, he saved the Thunder in this one. He set a career-high with 10 blocks and grabbed 11 rebounds. He ignited the Thunder’s defensive intensity in the second quarter after it was nowhere to be found in the first. He cut off the Mavs’ seemingly endless supply of easy layups that came effortlessly in the first quarter and struck fear into Dallas’ scorers each time they entered the paint. This was as good as we’ve ever seen Ibaka, matching his Game 2 performance against the Lakers in the 2010 playoffs and his Game 5 showing against Denver last year. As has been the case with Ibaka, the question now is will it carry over?

• Ibaka explained that his big night stemmed from realizing that it wasn’t his night offensively and seeing that he had it going defensively. “I like to get offense,” Ibaka said. “But I feel like tonight, on offense, it wasn’t my day. And I feel like on defense it was working, so I just said, ‘OK. Let’s be focused.’ And the blocked shots were working tonight so I just kept going.”

• Without a doubt the best thing I’ve ever seen or heard from Ibaka is the explanation he provided that he asked off of Dirk Nowitzki so he could protect the paint. Honestly, I wasn’t sure Ibaka had that type of basketball IQ. Not trying to be mean in saying that. I just had never seen anything from him that demonstrates that. This definitely does.

• Ibaka’s 10 rejections tied the franchise record for blocks in a single game. Shawn Kemp, in 1991, and Calvin Booth, in 2004, both registered 10 as well.

• I can’t wait until Seattle gets a new team — ahem, BUILD A FREAKIN’ ARENA, WASHINGTON! — just so we no longer have to include Sonics records in the Thunder’s history. Seattle trolls, save it. We know you don’t want the Thunder to have that history, either. The feeling’s mutual.

• Led by Ibaka, the Thunder got back to defensive dominance. The Mavs scored just 34 points in the final two quarters, an opponent low for the second half, was limited to 8-for-38 shooting in the second half and had just three players in double digits.

• Dirk had just eight points on 2-for-15 shooting. Any Thunder fan who hasn’t been living under a rock knows how impressive that is for OKC. Doesn’t matter that Dirk is having a bad year, or that he’s just three games back from a knee injury. Dirk is a habitual Thunder killer and OKC has rarely, if ever, found an answer for him.

• Durant said Dirk missed a lot of good looks, which I can’t argue with. Brooks agreed, but I liked the coach’s quote: “We finally found out that he was human.”

• Next to Ibaka’s incredible one-man performance, the best thing about this game was that everyone played their role brilliantly. KD scored (although not efficiently) and rebounded his tail off (game-high 13), Westbrook was tremendous throughout attacking and putting pressure on Dallas’ defense as a scorer (game-high 35 points), James Harden got back to being James Harden (though he still struggled with his shot on the road), Perk both defended Dirk well and rebounded well and even scored well, Collison did the same, rookie Reggie Jackson was the steady hand the Thunder needs him to be and Daequan Cook provided solid, yet scarce, offense and some pretty impressive defense and rebounding. Total team effort.

• Harden damn near messed around and got a triple-double. He was just 3-for-11 from the field but had 10 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. Best part: he turned it over only once.

• Brooks went with Cook as the starting shooting guard after the monstrosity that was the Harden experiment Monday night. And it worked pretty well. I wouldn’t base the success of that decision off of the 29-21 deficit that the Thunder faced after the first quarter. To me, that was more a defensive issue and Cook’s man, Vince Carter, had only four of those points. Instead, I’d look more at the rotation balance that returned and the additional spacing Cook provided Russ and KD.

• This was Cook’s first ever start with the Thunder. It was just his 27th career start and the first since Feb. 27, 2010 when he was a member of the Miami Heat.  Cook told me after the game that he felt comfortable with the first string (I believe his exact words, only half-jokingly, was “I can play anywhere.”) I had another player tell me Cook is a great fit in the starting lineup.

