Hornets-Thunder Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Feb 20 2012 1:46AM

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook may have a tough time matching their latest effort for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Oklahoma City losing at home to the Western Conference-worst New Orleans Hornets is nearly as hard to envision.

On the verge of their longest home winning streak in 14 seasons, the Thunder try Monday night for an eighth win in nine meetings with the Hornets, who are surprisingly looking for a fourth consecutive victory.

Oklahoma City (24-7) trailed by as many as 14 points Sunday against Denver, but stormed back behind a career-high 51 points from Durant and 40 from Westbrook to win 124-118 in overtime. Durant scored the last five points of regulation, sending the game to overtime on a dunk with 4.4 seconds left.

"The way we came back and the shots that were made in the fourth quarter and for us to win, that feels better to get the W," Durant said.

"But 51 is pretty cool. As a kid, that's something that you dream about."

Durant and Westbrook, who combined for all 13 points in the extra session, are the first pair of teammates to each score at least 40 in the same regular season game since Chicago's Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen scored 44 and 40, respectively, Feb. 18, 1996.

"It's unreal, man," said Westbrook, who didn't seem hindered by a sprained right ankle he'd suffered Friday. "(Sunday) was a nice, epic game."

Durant and Westbrook overshadowed an excellent performance by Serge Ibaka, who with 14 points, 15 rebounds and 11 blocks became the 14th player in franchise history to post a triple-double. The 6-foot-10 Congo native has blocked at least 10 shots three times this month.

The Thunder have outscored opponents by an average of 14.5 points during a nine-game home winning streak. The franchise hasn't won 10 in a row at home since a 12-game run Feb. 22-April 2, 1998, as the Seattle Supersonics.

If its recent efforts against the Hornets (7-23) are any indication, Oklahoma City has to be feeling good about Monday. The Thunder have taken seven of the last eight matchups with New Orleans and extended their winning streak in the series to three with two 10-point victories this season.

The Hornets, however, are riding a season-best three-game winning streak. After defeating Utah 86-80 last Monday, New Orleans kicked off its current six-game road trip with a 92-89 win over Milwaukee on Wednesday, then handed Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks an 89-85 defeat Friday night.

"We had a few lulls in the second and a little bit in the fourth. But when you play that kind of defense, to hold that team to 13 points in the first quarter and 19 in the third, you set yourself up to have a chance," coach Monty Williams said after the win over the Knicks.

All five starters scored in double figures Friday, with Trevor Ariza's 25 points leading the way. Greivis Vasquez added 15 points and 11 assists.

The Hornets are holding opponents to 84.7 points per game and 40.2 percent shooting from the field during their modest winning streak.

New Orleans is beginning its only back-to-back-to-back stretch of the season. The Hornets will face Indiana on Tuesday before concluding the grueling portion of schedule with a visit to Cleveland in their final game before the All-Star break.

Thunder hang on to beat Hornets 101-93

By JEFF LATZKE
Posted Feb 20 2012 11:53PM

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) In their rise from league laughingstocks to championship contenders, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been fortunate enough to avoid clusters of injuries.

Even that couldn't slow them down against the New Orleans Hornets.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook scored 31 points apiece and the Thunder overcame injuries to two key backups to beat New Orleans 101-93 Monday night for their 10th straight home win.

"You're going to have injuries," Westbrook said. "You've just got to make sure you're ready to take the opportunity and be ready to play."

One night after a historic performance featuring big scoring nights from All-Stars Durant and Westbrook and a triple-double from Serge Ibaka, the Thunder built a 26-point lead and then had to scrap it out at the end.

Jarrett Jack scored 18 points to lead New Orleans, which had a surprising three-game winning streak after losing 23 of 25.

The Hornets trailed 68-42 midway through the third quarter, then made a series of runs to make it interesting right down to the final minute.

New Orleans was within six before Westbrook hit four free throws in the final 48 seconds.

"We brought the energy from the beginning. We were down a few guys but I think the guys on the bench stepped up and played hard for us," Durant said.

"We had a few slip-ups in the third and obviously in the fourth but I think we did a good job overall of playing hard."

Al-Farouq Aminu powered home a right-handed slam to ignite an 8-0 run that pulled New Orleans to within 97-91 after Jack's foul line jumper with 1:04 remaining.

