OKC - 2011/12 - Thunder Three-peat

[Phil89]

20/3/10

Oklahoma City Thunder [48-12] vs Orlando Magic [34-30]

Thunder stop late Magic run to win



Oklahoma City travelled to Orlando to take on the Magic for the first time this season. Orlando are fighting for the top spot in the East.
The Thunder came out in an offensive frame of mind and quickly opened up an 8 point lead at the first break, 24-16.
This game was a lot more open than the last few Thunder games. Both teams were looking to win the game at the offensive end.
Oklahoma City increased their lead in the second thanks to their 'big 3'. All 3 had over 10 points by the half. Thunder lead 52-41.
The third was very free flowing and both sides piled on the points. The Thunder increased their lead further and lead 83-69 with one to play.
With 2:45 left in the game, the Thunder lead 91-86 and were just hanging on to their lead as the Magic went on a late run.
Ben Wallace got a pass from Westbrook in the paint, went for the lay-up and was fouled by Dwight Howard. The shot went in.
With a career average of 42% from the free throw line, it was a huge play from the veteran when he completed the 3 point play.
It was the start of a 10-0 run for the Thunder which halted the Magic's comeback. Thunder went on to win 105-95.
Kevin Durant scored 36 points in another dominant display. His scoring streak now stands at 29 games.
Jameer Nelson had a great game for Orlando. He had 24 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds.

Player of the Game: Kevin Durant

OKC - 24 28 31 22 105
ORL - 16 25 28 26 95

Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 36
Rudy Gay - 27
Jeff Green - 24
Rashard Lewis - 24
Jameer Nelson - 24

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 10
Vince Carter - 7
Jameer Nelson - 7

Rebounds
Dwight Howard - 13
Ben Wallace - 9
Marcin Gortat - 9
Jeff Green - 8
Jameer Nelson - 7
Rudy Gay - 7

Video Highlights
Ron Artest can sympathise with Rashard on this

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Ben Wallace with the game winning play

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[Phil89]

Shame there isn't more emotion animations in the game. In real life they would have been jumping into each other and whatnot after Wallace's play.
Instead of just clapping.

[Andrew]

No question, atmosphere in NBA Live 10 is a lot better than previous games but there's still some room for improvement there. Nevertheless a great play from one of the worst free throw shooters in history, nicely done for the win.

[Azzdogs]

Awesome And One buy Big Ben.

[kibaxx7]

Great win over the Magic. My two cents: If you have time for a couple of videos, then I guess you have time for a pic, so you don't post real life pics anymore.

[Andrew]

Second that, though you've been doing a nice job picking out the real photos to go along with the recaps.

[kibaxx7]

Yes he has

[Clutch]

awesome vids & the RL photos? as Andrew mentioned you've done a great job picking good ones so keep 'em or lose 'em for in-game pics as you see fit; it works either way

[Phil89]

23/3/10

Oklahoma City Thunder [49-12] vs Dallas Mavericks [39-28]

Thunder fall to Mavericks after huge fourth quarter



Oklahoma City returned home after 3 road wins to take on the Mavericks. They were looking for win number 50 for the season.
The game started well with both teams playing aggressive offense. The Thunder managed to hold a 3 point lead at the first break, 28-25.
Dallas were able to shut down the Thunder's offense in the second. Jason Kidd had a good first half. Dallas lead 48-46 at the half.
The Thunder hit back in the third thanks to Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. They regained the lead by the end of the third, 73-69.
Both teams were on fire at the offensive end in the fourth. The lead changed several times and both teams looked good for the win.
Dallas however managed to get a break late on and eventually won 106-101, despite Durant landing several three pointers late on.
Durant had a wonderful game again. He top scored with 41 points, extended his scoring streak to an incredible 30 games.

Player of the Game: Kevin Durant

OKC - 28 18 27 28 101
DAL - 25 23 21 37 106

Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 41
Dirk Nowitzki - 34
Jeff Green - 33
Jason Kidd - 25

Assists
Jason Kidd - 10
Caron Butler - 5
Russell Westbrook - 5

Rebounds
Brendan Haywood - 11
Dirk Nowitzki - 10
Ben Wallace - 8
Jeff Green - 8

Video Highlights
Kevin Durant with the fade away jump shot on the buzzer

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[Phil89]

25/3/10

Oklahoma City Thunder [49-13] vs Memphis Grizzlies [27-41]

Thunder win after strong fourth quarter performance



Oklahoma City welcomed Memphis to the Ford Center as they looked for their 50th win of the season.
Both teams decided to wear retro jerseys from their old cities. Thunder wore a Sonics jersey and the Grizzlies wore Vancouver jersey.
The first quarter was a very tight affair. The teams seemed equally matched. The scores were tied at 22-22 at the first break.
The Thunder went on a scoring spree in the second. Durant had 19 points for the quarter and 25 for the half. Thunder lead 55-47 at the half.
However, the Grizzlies came back in the third thanks to OJ Mayo. He helped them tie the game up again with one to play, 77-77.
In a similar position to the game against Dallas, Oklahoma City this time managed to put together a strong fourth quarter.
Rudy Gay had 16 of his 35 points in the last quarter against his former team and lead the Thunder to a 107-99 win.
Kevin Durant had another big scoring night. He finished with 39 points and extended his streak to 31 games.

