OKC - 2011/12 - Thunder Three-peat

[Andrew]

Completely agree, on both counts.

[Phil89]

15/12/09

Oklahoma City Thunder [17-5] vs Washington Wizards [7-16]

Westbrook magic secures Thunder win over Wizards



The Washington Wizards came to Oklahoma City as the underdogs, but almost came away with a surprise win.
They came out firing in the first quarter and lead 30-22 at the first break. Gilbert Arenas was in particularly good touch.
However, they undid all their good work in the second and let the Thunder back into it. The Thunder went on a 15-2 run and lead 52-46 at half time.
The third quarter was an even affair. Both teams scored 25 points, so the Thunder went into the last quarter leading 77-71.
Washington closed the gap in the last. With the score at 98-96 with 1 minute left, Rudy Gay sank a monster 3 pointer to seemingly seal the win.
Josh Howard hit straight back with a three to make the scores 105-103 with 30 seconds to play. The Thunder wound the clock down but missed the shot.
The Wizards bring the ball up the court and pass it to Josh Howard. With 1 second left he goes for a jumpshot, only to be rejected by Russell Westbrook.
The Thunder hold on in a tight one, 105-103.

Player of the Game: Gilbert Arenas

OKC - 22 30 25 28 105
WAS - 30 16 25 32 103

Top Scorers
Josh Howard - 31
Kevin Durant - 25
Rudy Gay - 23
Al Thornton - 21

Assists
Gilbert Arenas - 16
Russell Westbrook - 10

Rebounds
Zydrunas Ilgauskas - 10
Jeff Green - 8
Kevin Durant - 7

[Andrew]

Close one, great defense by Westbrook to preserve the win though. Nicely done.

[Phil89]

17/12/09

Oklahoma City Thunder [18-5] vs Houston Rockets [15-9]

Durant the hero for Thunder in thriller against Rockets



Oklahoma City travelled to Houston to take on the Rockets who have one of the best records in the Western Conference.
The game lived up to the pre-match hype. Both teams were evenly matched, but the Thunder lead 46-44 at the half.
Oklahoma City seemed to have gotten the decisive break in the third and lead 73-64 with one quarter to play.
The last quarter was a tight and tense affair. The ending was one of, if not the, best of the whole season.
Aaron Brooks hit a jumpshot with 22 seconds left, 91-89. Then Ben Wallace dunked with 11 seconds left, 91-91.
In what looked like the game winner, Yao Ming dunked to make it 93-91 with 6 seconds left.
Timeout Thunder. 6 seconds left. What would Scott Brooks come up with?
The Thunder inbound the ball to Kevin Durant, he launches a three over Aaron Brooks and it goes in with 4 seconds to go, 94-93.
Aaron Brooks had a chance to win it but his three point shot missed the target. Thunder win 94-93.
Luckily for the fans they won't have to wait long for the rematch. The 2 sides meet again in Houston in 2 nights time.

Player of the Game: Jeff Green

OKC - 18 28 27 21 94
HOU - 17 27 20 29 93

Top Scorers
Jeff Green - 36
Kevin Martin - 24
BJ Mullens - 17
Yao Ming - 16

Assists
Russell Westrbrook - 7
Kyle Lowry - 6

Rebounds
Yao Ming - 14
Ben Wallace - 8
Jeff Green - 7

[Phil89]

Close one, great defense by Westbrook to preserve the win though. Nicely done.

It was weird that the shortest guy on my team came up with the big defensive play at the end

[Andrew]

Awesome couple of games there, down to the wire with gamewinning plays in your favour.

[Phil89]

18/12/09

Thunder reject Magic proposal



According to an insider from Oklahoma City, the Thunder rejected an offer for star forward Kevin Durant earlier this week.
Orlando allegedly offered point guard Jameer Nelson in exchange for Durant. However the Thunder are said to have turned the offer down cold.
"To be honest we didn't even consider it for a second. Kevin is a major part of our plans and has a big future leading this club forward."
"Besides, we have no need for Nelson because we have Russell [Westbrook], who we believe is one of the best young point guards in the league."
"We are delighted with how the team is performing at the moment so we don't intend on changing anything."
The Thunder currently lead the Western Conference with a 19-5 record. They travel to Houston to face the Rockets tomorrow night.