• Doubt we see Cook crack the starting rotation on any consistent basis. Thabo Sefolosha seems set there this season for as long as he’s healthy. But we have absolutely no idea how bad Sefolosha’s injury is. I asked Brooks before the game if he’s concerned that it could linger all season and he said yes. “That’s definitely a concern,” Brooks said. “But we’ll see how he feels (Thursday).”

• Also spoke to Perk before the game about his technical foul issues. He picked up his eighth on Monday and is now five away from an automatic one-game suspension. Perk, who earlier this year said he typically cools it at eight, promised he will now. “I’ll pull back and chill out,” Perk told me. “I do have to chill out.”

• Watching how Perk chills out is a joy in itself within a game. He thought he got fouled on his first made field goal and instead of griping just looked at one official and smiled all the way down on defense. Early in the third quarter, after getting called for a foul against Dirk, Perk didn’t shout at the ref or stare him down. He strutted over to his bench, bent over and barked to assistant Mark Bryant, who was sitting on the second row. In sharing his feelings, Perkins told Bryant, “That’s bull****.” Three times.

• Y’all coming around on RJ yet? Still not? You will. You can see him starting to settle into his role as the primary backup to Westbrook, and he’s quietly gaining confidence again and getting pretty good at it. I can’t understand why so many fear that he’s the weak link to a championship. The guy’s played 15 career games. He is not today what he will be in May. There will still be growing pains, sure. But he’ll get better. Besides, this team doesn’t require much from its backup point guard. Harden is the man in that second unit. All RJ will have to do is not make mistakes. My money is on him being able to do that, while also mixing in an occasional outstanding performance.

• I’m sure the Rick Carlisle incident will be a big deal.  I couldn’t see it from my seat, and I still haven’t seen a replay. But ESPN’s Marc Stein surmises that Carlisle is “1,000 percent” guaranteed to get slapped with a suspension. Carlisle started his post game press conference addressing the incident. “I want to apologize to our franchise, Mark, our fans,” Carlisle said. “The incident where the ball got kicked into the stands, that can’t happen. My intent was not to kick it into the stands. I was trying to kick it to the referee, but I’m not a very good kick. But that can’t happen. The officials made the right call on that one. That’s a regrettable situation.”

• Is kicking it to the referee really that much better?

• Figures that after going 0 for his last 75 (unofficially) on his one-legged fadeaway, also known as the Dirk, KD would come into the originator’s house and knock one down. He hit it with just over seven minutes to play in the second. Perhaps not surprisingly, it got much less of a reaction from Mavs fans than it has elsewhere on the road. Guess Dirk’s got them spoiled.

• Brandan Wright has got to have rockets for legs. Homeboy can get up!

• No Nazr Mohammed tonight. I wouldn’t read much into it. Chalk it up to a matchup problem. Brendan Haywood was out tonight, and the Mavs were short on bigs. The ones they had, Wright and Yi Jianlian, are more athletic, face-up type guys so Naz probably wouldn’t have been that helpful. That, or he’s hurt and I’m just an idiot. But I fully expect to see Naz back out there Friday against Memphis.

• Just before the Mavs inbounded the ball following a stoppage midway through the second period, Dallas’ PA guy announced that the Mavs had four seconds to get the ball across halfcourt. I’ve never heard anything like that. Nice homecourt advantage, I guess. I’m of the opinion that the less noise the PA guy makes the better. But for all the stuff OKC’s PA guy blurts out during games, it might not be a bad idea to start splicing in some helpers like that.

• There’s about 50 million other things that I can say/analyze about this one. I’ll save it for another day.

• Up next. At home against Memphis on Friday.