Player of the Game: Kevin Durant

OKC - 22 33 22 30 107
MEM - 22 25 30 22 99

Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 39
Rudy Gay - 35
OJ Mayo - 31
Michael Conley - 24
Zach Randolph - 22

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 9
Michael Conley - 8
Jeff Green - 7
OJ Mayo - 5

Rebounds
Zach Randolph - 15
Marc Gasol - 11
Ben Wallace - 10
Kevin Durant - 7

Video Highlights
James Harden with a nice spin move and dunk early in the game

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Jordan would be proud of this piece of skill from Jeff Green

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Kevin Durant hitting from half court. Too bad the buzzer beat him

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[Azzdogs]

50 wins congrats.

[Andrew]

Looks like Durant won't have any trouble stretching the streak out to 40+. Congrats on getting to 50 wins, shame about the Mavs game but sounds like it was competitive.

[Phil89]

27/3/10

Oklahoma City Thunder [50-13] vs San Antonio Spurs [38-27]

Durant does it again as Thunder beat Spurs



Oklahoma City welcomed San Antonio to the Ford Center in the first game of a double header. These 2 teams could meet in the first round of the Play-offs.
The Thunder got out to an early lead thanks to Kevin Durant's 14 point first quarter. They lead 26-21 at the first break.
They continued their scoring in the second and managed to contain the Spur's offense as well. Thunder lead 52-36 at the half.
San Antonio mounted a comeback in the third quarter. They reduced the lead to 10 with one to play. Thunder up 69-59.
The Spurs continued to press in the fourth and looked like stealing the win late on. Rudy Gay stepped up for the Thunder though.
He and Durant put to rest any chance of the Spurs getting the win. Thunder went on to win the game 95-87.
Durant continued his hot streak with another 37 points. He has now scored 25 points or more in 32 consecutive games.
Both teams will be looking to get some rest before the re-match in 2 days time.


Player of the Game: Kevin Durant

OKC - 26 26 17 26 95
SAS - 21 15 23 28 87

Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 37
Rudy Gay - 26
Tim Duncan - 24
Jeff Green - 24
Richard Jefferson - 21

Assists
Tony Parker - 10
Russell Westbrook - 7

Rebounds
Tim Duncan - 13
Antonio McDyess - 10
Ben Wallace - 7
Rudy Gay - 7

Video Highlights
Kevin Durant with the spin move and then dunk over Tim Duncan

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[kibaxx7]

Looks much better now with the game photos Great wins!

[Clutch]

congratz on 50Ws

[Martti.]

Looks much better now with the game photos Great wins!

Yeah, defintely.

You can't get 70 wins anymore, which would have been the craziest thing ever, but you can still reach 60. (A bit less crazy for OKC)

[Andrew]

Looks much better now with the game photos Great wins!

Agreed with Thierry on both counts. As I said, you were doing a great job picking out the real photos but the screenshots are just that touch more accurate while also showing off something cool from the actual game.

[Phil89]

29/3/10

Oklahoma City Thunder [51-13] vs San Antonio Spurs [38-28]

Thunder do just enough to beat Spurs in thriller



San Antonio travelled to the Ford Center for the second time in 2 days and looked to get revenge for their loss against the Thunder in the first game.
The Thunder started the game really well. They got their offense going early and managed to get out to a 10 point lead by the first break, 34-24.
In the second quarter the Spurs were able to stop the Thunder's offense and got back into the game. Thunder lead by 1 at the half, 53-52.
San Antonio continued their resurgence in the third and after a 8-0 run to start the quarter, lead 81-76 with one quarter to play.
Jeff Green picked up his 5th foul late in the third and subsequently had to sit out most of the fourth quarter.
The Thunder rallied in the fourth in front of a boisterous home crowd and managed to lead going into the last couple of minutes.
Rookie guard Kyle Weaver came up with a huge play late on, intercepting a pass and taking it all the way to the basket.
Roger Mason hit a jump shot with 4 seconds remaining to make it 102-101, but the Thunder ran out the clock and won by a point.
Rudy Gay had a monster night. He had 41 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds. Durant had 32 points and 12 rebounds, his streak now at 33 games.


