OKC - 2011/12 - Thunder Three-peat

[Phil89]

24/3/11

Oklahoma City Thunder [56-8] vs Portland Trail Blazers [24-44]

Gay returns with a bang, but Thunder win easily



OKC - 27 32 30 29 118
POR - 23 21 22 24 90

Player of the Game: Kevin Durant

Top Scorers
Rudy Gay - 38
Kevin Durant - 37
Brandon Roy - 16
Greg Oden - 14
Russell Westbrook - 14
LaMarcus Aldridge - 13
Allen Iverson - 13
Jeff Green - 12
Kenyon Martin - 10

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 8
Andre Miller - 7
Allen Iverson - 5
LaMarcus Aldridge - 5
Kevin Durant - 3

Rebounds
Rudy Gay - 13
Marcus Camby - 11
Juwan Howard - 10
LaMarcus Aldridge - 10
Brandon Roy - 10
Jeff Green - 10
Greg Oden - 9
Kevin Durant - 7

Video Highlights
Westbrook finds Hibbert for an easy lay-up.


Durant sets up Roy with a perfect pass.


Iverson gets past Roy and Green but not Westbrook.

[Andrew]

Gay was certainly out to make you pay there, to no avail. Getting close to another 60 win season.

[Martti.]

Awesome block by Westbrook!

[Phil89]

27/3/11

Oklahoma City Thunder [57-8] vs Golden State Warriors [29-39]

Durant scores 7 less than Warriors, sets new scoring record



OKC - 29 33 28 38 128
GSW - 24 31 33 20 108

Player of the Game: Kevin Durant

Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 101
Corey Maggette - 34
Stephen Curry - 28
Andris Biedrins - 13
Monta Ellis - 12
Kelenna Azubuike - 10
Russell Westbrook - 10

Assists
Stephen Curry - 9
Brandan Wright - 4
Russell Westbrook - 4
Andris Biedrins - 3
Monta Ellis - 3

Rebounds
Brandan Wright - 16
Greg Oden - 13
LaMarcus Aldridge - 13
Andris Biedrins - 9
Kevin Durant - 7
Brandon Roy - 7

Video Highlights
Durant dunks over Maggette.


Durant shares the ball with Roy.

[Phil89]

28/3/11

Durant talks about breaking the scoring record



First off, congratulations on breaking Wilt Chamberlain's scoring record Kevin. How do you feel?
Thanks. This is totally amazing. It still hasn't sunk in yet. I hardly slept last night I was so excited.
I've been getting calls from people all day from people congratulating me.

What does it mean to hold the record for the most points in a game?
It's unbelievable. Wilt was one of the best players ever to play the game. To beat a record set by him is amazing.
It's one of those things that everyone thought would last forever.

Like you said, many people thought that this was one record that would never be broken, but you've done it.
Yeah. I'm really honoured to have this record now and secure my name in the history of our game.
If my career is half as good as Wilt's then I'll be more than happy.

Did you go into this game looking to break any records?
No, not at all. I just got on a roll and got great support from my team mates.

Did Scott Brooks give you any advice during the game?
He just told me to keep playing the way I was and relax. He told me not to rush or take bad shots.

You had 56 points by half time. Did you start to think about the record at that point?
Not really. A couple of guys mentioned it but I was still focused on helping the team get a win.

In the fourth when you had 80 points and your team was winning comfortably, did coach say 'get it to Kevin'?
Well by that point I think we were all aware of how close I was and what a once in a lifetime opportunity it was.
Nobody was specifically told to pass it to me, but my team mates are great and helped me get scoring opportunities.

The crowd was going crazy. It was one of the loudest crowds I've ever heard.
Yeah, they're the best. We try our best to play good basketball for them and give them a successful team to follow.

Your team is leading the Western Conference by a large margin, are you thinking about the playoffs yet?
Not at all. We still have 16 games to play and of course we can't afford to look too far ahead at this stage.

Will you or any other Thunder players get rested in the lead up to the playoffs?
I sure hope not. We're all feeling good physically and as a professionals we want to play every game.
It's important to keep our form going at this point of the season.