Westbrook was fouled on a drive on Oklahoma City's next possession, and his six foul shots were all the Thunder needed to hang on down the stretch. They didn't make another basket after Durant's 3-pointer with 5:30 to play provided a 95-80 lead.

Ibaka had nine points and 13 rebounds and Kendrick Perkins added 13 points and six blocks for the Thunder, who extended their longest home winning streak since moving to Oklahoma City. The franchise had 18 winning streaks of at least 10 games while playing in Seattle.

"A tough game after a long and hard-fought game last night, but we came out and came out with the victory," Westbrook said.

Greivis Vasquez scored 15 and Aminu chipped in 14 for New Orleans, which will celebrate Mardi Gras this year by playing a back-to-back-to-back set entirely on the road. The Hornets wore their purple, green and gold uniforms.

Coach Monty Williams said his team may have come out flat after having two days off to soak in the emotions of becoming the first team to interrupt the Linsanity by beating the New York Knicks. Yet, he was proud to see them battle back from a big deficit.

"I've watched this team enough times to know that if you hang in there, the game can change," Williams said. "I never feel like I'm out of it."

Oklahoma City rolled early, after having Durant score 51, Westbrook score 40 and Ibaka record his first career triple-double a night earlier against Denver. They were the first teammates in NBA history to put together a 50-point game, a 40-point game and a triple-double.

The Thunder shot 55 percent while getting out to a 60-38 halftime lead, equaling the Hornets' season-worst for points allowed in a half from the team's previous meeting in Oklahoma City. New Orleans shot only 28 percent in the first half and was hovering around 30 percent when Oklahoma City's lead bulged to 26 in the third.

Vasquez hit bookend 3-pointers and scored 10 points during a 15-3 run that got New Orleans to 71-57 with 4:06 left in the third. The Hornets then pulled to 84-74 with a 13-2 push that Jack finished off with a 3-pointer from the right wing with 9:47 remaining.

Durant came back off the bench to hit a jumper and a 3-pointer to help stem the tide for Oklahoma City, only for New Orleans to mount another rally.

Williams stuck with a makeshift lineup featuring two players on 10-day contracts throughout the fourth quarter, and it nearly paid off.

"It's a learning process for a young team like us," Vasquez said. "I didn't think we came out hard in the first half. In the second half, we came out hard with a hard defense and we played a lot better. I think that's something that we have to work on, being consistent - and it doesn't come overnight."

New Orleans continued to play without Eric Gordon (knee), Carl Landry (knee), Emeka Okafor (knee) and Jason Smith (concussion) while Oklahoma City's roster was also depleted after an overtime thriller a night earlier.

Backups James Harden (sprained left ankle) and Nick Collison (left quad contusion) didn't play, joining starting shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha (foot), backup point guard Eric Maynor (knee) and reserve Lazar Hayward (eye) on the sidelines.

Both usually third-stringers, Royal Ivey hit a 3-pointer and Cole Aldrich a hook shot during a 7-0 run for the Thunder to keep the momentum going while Durant and Westbrook were on the bench late in the first quarter.

"It was good, especially after that win that we had last night - an emotional game and a game that took a lot of energy to win," Aldrich said. "Just coming out here, we had a lot of energy early and I thought it was really good the way we started the game."

Durant had a steal that led to a right-handed slam and added a 3-pointer during a stretch of eight straight Oklahoma City points that pushed the lead above 20 for the first time in the game, with less than 3 minutes to go before halftime.

NOTES: Perkins was called for his 10th technical foul of the season in the opening 3 minutes. Players are suspended one game if they get 13 technicals this season. One of Perkins' technicals is under review by the league, and one has already been rescinded. ... Westbrook will compete against Cleveland's Kyrie Irving, San Antonio's Tony Parker and Washington's John Wall during All-Star Saturday night festivities in Orlando. ... Durant was the Western Conference player of the week.

