I should also congratulate or at least acknowledge our southern neighboring Mavs who have quietly won 12 straight. Looks like either the trade or the Thunder beating them after the trade, whipped them into shape! That’s right the Thunder are the last team to beat the Dallas Mavericks in a game that doesn’t seem that long ago. Apparently it was 12 games ago though!

Thunder- 108 Sacramento- 102

Well if you got to watch the heated matchup between the Thunder and the Kings you witnessed great theater! Technical fouls (4) being thrown out left and right, bodies flying, taunting and as always a close game with the Kings made this must tv. The Kings always bring “it” when they play the Thunder and it’s always a great matchup to watch with Tyreke Evans and Russell Westbrook! Two of the best up and coming point guards who are barely old enough to drink are worth the price of admission alone. The defensive effort to control the Durantula was pretty impressive and almost paid off with a win. Tyreke Evans did a much better job controlling Russell Westbrook by slowing him down to 21 points, as opposed to last week’s 31 points.

The Thunder came up big in rebounds by out-rebounding the Kings 45-33 which is really how they pulled out the win. A good chunk of those rebounds came from on the Offensive side o f the court and from role players on the Thunder bench. Those kinds of contributions from the bench can be crucial in winning games when the competition is close. Hopefully this is a trend that continues.

The Thunder play tomorrow night at home against the Hornets who still consider the Ford Center their “home away from home”. The Thunder finally got the monkey of their back by beating the Hornets the last time they played but that match-up is always a tough one.

Only 20 games remain in the regular season and for the first time in a while “regular season” doesn’t mean we won’t get to see our Thunder until next season! Yay! Finally it’s looking like we’ll get to see some post season action in OKC so these are exciting times.  I think I’d still feel better about things if the Thunder continued to play well.

This week is also Big 12 tournament week which will put both Oklahoma Schools up against each other Wednesday night for Bedlam part 3.  March Madness looming, Baseball starting and the NBA season winding down = good times to be a sports fan.

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNHKb5wwtTQ

The good part for Thunder fans and Thunder fantasy owners is that Russell Westbrook had 30 points and Kevin Durant had 39 points! Westbrook ended up with 13 assists to go with it so last night was pure fantasy gold. Kristic had an alright game with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Now those numbers are nothing to sneeze at but I’m still expecting more out of him. This team is coming together and it just feels like the 5 spot (center) is where the team is lagging.

Now Tyreke Evans, while not a Thunder player, is also having a great rookie campaign. Last night was no exception as he logged 27 points.  Very impressive year for Mr. Evans and it looks like the Kings could have a little light at the end of their tunnel. Wish I would have picked him up in my fantasy draft

Up next is the Dunking Nuggets tonight at 8:00.  The game is going to be more interesting due to the fact that the Thunder are only 2.5 games behind in the standings.  The Nuggets have lost their last two after battling the Lakers in a great game on Sunday and then getting beat pretty handily by the Suns the next day. The challenge is going to be beating a solid team like the Nuggets to send them to their 3rd loss…..on the road……in the Pepsi Center. Tough, tough place to play and win. The last time these two teams played they were in the friendly confines of the Ford Center. A friendly Ford Center helped the Thunder secure a 101-84 victory.

So something needs to be addressed that’s of the upmost importance! Durantula? Is this a good nickname or is it a GREAT nickname? Personally I love it and wish I would have come up with it. Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post likes it as well. This was an interesting read about the upcoming game.  Durantula  It’s also nice to see the “Durantula” getting some love.

Lets start off with giving props to Tracy McGrady who looked like the McGrady of old. He was definitely back to superstar form making dazzling passes and scoring 26 points but it wasn’t enough to hold off Kevin Durant and the Thunder. Durant scored 36 points which made it his 27th consecutive game with at least 25 points. Russell Westbrook finished with 31 points and 10 assists right behind him.

It looked like the Knicks were going to pull away at the end and secure a victory for T Mac’s debut. You gotta give the Thunder extra credit for pulling this game out and sticking in there ESPECIALLY on the road!