Oklahoma City have already set a franchise record 20 game winning streak earlier in the season.
You are currently 18 games unbeaten, do you think you can beat that record?
It's definitely something we are aiming to achieve, but you can't take anything for granted in this league.
Every game is difficult and struggling teams can always spring an upset.

Interestingly if you are to equal the 20 game streak you will have to beat the Lakers. Should be a good game.
For sure. We've had some epic contests with them over the last couple of years. I think they are our biggest threat.

Thanks for spending some time answering our questions Kevin and once again congratulations on the record.
No worries. My pleasure.

[Andrew]

Amazing effort to get 101! What were his field goal, free throw and three point numbers like?

[Phil89]

29/3/11

Oklahoma City Thunder [58-8] vs Los Angeles Clippers [31-38]

Clippers grab overtime win to end Thunder unbeaten run at 18



OKC - 36 26 25 28 18 133
LAC - 35 26 31 23 20135

Player of the Game: Baron Davis

Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 34
Baron Davis - 32
Eric Gordon - 31
Brandon Roy - 28
Travis Outlaw - 27
Jeff Green - 24
LaMarcus Aldridge - 18
Blake Griffin - 17
Drew Gooden - 16
Greg Oden - 12
Russell Westbrook - 10

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 12
Baron Davis - 11
Eric Gordon - 7
Blake Griffin - 4
LaMarcus Aldridge - 4

Rebounds
LaMarcus Aldridge - 21
Blake GRiffin - 14
Drew Gooden - 11
Chris Kaman - 9
Greg Oden - 8
Brandon Roy - 6
Eric Gordon - 6
Travis Outlaw - 5

Video Highlights
Aldridge alley-oop to Oden.


Roy with a block, Durant finishes with a dunk.


-----
7.1 seconds left, score tied at 115-115. Griffin misses a long 3 point attempt. Game goes to overtime.
Clippers ahead 133-131 with 9.5 seconds left. Durant makes a lay-up and is fouled. Tied again at 133-133.
Durant misses the free throw and Griffin rebounds. Time-out Clippers with 3.5 seconds left.
Gordon makes a jump shot with 1.6 seconds left. 135-133. Durant misses a shot at the other end. Game over.

[Andrew]

Damn, shame the run came to an end that way. Durant's 34 looks kind of measly after 101.

[Phil89]

Amazing effort to get 101! What were his field goal, free throw and three point numbers like?

40-80 FGM-A (50%), 4-16 3PTM-A (25%), 17-19 FTM-A (89%).

I must admit it was a bit more premeditated than the 'interview' makes out.
Makes for an interesting story though and I got a trophy for doing it.

[Andrew]

Exactly. I've yet to try for that Achievement, I'd probably give it a shot with a big man.

That's a new record for field goals made and attempted in a single game, too.

[Phil89]

31/3/11

Oklahoma City Thunder [58-9] vs Los Angeles Lakers [41-28]

Lakers make it 2 losses in a row for Thunder after another high scoring game



OKC - 34 28 33 35 130
LAL - 42 27 36 29 134

Player of the Game: Kobe Bryant

Top Scorers
Brandon Roy - 42
Kobe Bryant - 35
Kevin Durant - 32
Ron Artest - 26
Andrew Bynum - 21
Jordan Farmar - 21
LaMarcus Aldridge - 19
Pau Gasol - 14
Lamar Odom - 14
Russell Westbrook - 12
Jeff Green - 11

Assists
Jordan Farmar - 8
Kobe Bryant - 7
Russell Westbrook - 5
Greg Oden - 4
Ron Artest - 4
Andrew Bynum - 3
Walt Smith - 3

Rebounds
Andrew Bynum - 13
Greg Oden - 13
Pau Gasol - 10
Jeff Green - 7
Lamar Odom - 7
Ron Artest - 6
Kevin Durant - 4
Kobe Bryant - 4
Jordan Farmar - 4

Video Highlights
Roy spins through 3 defenders and slams it home.