Player of the Game: Kevin Durant

OKC - 34 19 22 27 102
SAS - 24 28 29 20 101

Top Scorers
Rudy Gay - 41
Kevin Durant - 32
Roger Mason - 23
Richard Jefferson - 21
Tony Parker - 20

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 10
Richard Jefferson - 7
Tony Parker - 6
Rudy Gay - 5

Rebounds
Antonio McDyess - 17
Tim Duncan - 17
Kevin Durant - 12
Ben Wallace - 7
Jeff Green - 7

Video Highlights
A great team play by the Thunder. Everyone on the court touched the ball.

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Kyle Weaver with the big steal and basket late in the fourth.

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[NovU]

Wow... The game should have been really close in all 4 quarters. You could have posted game winning shot or last 30 seconds of play.

[Phil89]

congratz on 50Ws

Looks much better now with the game photos Great wins!

Yeah, defintely.

You can't get 70 wins anymore, which would have been the craziest thing ever, but you can still reach 60. (A bit less crazy for OKC)

Agreed with Thierry on both counts. As I said, you were doing a great job picking out the real photos but the screenshots are just that touch more accurate while also showing off something cool from the actual game.

Thanks, I'm glad you guys like them. I was a bit wary of changing it because stopping the game to upload a picture kind of stops my rhythm.
Plus I don't really know what to get a picture of besides dunks.
But I guess it is less effort than finding a picture, then cropping it, then uploading it. I was getting the pictures from here.
I figured it would look better if the pictures were all from the same source instead of random google image search results.

18 games to go before the Play-offs. I think I'm like 6-7 games ahead of 2nd place in the West so it's looking good. Play the Bulls next

Wow... The game should have been really close in all 4 quarters. You could have posted game winning shot or last 30 seconds of play.

In a way the Weaver play was the game winner. It put me up by about 8 and they made a few shots late on to close the gap.

[Phil89]

30/3/10

Oklahoma City Thunder [52-13] vs Chicago Bulls [35-33]

Thunder overcome Bulls despite Rose's huge night



The Chicago Bulls came to town to take on the Thunder and were looking to strengthen their push for a Play-off spot with a win.
The Thunder lead 11-4 in the first couple of minutes, but the Bulls scored 12 straight points to take the lead. Scores were tied 21-21 at the first break.
Chicago more than matched the Thunder in the second as both teams went on a scoring spree. The Bulls got out to a 53-50 lead at the half.
The third quarter was one of the best quarters of basketball witnessed this season. Every time one team got a small lead, the other would come straight back.
The lead went back and forth and it was really anyone's guess as to who would win. The Thunder did manage to hold a slim 84-83 lead with one to play.
Oklahoma City took over in the fourth though. They slowed the Bull's offense, in particular Derrick Rose, and went on to win by 12, 113-101.
Rose had a sensational game with 40 points and 7 assists. Kevin Durant had 31 points and 11 rebounds. His scoring streak now stands at 34 games.

Player of the Game: Kevin Durant

OKC - 21 29 34 29 113
CHI - 21 32 20 18 101

Top Scorers
Derrick Rose - 40
Rudy Gay - 32
Kevin Durant - 31
Jeff Green - 22

Assists
Derrick Rose - 7
Russell Westbrook - 6

Rebounds
Brad Miller - 13
Kevin Durant - 11
Ben Wallace - 8
Joakim Noah - 7
Jeff Green - 7

Video Highlights
Rudy Gay puts an exclamation point on the win with a three in the dying seconds.

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[kibaxx7]

I don't really know what to get a picture of besides dunks.

Layups, a nice block, I even had pictures of players defending, it's just thing of misc pictures.

[Andrew]

Sounds like a couple of exciting games there, nice work picking up the wins and of course, keeping Durant's streak alive. Great to see you continue to post the videos, that was a great hustle play/fast break against the Spurs.

Just a thought (and I understand if you don't want to do it because as you said it does break the rhythm of the game), but if you edited some of those videos like the hustle play/fast break with a few camera cuts and other effects, I reckon you could make EA's Top 5 countdown. They're the kinds of plays they're often looking for when they make them.

[Phil89]

I never thought of doing multiple camera angles Can you go back and edit clips after you've saved them, if they're still on the PS3?

[Andrew]

Unfortunately not, once they're encoded and saved all you can do is view and upload them as is. Don't get me wrong, as they are they're entertaining and great additions to the Dynasty but if you did want to submit them you'd have to jazz them up a bit as EA tends to go for the ones that get artistic with the camera cuts and other effects.