Notebook: Thunder 101, Nuggets 93

Posted Tuesday February 21, 2012 12:13AM

By Randy Renner, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Oklahoma City Thunder used another big night from its two All-Stars to secure a 101-93 win over the visiting New Orleans Hornets but it wasn't as easy as it appeared it would be early in the third quarter. OKC was coming off an intense, overtime win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night and by the time the Thunder had rolled up a 26 point lead with eight minutes left in the third quarter it looked like they were ready to put it on cruise control. But the Hornets weren't ready to call it a night and they outplayed and outscored Oklahoma City for the rest of the game and very nearly came all the way back cutting the margin down to six with just over a minute to go but the Thunder held on for the win.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook each had 31 points to lead the Thunder. No one else in the lineup scored in double figures, but Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka each pulled down 13 rebounds. Perkins also blocked six shots and Ibaka swatted away three.

The Hornets spread out the scoring with five players in double digits led by Jarrett Jack's 18. Grievis Vasquez added 15 and Al-Farouq Aminu dropped in 14. Center Chris Kaman was hounded by Perkins all night and managed 12 points on just 4-for-17 shooting.

Both teams are struggling with injuries and each was without five players.

The Thunder continues with the best record in the Western Conference at 25-7 while the Hornets sit at the opposite end with a 7-24 mark.

QUOTABLE: "I thought we came out with great energy to start the game and that was a concern after last night. Serge (Ibaka) and Perk (Kendrick Perkins) really protected the paint. This is a no excuse league, yeah we have some guys who are out but we have enough to play."
--Thunder Head Coach Scott Brooks

THE STAT: Durant and Westbrook shot a combined 20-for-39 scoring 62 points. The rest of the lineup was just 16-for-41. The Thunder defense again came up big limiting New Orleans to just 28.6 percent shooting in the first half and 36.3 percent for the game.

QUOTABLE II: "Perk was one of the bright spots for us, he set the tone on defense and didn't give (Chris) Kaman any good looks."
-- Brooks

TURNING POINT: A big first half for the Thunder (60 points) and an 8-4 start to the third quarter produced a 26 point lead which was just too much for the shorthanded Hornets to overcome.

QUOTABLE III: "As we always do we hung in there. It's tough when you play against a team like the Thunder who has a lot of rhythm. I felt our guys kind of hung their heads a little in the first half but I never feel like I'm out of it, but it's hard to inject that into other people."
-- Hornets Head Coach Monty Williams

HOT: Oklahoma City finished the first quarter shooting 60.9 percent (14-for-23)...OKC was 24-for-43 (55.8 percent) in the first half...Kevin Durant was 6-for-9 (19 points) and Russell Westbrook was 7-for-12 (15 points) in the first half...Hornets guard Greivis Vasquez was 5-for-6 in the third quarter...Jarrett Jack was 5-for-8 in the fourth.

NOT: The Hornets were just 5-for-15 (33.3 percent) in the first nine minutes of the game and were just 1-for-6 (16.6 percent) on shots taken from inside the paint. ... Hornets center Chris Kaman was 1-for-8 in the first quarter. ... New Orleans managed just 28.6 percent shooting (12-for-42) in the first half. ... Hornets guard Jack was 1-for-6 in the first 24 minutes. ...Thunder guard Daequan Cook was 1-for-4 on 3-pointers in the first half and finished 1-for-9 on threes and 3-for-13 overall.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Another sell-out inside Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Thunder has sold-out all 14 of their home games at "The Peake" this season and 28 consecutive regular season games.

GOOD MOVE: A moment after the Thunder turns the ball over in the second quarter OKC's Durant intercepts an outlet pass from Hornets forward Gustavo Ayon, then drives into the lane where the New Orleans defenders fail to challenge him. Durant then goes up for an uncontested slam.

NOTABLE: The Thunder is now 13-1 at home including 10 straight W's. That's the most consecutive home wins for the franchise since the 1997-98 season when the then Seattle SuperSonics won 12 in a row. ...This was the 37th time Durant and Westbrook have scored 25 or more points in the same game. No other duo in NBA history has even had 25 games of each scoring 25 points before their 24th birthdays.

UP NEXT: For the Hornets, Tuesday @ Indiana, Wednesday @ Cleveland, Feb. 28th @ Chicago. For the Thunder, Wednesday vs. Boston, Thursday vs LA Lakers, Feb. 29th @ Philadelphia.

• Hornets: Gordon, Landry
• Thunder: Maynor, Sefolosha

• Hornets: --
• Thunder: Perkins

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
• Officials: #19 James Capers, #12 Violet Palmer, #29 Mark Lindsay
• Attendance: 18203
• Duration: 2:09