Roy nails a three on the buzzer.


-----
Gasol sat out the last quarter and a half with 5 fouls. Bynum got his 5th half way through the fourth quarter.
Farmar was probably the difference in this game. Usually Westbrook keeps him quiet, but not this time.

[Martti.]

Congratulations on breaking Wilt's unbreakable record.

Sucks about the two straight losses, but you can still aim for 70.

[Axel The Great]

101! And on All-Star! (correct me if I'm wrong). Congrats, man. If I ever try to unlock the 100 points trophy, I'm gonna do it on rookie!

[Andrew]

There goes the chance of 73, but you'll still end up with an impressive record. That's quite a shootout you had with the Lakers.

[Phil89]

1/4/11

Conference Standings

Eastern Conference
1. CLE | 45-25 | N/A | .643 | +1 | [10-5]
2. ORL | 42-27 | 2.5 | .609 | -1 | [5-8]
3. CHI | 41-29 | 4.0 | .586 | = | [10-5]
4. BOS | 39-30 | 5.5 | .565 | = | [7-5]
5. TOR | 38-31 | 6.5 | .551 | +1 | [8-6]
6. DET | 38-33 | 7.5 | .535 | -1 | [6-8]
7. ATL | 36-35 | 9.5 | .507 | = | [8-8]
8. CHA | 36-36 | 10.0 | .500 | +1 | [9-6]
----------------------------------------------
9. IND | 31-35 | 12.0 | .470 | -1 | [5-8]
10. NJN | 33-39 | 13.0 | .458 | +2 | [7-8]
11. PHI | 31-38 | 13.5 | .449 | +2 | [7-7]
12. WAS | 31-38 | 13.5 | .449 | -2 | [4-8]
13. MIL | 30-39 | 14.5 | .435 | +1 | [8-5]
14. NYK | 30-42 | 16.0 | .417 | -3 | [4-12]
15. MIA | 27-45 | 19.0 | .375 | = | [7-8]


Western Conference
1. OKC o | 58-10 | N/A | .853 | = | [12-2]
2. DEN | 44-26 | 15.0 | .629 | = | [10-6]
3. LAL | 42-28 | 17.0 | .600 | = | [7-5]
4. DAL | 41-29 | 18.0 | .586 | +2 | [14-2]
5. HOU | 37-32 | 21.5 | .536 | -1 | [6-10]
6. PHX | 37-32 | 21.5 | .536 | -1 | [4-8]
7. UTA | 36-32 | 22.0 | .529 | +1 | [9-5]
8. SAS | 34-34 | 24.0 | .500 | -1 | [5-7]
----------------------------------------------
9. LAC | 32-38 | 27.0 | .457 | +1 | [8-6]
10. GSW | 29-42 | 30.5 | .408 | -1 | [2-11]
11. NOH | 28-42 | 31.0 | .400 | = | [5-9]
12. SAC | 28-42 | 31.0 | .400 | +2 | [8-6]
13. MIN | 26-43 | 32.5 | .377 | -1 | [6-8]
14. POR | 24-47 | 35.5 | .338 | +1 | [5-6]
15. MEM | 23-48 | 36.5 | .324 | -1 | [4-12]

o - Clinched playoff berth
x - Eliminated

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

League Leaders

Points Per Game
1. Kevin Durant - OKC - 26.4
2. Deron Williams - UTA - 25.8
3. Dwyane Wade - MIA - 25.6
4. LeBron James - CLE - 24.9
5. Brandon Roy - OKC - 23.2
5. Danny Granger - IND - 23.2

Rebounds Per Game
1. Dwight Howard - ORL - 11.7
2. Yao Ming - HOU - 10.9
3. Al Jefferson - MIN - 10.5
4. Pau Gasol - LAL - 10.4
5. Marcus Camby - POR - 10.2
5. Tyson Chandler - CHA - 10.2

