NewsOK member benefits

Thunder report card: As and Bs all around for OKC

By Berry Tramel, Staff Writer, btramel@opubco.com | Published: April 20, 2011 Comment on this article

Multimedia

Videoview all videos

Thunder Insider: April 21

Apr 21Two games into their first playoff series the Thunder is...

Thunder Practice Report: No time to relax

Apr 21Riding high with a 2-0 series lead, Scott Brooks and his...

Thunder devours Nuggets in Game 2

Apr 21Kevin Durant scored a game-high 23 points and OKC led...

Game 2 Analysis: Thunder-Nuggets

Apr 21Darnell Mayberry and Berry Tramel explain how OKC was...

Photoview all 52 photos

Article Gallery: Thunder report card: As and Bs all around for OKC

NewsOK Related Articles

Nuggets coach George Karl on J.R. Smith: ‘I hope he's ready to play on Saturday...'
04/21/2011 The reality is — only the Spurs and Bulls had better home records than the Nuggets, who host the next two first-round games — and will finally have...
Thunder big men stick to the plan
04/21/2011 Oklahoma City power forward Nick Collison said the Thunder had the proper defensive game plan for Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets, but from the opening...
Thunder notebook: J.R. Smith, Nuggets looking for ‘a pulse'
04/21/2011 Denver Nuggets reserve guard J.R. Smith said there's a “strong possibility” he won't sign with the team as a free agent, expressing frustration after...
Thunder's Kevin Durant commits to daily Bible reading
04/21/2011 Kevin Durant walked into his postgame news conference following the Oklahoma City Thunder's Game 1 victory over Denver and climbed to his seat atop a podium...
Sam Presti's plan bears NBA playoff fruit
04/21/2011 Berry Tramel: The Thunder has become a postseason power thanks to the general manager's shrewd moves.
Denver guard J.R. Smith says Nuggets didn't have a “pulse” as they try to rebound against Oklahoma City
04/21/2011 J.R. Smith has been the Nuggets' leading scorer since the Carmelo Anthony trade. But after scoring just two points in Game 3 against Oklahoma City, Smith...
Berry Tramel: College football still rules Oklahoma, but the OKC Thunder bandwagon is filling up quickly
04/21/2011 The Oklahoman sports columnist Berry Tramel answered questions from readers in today's Power Lunch chat. Read the entire chat recap here. Participate in our...
Thunder notebook: Nuggets run hot, then cold
04/21/2011 Nuggets run hot, then cold On Sunday night, Denver hit its first seven shots from the field and jumped out to a 13-point lead. On Wednesday night, the...
James Harden responds with 18 points as Thunder decks Nuggets in Game 2
04/20/2011 As breathtaking as the exploits of the Thunder's All-Star tandem were in Game 1, their spectacular scoring left a lingering feeling that a disaster had been...
Jenni Carlson: Perk takes back ownership of the paint
04/20/2011 Kendrick Perkins called it a playoff foul. I have another term for the Thunder big man's knockdown, takedown foul on Wilson Chandler. Game changer. On a...
Thunder-Nuggets quoteboard — George Karl: ‘We can't outshoot this team'
04/20/2011 Nuggets coach George Karl: “We can't outshoot this team. We need to outplay this team.” Thunder forward Kevin Durant: “Overall, I think we did a...
Thunder-Nuggets by the numbers
04/20/2011 *10 of 21 — Combined shooting Sunday by Nuggets wingmen Danilo Galinari and Wilson Chandler. *3 of 14 — Combined shooting Wednesday by Galinari and...
Berry Tramel: Numbers say this series belongs to Thunder
04/20/2011 Bad news for the Nuggets. Russell Westbrook swished a 3-pointer 44 seconds into the game. Then Kevin Durant did the same half a minute later. Worse news...
Can the Denver Nuggets turn the series around after Thunder's Game 2 rout?
04/20/2011 The score was 43-17 with 8 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter of Game 2 on Wednesday night. The Oklahoma City Thunder was halfway to clinching this...
Q&A: Thunder power forward Serge Ibaka
04/20/2011 After an off shooting night in Game 1, Serge Ibaka bounced back with a 10-point performance on 4-of-6 shooting in Game 2. He added 10 rebounds and two...
Thunder routs Nuggets to take 2-0 series lead
04/20/2011 OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 23 points, Russell Westbrook added 21 and the Oklahoma City Thunder built a huge first-half lead on their way to a...
Jenni Carlson: Oklahoma City and the Thunder have come a long way
04/20/2011 Three years ago this Monday, the NBA agreed to relocate one of its teams to Oklahoma City. Sixteen years ago this Tuesday, a bomb ripped through the...

Kendrick Perkins: B. After a rough night in Game 1, Perk was back in the saddle. Patrolling the paint and dominating the boards. Nugget big men Nene and Kenyon Martin made just four of 14 shots, and a bunch of hard fouls on Nene set a tone. Perkins had 11 rebounds and would have had 17 if Serge Ibaka hadn't kept outjumping for balls. But Perk missed an uncontested layup on a ball he should have dunked.

Aggression response: A. Early in the game, Perkins popped Nene for what was called a flagrant foul and Martin leveled Serge Ibaka with a blindside shoulder shove that drew a technical foul. Nene never found his rhythm of Game 1. Meanwhile, Ibaka shined, with 12 rebounds and 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting in just 23 minutes.

Celebrity sightings: B. Wes Welker, Desmond Mason, Ekpe Udoh and Roy Williams (OU safety, not the Texas flanker or Ty Lawson's college coach) were in attendance. Now, if we can get our country music stars in the building, OKC will be set.

Page 1 of 2

1 2 Next