I will be the first to admit that I’m a huge Thunder homer. I will also be the first to admit that I expected last night to be a let down game in Minnesota. It just seems like the road record is a little too good to be true for the Thunder which includes 5 consecutive road victories. Heck the over-all record is too good to be true and don’t even get me started on this current win streak! So the Thunder pulled away early in the first half and went into halftime with a 62-51 lead. Give credit for to the Wolves for battling that lead back down before half and for battling the Thunder in the second half.

Thankfully Kevin Durant had a surge in the 4th quarter because the Wolves were closing in. Not only did Durant’s surge secure another Thunder victory but it put him ahead of Allen Iverson with 28 games in a roaw with at least 25 points! Kevin Durant has the longest streak since Michael Jordan did it back in the day. Jordan had a 40 game streak.

Uncle Jeff Green had a nice game with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Yes 14 rebounds which were definitely needed to hold off the wolves and finish with a 109-107 final score.

The Thunder have yet to lose a game in my favorite month of February. 

There next challenge will be tomorrow at HOME against the Suns.

The potential good news for the Thunder is that Steve Nash “MIGHT” not make the trip due to abdominal pains. He was a game time decision against the Kings the other night and STILL came out to drop 17 assists. I love Steve Nash but a victory will be a lot easier to come by without him in the lineup.

If I hear any other news I’ll post it but getting to ten is definitely a strong possibility!

fanIQ is pretty allsome website so check it out.

The Thunder have had a great run here lately winning 7 straight and don’t forget about Kevin Durant defeating Rajon Rondo to defend his throne as H-O-R-S-E champion.

The Thunder’s record is now 10 games above 500 at 31-21. They are currently sitting at third in the Northwest standings just 3.5 games behind the Nuggets.

Last night Durant didn’t get to his usual 30 but ended the game with an admirable 25 points. Westbrook and Green both tacked on 17.

I’d really like to see Ibaka start to get more minutes. He’s shown flashes of really good play.

The Thunder get a little rest and will look to extend their streak to 8 Saturday in New York City against the Knicks. How likely is it that they can extend the streak? Well it’s the Knicks.

The win against the Warriors makes it 5 straight for the Thunder! This 5 game winning streak is made even more impressive by breaking a 10 game losing streak in the Hornets/Thunder series. Of course they were playing without Chris Paul, who is scheduled to have knee surgery and be out all of February. The Hornets were beginning to look like the team that would always have the Thunder’s number, much like how the Thunder have had the Warriors number all season long. That’s 3 games out of 3 for the Thunder against the Warriors. They’ll go for the perfect 4 game sweep of the Warriors later on in April. Probably not one of the more important team goals but still interesting to look at.

The Breakdown of Saturdays game:

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook scored…..A lot. Russell Westbrook had a double- double and had 8 steals, 21 points and 10 assists. Kevin Durant didn’t score his usual 30 points but came close enough with 29. The pressure for him to carry the load was alleviated with the additional scoring of Westbrook and Green who had 18 points. So the big 3 really stepped up and despite their youth, have really been leaders on this team.

The team travels to Portland tomorrow to try and make it 6 straight. That would be extremely impressive and would make it 3 games straight on the road. Getting road wins is a coveted thing in the NBA and putting together a streak like this will make reaching the playoffs a very likely scenario for the Thunder.

The thunder didn’t demonstrate their usual M.O. of having a bad third quarter. Actually the third quarter was their best quarter and the quarter where they had their rally. Kevin Durant put together a nice game again with 34 points followed by Russell Westbrook adding 23 points. 

The Thunder looked like they were about to go 3-4 on their road trip but they lost grip at the end. Check out the video below to see how the 2nd half unfolded.

Still the Thunder have a lot to be encouraged about. Splitting the road trip with 2 wins and 2 very very close losses isn’t bad at all. Then factor in how unbelievable Kevin Durant is playing and the Thunder’s improved defense and the future still looks very bright. The Thunder are just now starting to get the attention of the national media but only a tad bit. If they can make the playoffs you’ll see the flood gates open up by the media and the OKC bandwagon will be open for business.

Check this link out from the Daily Oklahoman. It’s a great article about Russell Westbrook donating 1000 per point in the game against the Grizzlies. Very allsome.

http://newsok.com/thunder-notebook/article/3434139

Game Video from Saturdays loss to the Cavs

[break.com cavaliers-100-thunder-99-f-1680212]