TrueHoop Network
An ESPN Affiliate

Daily Thunder.com

Durant scores 30 as the West tops the East, 143-138

by Royce Young on February 17, 2013 at 11:31 pm 127 Comments

HOUSTON — As Chris Paul tends to do, he stole it late.

Kevin Durant scored a game-high 30 points, but wasn’t able to secure a second consecutive All-Star Game MVP as Paul took over the game late, finishing with 20 points and 15 assists.

“He deserved it,” KD said. “He had great passes, making steals, made big buckets. He played a hell of a game and congratulations to him. It was a pleasure playing with him.”

Durant did accomplish something very impressive tonight though. Per @ThunderStats, Durant is the first player in All-Star history to register three consecutive 30-point games. He also added to the highest All-Star scoring average in history (minimum three games), taking it from 28.3 to 28.8. Keep Reading…

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Dunk Russell

by Royce Young on February 16, 2013 at 9:58 am 2,638 Comments

Happy weekend. Thank you for your support of Daily Thunder. Enjoy it.

The dunk contest is tonight — which yes, I’m excited about because I still love it — but remember in 2009 when the NBA had people vote in the final competitor for the dunk contest? Here’s who you had to choose from: Rudy Fernandez, Joe Alexander and Russell Westbrook. Two of those three aren’t even in the NBA anymore. Sheesh, people. And Fernandez was the pick. I hope you all feel shame right now.

Maybe this is why Westbrook didn’t get in. He didn’t exactly make a great case in his video. Can’t believe the megaphone touch wasn’t enough to get it done. But he said this: “I’ve been wanting this real bad.” He wanted to do it then. Come on, do it just once. 2009 Russ wanted to.

Five leftovers from Miami’s Valentine massacre

by Royce Young on February 15, 2013 at 2:59 pm 724 Comments

Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images

After a little time to regroup, rethink and reconsider what happened last night in Oklahoma City, here are five leftover thoughts:

1. What’s changed? The Heat have now won six straight games against the Thunder. Four consecutive in the Finals, two more this season. Including two in OKC’s building, which is a very impressive feat.

But what’s a bit forgotten is that the Thunder actually were the ones carrying the streak last season. OKC split with Miami the regular season during the 2011-12 campaign — home win, away — then took Game 1 of the Finals. The year before that, not long after acquiring Perk, the Thunder handled the Heat with ease in Miami in March.

Keep Reading…

The time an OU football player talked smack to LeBron, and lost

by Royce Young on February 15, 2013 at 1:36 pm 67 Comments

You know that ridiculous 10-point run LeBron went on right before halftime?

You can thank OU football player Gabe Ikard for that.

Via Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, a fan started chirping at LeBron from a courtside seat towards the end of the first half, telling him he couldn’t shoot. LeBron proceeded to splash a 3, drill a sick step-back, can a jumper over Thabo and then another 3 right in Perk’s face.

“He told me to shoot it,” LeBron said. “He said, ‘Shoot it, you can’t shoot.’ So I said OK. So I shot it.

“And I made it. And I made another one. And I made another one. And he stopped talking to me.”

Keep Reading…

Friday Bolts – 2.15.13

by Royce Young on February 15, 2013 at 6:54 am 624 Comments

Jeff Caplan of NBA.com: “The Thunder wanted this game badly, they said so beforehand. Last one before the break, national television showcase, a chance to notch a 40th win, but mostly to, yes, make a statement that they can go toe-to-toe with their elder, more battle-tested superstars in red and take them out. Yet on their home floor, the Thunder didn’t as much lay an egg as simply get bullied into submission by a more ferocious foe. Statement: Miami.”

Berry Tramel: “The night ended with the Thunder sipping champagne. Kevin Durant’s friend, Charlie Bell, proposed to his girlfriend on the Thunder hardwood, some 45 minutes after the Thunder-Heat showdown. Durant and his teammates celebrated with Bell when he got the answer he wanted. The same answer received by two brave romantics who, courtesy of the Thunder’s game operations, made public marriage proposals — one during a first-half timeout, another during the third-quarter Kiss Cam. So the night was not a total failure. But otherwise, this was a St. Valentine’s Day massacre.” Keep Reading…

Heat break Thunder hearts again, 110-100

by Royce Young on February 14, 2013 at 11:35 pm 258 Comments

BOX SCORE

OK, so don’t panic.

Actually maybe panic a little. Heck, I don’t care how much you panic, because at this point, any amount of it is kind of justified.

Panic about this season, or this Thunder team? Nah, they’re good. 39-14 at the break and on a crash course to contend for the Western crown. Panic about having the chops to beat the Heat? Yeah, that might be alright.

The Thunder’s fourth quarter comeback was valiant and inspiring, but it was mostly empty. They cut a 23-point lead to eight, but the outcome was never genuinely in doubt. I was certainly proud of the way the Thunder never packed it in, the way they clawed to the finish, the way they fed off a starved, emotional crowd to at least give a little hope. It reminded me a bit of Game 2 against the Spurs where OKC fought back to make it close, building a little positive momentum and belief out of it. Maybe that happened tonight.

But the events of the first half were downright shocking. Russell Westbrook was asked postgame what the mood was, if losing a sixth straight game to Miami — the second consecutive at home — was disappointing. He wouldn’t go there. He used a different word.

Keep Reading…

Heat vs. Thunder: Pregame Primer

by Royce Young on February 14, 2013 at 4:04 pm 2,342 Comments

vs.

Heat (35-14, 12-11 road) vs. Thunder (39-13, 23-3 home)

TV: TNT (Cox 31, HD 730)
Stream: Click here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 7:00 CT

Offensive Rating: Thunder – 112.5 (1st), Heat– 112.3 (2nd)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 102.9 (8th), Heat – 105.4 (12th)
Pace: Thunder – 93.4 (8th), Heat – 90.6 (21st)

View from the enemy: Heat Index

This isn’t just any other game, at least not from the Thunder’s perspective. They might say publicly that it doesn’t mean more, but it does. If they lose, like Kevin Durant said earlier, it doesn’t mean their season is over. But considering the circumstances, the Thunder need this game over the Heat. Keep Reading…

Thursday Bolts – 2.14.13

by Royce Young on February 14, 2013 at 10:41 am 308 Comments

Steve Kerr on the Thunder’s weakness: “I still want to see a more composed version of Russell Westbrook. I think the internal improvement there really starts with him, both with his offensive efficiency — there is no reason why he should shoot 41 percent; he’s just too good of a player — and there is just no reason for his tantrums. It may not kill them as a team. They are so mature that they seem to weather those emotional outbursts, but it’s not helping them. I’d like to see him just show a little better leadership and maturity, and I think that’s probably the next step for him and the team as a whole, just seeing how they can make that improvement emotionally.”

Alok Pattani of ESPN.com: “LeBron James has garnered a lot of praise for his six-game streak of scoring and shooting percentage. However, if you look at a complete statistic that takes everything a player contributes to his team over the course of a season, James actually trails Kevin Durant. The statistic is “Win Shares”, developed by Basketball Reference building off the individual offensive and defensive rating framework established by ESPN Production Analytics’ Dean Oliver. Win shares quantifies a player’s overall impact on his team’s winning – taking into account a player’s individual box-score statistics in the context of his team’s offensive and defensive performance.” Keep Reading…

Heat (35-14, 12-11 road) vs. Thunder (39-13, 23-3 home)

Headlines