OKC - 2011/12 - Thunder Three-peat

[dare]

Damn Kobe got traded?

[Phil89]

8/1/10

Oklahoma City Thunder [25-6] vs Golden State Warriors [11-24]

Thunder bounce back to smash Warriors



When the 14th placed Golden State Warriors came to play the 1st placed Thunder in Oklahoma City, little was expected of them.
But in the first quarter they kept pace with the more fancied Thunder. It was a free flowing start to the game and the Thunder lead 31-25 at the first break.
However, this was short lived and in the second the Thunder piled on 47 points to effectively end the contest before half time. They lead 78-42 at the half.
It started after the Thunder went on a 13-0 run to start the quarter. The Warriors had no answers. Kevin Durant had 30 points by half time.
In the third quarter the Warriors played with more purpose and, with the Thunder taking their foot off the gas, managed to get the lead down to 24 points, 98-74.
Any hopes of a comeback were dashed in the fourth though as the Thunder played out the match and ended up winning 127-93.


Player of the Game: Kevin Durant

OKC - 31 47 20 29 127
GSW - 25 17 32 19 93

Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 38
Jeff Green - 35
Stephen Curry - 32
Rudy Gay - 20

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 9
Kevin Durant - 8
Ben Wallace - 6
Stephen Curry - 6

Rebounds
Ben Wallace - 13
Andris Biedrins - 13
Rudy Gay - 11
Brandan Wright - 8

[Martti.]

That trade doesn't make any sense.

[Phil89]

I play the Lakers next so we'll see how this deal worked out for them.

Their line-up is now:
C: Bynum
PF: Gasol
SF: Odom
SG: Artest
PG Parker

[Andrew]

Utah had a killer fourth quarter, but you certainly rebounded against the Warriors. Certainly an unexpected trade, but good explanation for storyline purposes.

[Phil89]

At half time in the Warriors game I thought I was on course for a 150 point game. Scoring was really easy. 47 points is usually 2 quarters work for me.

But they showed up after half time and it was a bit of a contest after that.

Kobe trade was weird. Who knows what they were thinking

[kibaxx7]

Wow... what a trade... but Duncan and Kobe, what a duo.

[Andrew]

I really hope they tone that down in NBA Live 11, or give more of a rhyme and reason to blockbuster trades.

[Phil89]

Yeah, they could at least have like a mock newspaper article when top players get traded. Like they do with transfers on FIFA 10.

[Andrew]

Yeah that'd be a nice touch, though I'd still prefer less blockbusters. Ideally, certain players could have an attribute that can flag them as virtually untradeable (or quite available, depending on the player).

[Phil89]

10/1/10

Oklahoma City Thunder [26-6] vs Los Angeles Lakers [23-10]

Thunder withstand late Laker push to lead season series 2-1



All eyes were on the Ford Center tonight as the Western Conference leading Thunder took on Western heavyweights the Los Angeles Lakers.
A lot of media attention surrounded the game as the Lakers new boys Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili had their debuts for the team.
But it was the Thunder who came out strong in the first quarter and lead the Lakers 34-23 at the first break.
Parker found his rhythm in the second and helped get the Lakers back within 8 points at the half, 59-51. By this point Jeff Green had 28 points.
The third was an even affair with both teams trading shots. Kevin Durant in particular was nailing some three pointers.
The Lakers were always going to come home strong in the fourth and so it turned out. Thunder lead 105-104 with 1:30 minutes left.
Pau Gasol gets the ball in the paint, but his shot is blocked by Green. Thunder run the ball down the court, inside to Green to lay in and finish a big play. 107-104.
Lamar Odom nails a jump shot to reduce the lead to 1. 107-106. Kevin Durant gets fouled going to the rim. He opnly makes 1 three throw though. 108-106.
The Lakers work a good move which ends with Parker getting the ball under the rim and squaring up the game at 108-108 with and easy lay up.
With 30 seconds to go, the Thunder look for a shot. Somehow Durant gets wide open and sinks a jumpshot to get back the lead with 20 seconds to go, 110-108.
Next play, Russell Westbrook anticipates a pass from Ron Artest to Tony Parker and intercepts it. He gets fouled with 7 seconds left. He makes both shots, 112-108.
Two possession game with 7 seconds left. The Lakers make another shot and foul Westbrook again, but it's not enough after he makes 2 more free throws.