Assists Per Game
1. Rajon Rondo - BOS - 9.0
2. Jameer Nelson - ORL - 8.2
3. Chauncey Billups - DEN - 8.1
4. Steve Nash - PHX - 7.7
4. Jose Calderon - TOR - 7.7
4. Andre Miller - POR - 7.7

Steals Per Game
1. Russell Westbrook - OKC - 2.7
2. Rajon Rondo - BOS - 1.9
3. Kirk Hinrich - CHI - 1.8
3. Brandon Roy - OKC - 1.8
5. Kevin Durant - OKC - 1.7

Blocks Per Game
1. Emeka Okafor - NOH - 2.7
2. Tyson Chandler - CHA - 2.6
3. LaMarcus Aldridge - OKC - 2.5
4. Yao Ming - HOU - 2.4
4. Dwight Howard - ORL - 2.4

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Awards

Players of the Month
East
LeBron James - CLE
25.0 PPG - 4.4 RPG - 2.0 APG - 1.6 BPG - 1.7 SPG

West
Kevin Durant - OKC
32.2 PPG - 4.7 RPG - 2.4 APG - 0.4 BPG - 1.6 SPG

Rookies of the Month
East
Rasheed Duffy - MIL
9.4 PPG - 7.2 RPG - 0.9 APG - 1.0 BPG - 0.5 SPG

West
Garry Haynes - DEN
3.9 PPG - 8.0 RPG - 0.6 APG - 2.2 BPG - 0.4 SPG


MVP Candidates
Kevin Durant - 26.4 PPG - 4.3 RPG - 2.1 APG - 1.0 BPG - 1.7 SPG
LeBron James - 24.9 PPG - 5.0 RPG - 1.9 APG - 1.8 BPG - 1.5 SPG
Brandon Roy - 23.2 PPG - 4.0 RPG - 2.8 APG - 1.0 BPG - 1.8 SPG
LaMarcus Aldridge - 16.4 PPG - 10.0 RPG - 2.8 APG - 2.5 BPG - 0.7 SPG
Deron Williams - 25.8 PPG - 2.3 RPG - 6.1 APG - 0.1 BPG - 1.4 SPG

[Phil89]

2/4/11

Oklahoma City Thunder [58-10] vs Sacramento Kings [28-42]

Thunder back on form against Kings



OKC - 39 30 28 38 135
SAC - 26 19 20 30 95

Player of the Game: Greg Oden

Top Scorers
LaMarcus Aldridge - 27
Brandon Roy - 24
Russell Westbrook - 23
Greg Oden - 22
Kevin Durant - 22
Raymond Felton - 22
Stromile Swift - 18
Andres Nocioni - 17
Francisco Garcia - 15
Spencer Hawes - 10

Assists
Raymond Felton - 9
Greg Oden - 7
Russell Westbrook - 7
Brandon Roy - 4
Kevin Durant - 3
Beno Udrih - 3

Rebounds
LaMarcus Aldridge - 14
Greg Oden - 10
Spencer Hawes - 8
Stromile Swift - 6
Francisco Garcia - 5
Kevin Durant - 5

Video Highlights
Oden finds Roy on his way to the rim.


Oden blocks Hawes in the paint.

[Andrew]

Back in form indeed, nice win. You're far and away the best team in the league, looks like Durant's got the MVP wrapped up.

[Martti.]

.. and if not, Aldridge or Roy will win it, looking at the MVP race. Though I'm pretty sure it will be Durant.

[Justine.]

Props on beating great Wilt's record!

[Phil89]

4/4/11

Oklahoma City Thunder [59-10] vs Charlotte Bobcats [36-38]

Thunder break another record as they secure win number 60



OKC - 27 28 22 20 97
CHA - 22 22 21 22 87

Player of the Game: Kevin Durant

Top Scorers
DJ Augustin - 27
LaMarcus Aldridge - 24
Kevin Durant - 23
Brandon Roy - 18
Boris Diaw - 14
Gerald Wallace - 14
Russell Westbrook - 12
Greg Oden - 10
DeShawn Stevenson - 10

Assists
Brandon Roy - 6
DJ Augustin - 6
Gerald Wallace - 4
Jose Barea - 4
Kevin Durant - 4
Russell Westbrook - 3

Rebounds
Greg Oden - 13
Tyson Chandler - 10
LaMarcus Aldridge - 9
Shaquille O'Neal - 9
Jeff Green - 6
Kevin Durant - 5
Brandon Roy - 5
Channing Frye - 5

Video Highlights
Westbrook playing some solid defense against Augustin.