-DM-

• Thunder All-Stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are starting to have fun with their allegedly poor working relationship. As media waited inside the locker room after Friday’s game, a row of smiling OKC teammates started dogging each other about their wardrobes. They were kidding, or perhaps they weren’t. It doesn’t really matter. When the good-natured ribbing increased in volume, Durant spoke to Westbrook just loud enough for reporters to hear. “Look, Durant and Westbrook are arguing again. They’re arguing and arguing,” Durant whispered. Westbrook pointed at one reporter and said, “Look, he’s writing that down.” (Actually, I did write that down and you just read it – in its entire context.)
• Speaking of Durant vs. Westbrook, you have to read this account of what transpired between Durant and a local television commentator during pre-game warmups. This is vintage Durant and, no, there probably isn’t a better guy in the NBA, although a handful of his teammates aren’t far off – Nick Collison, Nazr Mohammed, Kendrick Perkins, Thabo Sefolosha, Royal Ivey and Daequan Cook head the list of runners-up.
• Serge Ibaka, who is always the last Thunder player to finish showering and dressing, seemed surprised when I waited him out after all other players had departed. Ibaka had a look that said (in broken English, of course) “You want to talk to me?” With a shrug, Ibaka said, “I try to do my best to be there for us.” Ibaka was an absolute monster against Golden State with season highs in points (20) and rebounds (12). Warriors coach Mark Jackson mentioned Durant, Westbrook and James Harden as three guys who can “take over a basketball game.” But when you throw Ibaka into the mix, well, good luck with that. “Serge Ibaka did what we’ve been asking our big guys to do,” Jackson said.
•  The only downer about Ibaka’s night: His streak of 31 straight games with at least one blocked shot ended. It was the longest active streak in the NBA, according to STATS, Inc.
•  Durant had a season-high 37 points and 14 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. Which stat did he like more? “Man, I was past due with the big scoring night, so it felt good to score some points,” Durant said. “With the rebounds, it’s not every night I can go get 14, so that feels good to help my team out in that aspect.”
•  Miami’s LeBron James might be having his best all-around season so far, but Durant is right there with him for league MVP. In fact, Durant might be slightly ahead.
• Perkins is the anti-Westbrook. How so? Unlike Perkins, Westbrook fills up a stat sheet – 28 points, 11 assists, seven steals, seven turnovers and six rebounds against Golden State. Meanwhile, Perkins had two points, five rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. Make no mistake, however. Perk is a huge reason the Thunder is doing so well. “He brings it every night,” OKC coach Scott Brooks said. “I never look at his stat sheet. I always skip his name when I look at it. It’s not about stats. He does so many things for us that looking at a stat sheet does an injustice to his game.”
• I saw footage of Harden’s penetrating moves as a player at Arizona State. He makes it look even easier now that he is in the NBA. How can that possibly be?
• Sefolosha left the game with a sore right foot in the first quarter, got it re-taped and returned in the second quarter, only to be scorched by rookie guard Klay Thompson, who had 10 first-half points. “I tried to come back, but I couldn’t chase anybody. I couldn’t do anything, so I called it a night,” said Sefolosha, who officially is listed as day-to-day. By the way, “day-to-day” might as well be added to the official list of “The Thunder Way.” Everybody is listed as day-to-day. If only it were true with reserve guard Eric Maynor.
• Speaking of Maynor, he did not make the trip, but as a tribute the team posts his name plate and hangs his game jersey in a locker for every game.
• Cook didn’t miss a shot from 3-point range on Wednesday night against New Orleans (3 for 3) and didn’t make a shot from 3-point range on Friday (0 for 4). Ahh, the life of a shooter.
• Golden State’s scouting report on the Thunder included several items. Among the many things scribbled on the whiteboard inside the Warriors’ locker room: “OKC 27^th in turnovers;” a warning about Westbrook “laying in the weeds for steals on outlet passes;” and also “Durant: Make him play defense.”
• The Thunder made just 4 of 17 (.235) 3-pointers compared to 12 of 28 (.429) for the Warriors. OKC was outscored by 24 from 3-point range, but Golden State was outscored by 17 at the free-throw line. The Thunder regained its touch from the line (32 of 37 for .865). The Warriors made 15 of 19 (.789).
• A whole lot of turnovers (42 total) weren’t turned into a whole lot of points (30 total).
• Pointing out the obvious, when the Warriors make 3-pointers, they’re really good. When they don’t, they’re really not.
• At LA Clippers on Monday night.

 - John Rohde