[Phil89]

19/12/09

Oklahoma City Thunder [19-5] vs Houston Rockets [15-10]

Thunder annihilate Rockets in ruthless display



After one of the games of the season 2 nights ago between these 2 teams, people would be forgiven for being surprised by this result.
The Thunder were on another level to the Rockets. They raced out to a 17 point lead after achieving their highest first quarter score of the season, 38-21.
In a free scoring second quarter both teams piled on the points and finished the half 71-53.
The third quarter was a bit more defensive as the Thunder looked to hold onto their lead. It remained steady at around 20 points all quarter.
In the fourth both teams upped their offense again and the shots started dropping. The high scoring game ended 133-106 in the Thunder's favour.
Jeff Green was outstanding with 33 points and 11 rebounds. Rookie BJ Mullens had another solid performance off the bench, scoring 17 points.
The Thunder secured their highest score of the season in a dominant performance that sent a message to the rest of the competition that they are contenders.

Player of the Game: Jeff Green

OKC - 38 33 27 35 133
HOU - 21 32 21 32 106

Top Scorers
Jeff Green - 33
Kevin Durant - 28
Kevin Martin - 21
Yao Ming - 20
Rudy Gay - 19
BJ Mullens - 17

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 10
Rudy Gay - 9
Kyle Lowry - 8

Rebounds
Yao Ming - 15
Ben Wallace - 11
Jeff Green - 11
David Andersen - 8

[kibaxx7]

Jeff Green is having some incredible games, props for that

[Andrew]

Wow, they didn't stand a chance in that one.

[Kenny]

I really like the fact that you're getting Jeff Green involved a lot as well

[Phil89]

Yeah, he's been a surprisingly good scorer. Seems whoever is at PF on my team is going to score the most points for me

Tough road games coming up. Spurs in San Antonio, Bulls in Chicago and Celtics in Boston. I like away games. Good to play on different courts.

[Phil89]

21/12/09

Oklahoma City Thunder [20-5] vs San Antonio Spurs [20-8]

Thunder rally late on to beat Spurs in thriller



In a clash of the top two teams in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder travelled to San Antonio to take on the Spurs.
The first quarter lived up to expectations with both teams playing top quality basketball. The Spurs held a narrow lead at the first break, 28-26.
They extended their lead to 6 points by the half and looked very dominant offensively and defensively. Scores were 59-53 at the half.
The Thunder clawed back the lead a bit in the third through tough defense and aggressive offense. Spurs lead 80-76 going into the last.
With a reputation for being a poor last quarter team at times this season, the Thunder were expected to have difficulty overhauling the Spurs.
However, they showed just how much they wanted to keep first place in the West by putting in a huge last quarter effort.
The scores were tied at 100-100 with only 1:30 minutes left. After a tight struggle, a fantastic finish was what this game deserved.
Spurs went up 102-100, Westbrook intercepts a pass and takes it to the hoop to level the scores 102-102.
With 45 seconds left, Ben Wallace took it hard to the hoop and got fouled. He made the shot though and had a chance to make it a three point play.
Given his career average shooting from the line it was a tough ask. But he managed to make the shot and the Thunder lead 105-104.
Next play, Tim Duncan gets free and lays it in, 106-105, Spurs lead again. What a finish to a wonderful game of basketball.
Now, with 25 seconds left, the Thunder get the ball to Kevin Durant in the corner, who pump fakes Richard Jefferson and goes in for the emphatic dunk. 107-106.
Tony Parker attempted a jump shot from the top of the key, but he missed. Jeff Green grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled.
He made both free throws to give the Thunder a 109-106 lead with 11 seconds to play. Now the Thunder just had to defend the three point shot.
Richard Jefferson managed to get a shot away from beyond the arc, but it missed and again Green grabbed the rebound. Then was promptly fouled.
Green again held his nerve to make both free throws and the Thunder lead 111-106 with 6 seconds left. Game Over.
In the last 30 seconds the Thunder were on an 8-0 run. It just shows that making shots wins games.


Player of the Game: Tony Parker

OKC - 26 27 23 37 113
SAS - 28 31 21 26 106

Top Scorers
Rudy Gay - 37
Jeff Green - 28
Tony Parker - 24
Richard Jefferson - 22

Assists
Tony Parker - 13
Russell Westbrook - 8

Rebounds
Ben Wallace - 17
Antonio McDyess - 12
Jeff Green - 9
Matt Bonner - 9
Tim Duncan - 8

[Andrew]

Another great finish, you've been having some thrilling games as of late which must be keeping you pretty interested in the Dynasty.

[Phil89]

The last few games have been really good contests. I was really chasing that Spurs game till the end.

Playing the Bulls next

[Andrew]

It's alright, I'm used to seeing them come up short in real life as well as the virtual NBA.

[Phil89]

26/12/09

Oklahoma City Thunder [21-5] vs Chicago Bulls [16-14]

Thunder ease past Bulls in Chicago



Fresh off that epic game against the Spurs, Oklahoma City faced the Central Division leading Bulls when they travelled to Chicago.
The Thunder found going much easier against the Bulls and lead 52-41 at the half. Kevin Durant had 30 points at half time.
The second half was more of the same as the Thunder were never challenged. Durant ended the game with 43 points in a solid performance.
Oklahoma City ended up running out 30 point winners, 112-82. Derrick Rose tried hard for the Bulls but had little support from his team mates.