-----
New record. 40-40 FTA-M. Most free throws made, (none missed), in a game. Beating the 39 Utah made vs Portland December 7, 1982.
That's what my research came up with anyway.

[Andrew]

Good work, that's no easy feat.

[Phil89]

Surprisingly Aldridge was the main contributor with 14-14. But then again, his free throw percentage this season is 90%.
I've had a pretty good season from the free throw line. Oden is the only one of my starters with less than 80%.

[Phil89]

6/4/11

Oklahoma City Thunder [60-10] vs Miami Heat [29-45]

Thunder easily beat poor Heat



OKC - 25 31 30 28 114
MIA - 30 8 18 30 86

Player of the Game: LaMarcus Aldridge

Top Scorers
Dwyane Wade - 25
Jeff Green - 24
Kevin Durant - 19
Brandon Roy - 18
Greg Oden - 17
Rafer Alston - 15
Russell Westbrook - 14
LaMarcus Aldridge - 12
Udonis Haslem - 12
Mario Chalmers - 12
Jermaine O'Neal - 10

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 10
Ike Diogu - 4
Dwyane Wade - 4
Brandon Roy - 3

Rebounds
LaMarcus Aldridge - 17
Jermaine O'Neal - 11
Udonis Haslem - 10
Steven Hunter - 7
Kevin Durant - 7
Jeff Green - 6
Greg Oden - 5
Kenyon Martin - 5

Video Highlights
Redick finds Martin on his way to the rim.

[Phil89]

8/4/11

Oklahoma City Thunder [61-10] vs Orlando Magic [44-27]

Aldridge almost gets triple-double in Thunder win



OKC - 29 30 29 24 112
ORL - 12 22 25 40 99

Player of the Game: LaMarcus Aldridge

Top Scorers
Jameer Nelson - 34
Brandon Roy - 22
LaMarcus Aldridge - 21
Rashard Lewis - 21
Dwight Howard - 20
Vince Carter - 20
Kevin Durant - 16
Jeff Green - 16
Russell Westbrook - 14
Greg Oden - 13

Assists
LaMarcus Aldridge - 9
Russell Westbrook - 9
Jameer Nelson - 9

Rebounds
Dwight Howard - 13
Greg Oden - 12
Marcin Gortat - 11
LaMarcus Aldridge - 10
Rashard Lewis - 8
Roy Hibbert - 5
Brandon Roy - 4
Kenyon Martin - 4
Jameer Nelson - 4

Video Highlights
Durant sinks a three on the buzzer to end the first quarter.


Westbrook blocks Nelson's shot then takes it all the way to the rim.

[Phil89]

10/4/11

Oklahoma City Thunder [62-10] vs Toronto Raptors [40-32]

Roy lifts Thunder to victory against Raptors



OKC - 23 28 20 25 96
TOR - 19 18 23 32 92

Player of the Game: LaMarcus Aldridge

Top Scorers
Brandon Roy - 29
Jose Calderon - 24
Chris Bosh - 22
Andrea Bargnani - 18
Hedo Turkoglu - 18
LaMarcus Aldridge - 18
Kevin Durant - 18
Greg Oden - 13

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 7
Hedo Turkoglu - 7
Jose Calderon - 6
LaMarcus Aldridge - 5
Jarrett Jack - 3

Rebounds
Chris Bosh - 16
LaMarcus Aldridge - 12
Andrea Bargnani - 11
Greg Oden - 10
Brandon Roy - 6
Hedo Turkoglu - 6
Kevin Durant - 5

Video Highlights
Roy given too much room and makes the Raptors pay.


Roy comes up with a great block under the basket.