Player of the Game: Pau Gasol

OKC - 34 25 26 29 114
LAL - 23 28 26 33 110

Top Scorers
Jeff Green - 34
Kevin Durant - 27
Pau Gasol - 26
Tony Parker - 24
Rudy Gay - 23
Ron Artest - 20

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 9
Tony Parker - 8
Ron Artest - 7

Rebounds
Pau Gasol - 18
Ben Wallace - 9
Andrew Bynum - 7
Jeff Green - 6
Kevin Durant - 6

[Alpha_]

nice win and nice game for Durant.

damn I'm really surprised that the Lakers traded Kobe.

[|)e8*]

Very nice dynasty , you got a good lineup, you got 4 guys who can score(Westbrook, Gay, Durant, Green), and a great defender (Wallace). But the cpu certainly make weird trades, two of the "untouchables" in real life getting traded

[kibaxx7]

Great wins man Green's playing huge.

[Azzdogs]

Great win over the Lakers. Do you have the best record?

[Andrew]

Another exciting finish, nice work closing out the game. Westbrook has been quite the clutch perfomer for you.

[Phil89]

Great win over the Lakers. Do you have the best record?

Yeah, I think I'm a couple games up on Boston, Phoenix, Lakers and maybe San Antonio.

Another exciting finish, nice work closing out the game. Westbrook has been quite the clutch perfomer for you.

Westbrook is only behind Durant as my go to guy for closing out games with free throws.

[Andrew]

Not to mention defensive stops, it seems.

[Phil89]

12/1/10

Oklahoma City Thunder [27-6] vs Sacramento Kings [14-21]

Thunder chase down Kings to grab third straight win



In their two meetings earlier in the season in Sacramento, the Thunder ran out winners both times. The Kings came to Oklahoma City to regain some pride.
Surprisingly it was the Kings who came out more switched on in the first quarter. The Thunder had no answer. Kings lead 29-14 at the first break.
The Thunder began chipping away at the King's 15 point lead in the second and had it down to 10 by the half, 54-44.
They managed to reduce it further in the third thanks to Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. By the end of the third it was down to 7, 76-69.
At the start of the fourth the home crowd was starting to get louder, willing their team to overtake the Kings. The closer the Thunder got, the louder they got.
With 20 seconds left, the score was tied at 97-97. Up stepped Kevin Durant again. He spun around Nocioni and drove to the hoop for the winning dunk. 99-97
The Kings had 5.6 seconds left to find a winner, but they missed their shot.

Player of the Game: Kevin Durant

OKC - 14 30 25 30 99
SAC - 29 25 22 21 97

Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 33
Jeff Green - 30
Francisco Garcia - 27

Assists
Beno Udrih - 11
Russell Westbrook - 7

Rebounds
Rudy Gay - 9
Spencer Hawes - 9
Kevin Durant - 7

[Phil89]

Just when you thought the Kobe trade was as bad as it gets. Cleveland just traded LeBron and Delonte West to Utah for Deron Williams.

I'm seriously considering taking off trade restrictions and undoing all these unrealistic mega trades.

[Azzdogs]

Great comback and I love Durant stepping up and winning the game for the Thunder. I really think you should send Lebron back to Cleveland. And seriously what is up with your game it does the weirdest trades.

[kibaxx7]

In 2k10 I just turn off CPU trades and do a couple of them, IMO that help both teams, taking into consideration the rumor mill.

[Phil89]

So do you guys think I undo these trades? I would have to trade them through my team to undo them though, right?

Granger + Foster <-> Melo
Parker + Ginobili <-> Kobe
LeBron + West <-> Williams

[Azzdogs]

I reckon you should

[Phil89]

13/1/10

Commissioner annuls trades due to salary cap breaches



In a highly controversial and surprising move, NBA Commissioner David Stern today declared that three recent trades have been declared illegal.
He said "After closer examination, I found that these deals were in violation of the Salary Cap. I don't want to go into details, but these are serious offenses"
The teams involved were Indiana, Denver, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio, Cleveland and Utah.
When asked what punishment would be handed out, Stern replied "For now we are just going to send the players involved back to their original clubs."
The players being LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Deron Williams, Danny Granger, Jeff Foster and Delonte West.
"We will consider further action against the clubs involved in the near future. That is all I have to say on this matter for now."
It is thought they will receive hefty fines, just as Minnesota did in the Joe Smith affair in 2000. The Timberwolves received a record $3.5m fine in that case.