Player of the Game: Kevin Durant

OKC - 26 26 30 30 112
CHI - 21 20 23 18 82

Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 43
Jeff Green - 31
Joakim Noah - 18
Derrick Rose - 16

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 10
Derrick Rose - 8

Rebounds
Joakim Noah - 11
Brad Miller - 9
Kevin Durant - 8
Luol Deng - 7

[Phil89]

28/12/09

Oklahoma City Thunder [22-5] vs Boston Celtics [21-7]

Thunder beat Celtics in underwhelming match



It was supposed to be the game of the season. The top teams from the East and West doing battle in Boston. However, it didn't go to plan.
The game started out positively with both sides on the offensive. At half time the Thunder lead 45-41, in a close affair.
In the third Oklahoma City started to dominate the game and threatened a blow out. With one quarter to play they lead 73-57.
The fourth quarter was pretty poor from both teams. Shots were being missed, players stepping out of bounds and a lot of fouling.
The Celtics did manage to cut down the Thunder's lead, but they never looked like they could win the game.
Oklahoma City eventually ran out 81-72 winners in a disappointing night for the fans of both teams who expected an epic struggle.

Player of the Game: Rudy Gay

OKC - 22 23 28 8 81
BOS - 18 23 16 15 72

Top Scorers
Ray Allen - 26
Kevin Durant - 25
Rudy Gay - 19
Jeff Green - 17

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 8
Rajon Rondo - 6

Rebounds
Rasheed Wallace - 17
Ben Wallace - 15
Kevin Garnett - 12
Jeff Green - 11

[Andrew]

Bulls didn't put up much of a fight at all. Sounds like one ugly fourth quarter against the Celtics.

[kibaxx7]

Great record man, but that's unrealistic for OKC, as I said before, change the sliders a little, start losing some games

[Andrew]

With five losses in the first thirty games, that's not too unrealistic for a Dynasty game. Besides, not all of the wins are blowouts with a few that sounded like a lot of fun as of late. One plays to win, not to lose...though oddly it does break up the monotony when you lose a few games in a Dynasty, I'll certainly admit that.

[Kenny]

I actually don't think it'd be unusual for OKC to do. On paper they have an excellent lineup, particularly since Rudy Gay has been added. Out of the teams in the NBA, I think OKC has the highest future potential in their lineup.

[Andrew]

They're also one of only eight teams with a winning record at home and on the road this season.

[Phil89]

Great record man, but that's unrealistic for OKC, as I said before, change the sliders a little, start losing some games

The fact is this game isn't 100% realistic. I'm playing at a level where I feel challenged. There's only been 6 games where it was 20+ point win.

18 of the 28 games were under 10 point wins. A lot of these games are closer than they look. Free throws add extra points for me at the end of games, while the opposition misses shots.

I already tried changing the difficulty, but I don't know how losing to the Clippers by 27 points is more realistic than winning games.

I appreciate the input, but I'm happy with how things are. Don't worry I'll probably play Denver again soon anyway

I actually don't think it'd be unusual for OKC to do. On paper they have an excellent lineup, particularly since Rudy Gay has been added. Out of the teams in the NBA, I think OKC has the highest future potential in their lineup.

^ Exactly.

Read this article

[Phil89]

30/12/09

Oklahoma City Thunder [23-5] vs Philadelphia 76ers [11-19]

Thunder hold off 76ers to even season series



Oklahoma City travelled to Philadelphia on new years eve to take on the 76ers.
In the first quarter the Thunder threatened to run away with the game but a late run by Philadelphia had the lead down to 5, 31-26.
The 76ers fought hard in the second and managed to outscore the Thunder and cut the lead to 2, 50-48.
The game turned into a thrilling contest in the third. Both teams went on the offensive and upped the scoring rate. Thunder lead 79-76 after three.
Oklahoma City came out strong in the last, but the 76ers came back late and had the lead down to 3 with less than 5 seconds to go.
Allen Iverson threw up a prayer from half court but it missed and the Thunder won by 3.
Jeff Green and Kevin Durant both had monster nights, combining for 72 points.

Player of the Game: Jeff Green

OKC - 31 19 29 27 106
PHI - 26 22 28 27 103

Top Scorers
Jeff Green - 39
Kevin Durant - 33
Allen Iverson - 29
Andre Iguodala - 18

Assists
Allen Iverson - 8
Russell Westbrook - 7

Rebounds
Samuel Dalembert - 20
Elton Brand - 12
Francisco Elson - 10
Ben Wallace - 9
Jeff Green - 9