Metta World Peace is a fan of OKC Thunder coach Scott Brooks

World Peace played for, and Brooks was an assistant coach for, the 2006-07 Kings. And World Peace said Brooks was a factor in the Thunder's Game 1 rout of the Lakers on Monday night in the Western Conference semifinals.

“I played for Scotty Brooks,” World Peace said. “A lot of people don't understand, when you play against a team, you're also playing against a coach.

“When Scotty Brooks was in Sacramento and the coach (Eric Musselman) got fired, I asked the general manager to hire Scotty Brooks as the head coach, because I knew what type of coach he was.”

World Peace, who has a history of good defense against Thunder star Kevin Durant, said Durant's 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting was more than just a good game from Durant.

“Durant has a great gameplan over there on the offensive end,” World Peace said. “And his teammates are setting great screens. They're doing a really great job as a team. That's why I'm not as concerned with the numbers he's getting. It's more about what the team is doing.”

Game 1 was World Peace's second game since serving a seven-game suspension for elbowing the Thunder's James Harden in the head. The Oklahoma City crowd heartily booed World Peace throughout the night, but he had good things to say about the Thunder faithful.

“Great fans, because they support their team,” World Peace said. “They took in a team that needed shelter (the Hornets, six seasons ago). So no matter what, you can always say great things about these fans.”