Win No. 4 noteworthy for Thunder
By Mike Baldwin, mbaldwin@opubco.com
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Published: November 12, 2009
LOS ANGELES — Happy New Year!
What, you don’t remember stuffing yourself at Thanksgiving or fighting mall Christmas shoppers?
Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman, right, tries to pass around Oklahoma City Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha, left, and center Nenad Krstic during the second half of their NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, in Los Angeles. AP Photo
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Kevin Durant’s 30 points and a solid fourth-quarter defensive effort produced an 83-79 Thunder win over the Clippers Wednesday night at the
Staples Center.
It was win No. 4 which is noteworthy. Last season the Thunder didn’t record its fourth win until New Year’s Eve.
“Wow!” Durant said, pausing to soak in that fact. “But we don’t even think about last year no more. This is a new year for us with some new guys and a new staff.
”
A 3-29 start a year ago is even more sobering when you consider the Thunder didn’t post its fifth win until Jan. 6, a total
Oklahoma City can reach almost two months in advance with a win this weekend against the
Spurs (Saturday) or Clippers (Sunday).
Those comparisons underscore just how bad November and December were during the team’s inaugural season in Oklahoma City and also underscores the improvement of this year’s team.
“There are no words to describe how disappointing that start was last year,” said
Nick Collison, the only player that remains from the roster general manager
Sam Presti inherited in the spring of 2007. “We knew we weren’t that bad a team but we played bad.
“We’ve definitely made some strides. 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 is a good example. He hit the biggest shot of the game, a 10-foot base-line jumper that broke a 79-79 tie with 38.9 seconds left. But Durant also had a critical steal and posted a double-double with 10 rebounds.
“That’s what I do,” Durant said. “That’s what I’m here for is to make big plays, miss or make. I’ve just got to be confident enough to shoot them and hopefully they go in. I also try to do my part on the defensive end and rebound.”
After the Thunder defense forced the Clippers into a turnover —
Chris Kaman got trapped under the basket in mid-air and made a turnover pass to
Kevin Ollie — Durant had the ball again.
The Clippers allowed Durant to dribble off most of the shot clock with a four-second difference on the game clock. Once Durant made his move, he was guarded more closely. Durant passed to
Jeff Green who passed to Ollie for a wide-open 3-point shot.
Ollie missed from the corner but followed his shot. The rebound bounced directly back to him. The Clippers had to foul Ollie with 1.8 seconds left, who drained two free throws to clinch the win.
“I look at more: Did Kevin make the right play?” said coach
Scott Brooks. “And he has. He attacked the basket, got the defense on their heels and made the big base-line shot. The next time he could have taken that shot but he made the right play when they did a great job of guarding him.”
A strange twist to the game was rookie
James Harden played a season-high 24 minutes, replacing
Russell Westbrook, who left the game with a slightly sprained left ankle late in the third quarter.
Brooks said Westbrook was available to return but chose to stay with Harden, who finished with eight assists, seven points and five rebounds.
In another change from the first two weeks, Brooks played
Serge Ibaka a season-high 16 minutes, stating he was looking for energy off the bench after OKC trailed most of the first three quarters similar to Tuesday’s loss at
Sacramento.
“Serge came in and gave us incredible energy,” Brooks said. “Kevin Ollie did the same thing and James did a really good job of making plays. We’ve talked about it since the first day of training camp that we all need to stick together, cheer each other on and everyone would get an opportunity.”
The biggest statistic was the Clippers shot 15.8 percent in the fourth quarter, going 3-of-19 from the field.
“They missed some open shots,” Brooks said. “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.”
Ollie said defense is what he’s most encouraged by two weeks into the season.
“That’s what’s going to help us win a lot of games,” Ollie said. “We don’t have the type of team that we can just coast through a game and then turn it on. We just need to keep doing the small things”
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Presti drafts Ibaka. Rick Sund drafts Sene. Shop and compare, son.
I agree. Westbrook was a liability last night, and has been in the Thunder's 4 losses. He either plays great, or kills the team. Too inconsistent...I think he knew he was causing more harm than good last night and checked out in the 3rd qtr with that ankle "injury." Harden is blossoming before our eyes, and will eventually be more consistent than BW, and continue stealing his minutes.
El Prez, Deer Creek