Friday Bolts – 5.20.11

Russell Westbrook after Game 2

: “”When we’re winning, I’m good,” he said. I’m just sitting there waiting to get my name called. We was winning, man. You all want to ask the same question and I’m going to give you all the same answer – ‘We was winning.'”

Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “It’s a call you never expected Brooks to be making just two games removed from a Westbrook triple-double in OKC’s Game 7 win at home over Memphis, but here we are again. Wondering whether Westbrook — offensive rebounder extraordinaire — can rise up from underneath that microscope with anywhere near the flair he bounced back against the Grizzlies. “One thing about Russ is that he always bounces back,” Perkins said. “Him not playing in the fourth quarter, I’m sure he’ll use that as more of a motivation thing. It’ll just be scary to see him come out after tonight.” Meaning scary good.”

Jeff Fogle of HoopData: “Down at the bottom of the list, the player who needed to be humbled perhaps more than anyone. Russell Westbrook. He exited the court very late in the third quarter with that scowl we’ve seen on his face too many times. We’ve seen that arrogant glare aimed at teammates. This one was aimed at his head coach, along with a few choice words. From a 22-year old who’s best helped his team in the playoffs BY STAYING OUT OF THE WAY of more consistent scorers. Perhaps sitting there while has backup helped engineer what may end up being one of the biggest wins in the francishe’s OKC tenure will help bring some perspective.”

Gregg Doyel of CBSSports.com says Scott Brooks kicked some butt: “This was the adjustment game. Game 2 usually is. Two days after Oklahoma City and Dallas got their first long postseason look at each other, the Thunder adjusted better. That’s why the most important person Thursday night wasn’t Thunder superstar Kevin Durant, who scored 24 points, or sixth man James Harden, who played brilliantly in place of benched All-Star Russell Westbrook. The MVP of this game was OKC coach Scotty Brooks, because he out-adjusted the Mavericks. There were big mismatches Thursday, like Harden vs. Jason Terry, Durant vs. Shawn Marion, and Eric Maynor vs. Jose Juan Barea. But the biggest mismatch was Brooks vs. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle.”

A big number of you crazy people showed up at the airport last night. This is becoming some sort of weird tradition.

The Mavs aren’t making any excuses.

John Hollinger of ESPN.com: “Eric Maynor made a shot in the lane to stop the bleeding. Kevin Durant posterized Brendan Haywood with a wicked slam, and then picked up a T for letting him know about it. James Harden and Nick Collision came in and each made shots, and then their teammates kept making more. Daequan Cook capped it off with a corner 3, and in the blink of an eye the series had turned. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Ten straight trips, the Thunder scored, ringing up 23 points in less than five minutes. A 28-17 deficit turned into a 40-35 lead, and the Mavs never recovered. And just like that, the game — and perhaps this series — had changed.”

Berry Tramel: “Everyone in American Airlines Center kept looking over at the scorer’s table in the fourth quarter. Time kept ticking. Nine minutes left, six minutes, three minutes left. The Thunder clung to a lead that wavered between tense and perilous, and eyes kept drifting to that table. Surely Russell Westbrook would return. Surely he would bring some fellow starters with him. But Scotty Brooks never pulled the trigger. And it earned him the Thunder’s biggest win ever.”

Darnell Mayberry: “Russell Westbrook is fine. Relax people. I know the majority of Thunder fans know better than to make a big deal out of his fourth-quarter benching and subsequent emotional outburst. But to those that don’t, it’s nothing to be concerned about. If there was a reason to be concerned, it would be if Westbrook wasn’t ticked off about coming out of the game.”

Chris Mannix of SI: “There is a killer in Westbrook, an elite player just itching to get out. Someday the blurring drives he makes to the rim will end in layups or dunks and the short jump shots will consistently fall. But until then Brooks will have to watch him closely and make sure the good plays don’t outnumber the bad. Benching Westbrook for Maynor was a tough call, but the right one. It’s a decision elite coaches make. A label Brooks is starting to grow into.”

Matt Moore of CBSSports.com on Harden’s big night: “Harden’s in his second year. This development shouldn’t be accelerating as quickly as it is. But that’s what teams need to make championship runs: for good players to play great. And that’s what Harden’s done in the face of a matchup advantage. If he keeps producing like this, Harden will get to see if he can duplicate his production in the Finals.”

Mark Cuban complained about the officiating: “While walking off the court, Cuban loudly asked officiating supervisor Bernie Fryer what he thought of the performance of referees Greg Willard, Bill Spooner and Tom Washington. A longtime NBA referee who was seated behind press row at the American Airlines Center, Fryer told Cuban that he thought Thursday night’s crew had been “great” in the first half. “Are you kidding me?” Cuban replied. “You’re not watching the same game I am.” Cuban complained about moving screens and defensive three-second violations by the Thunder that he felt should have been called, among other things. “Horrible,” Cuban said.”

Johnny Ludden of Yahoo! Sports: “Thunder general manager Sam Presti has built this roster deliberately, and Brooks bought into the franchise’s vision. He valued defense. He understood there could be no skipping steps with a team this young. Teaching and development were essential. This wouldn’t be about him, even if, on this night, it truly was. Westbrook sat and sat some more. Brooks never did call his name. He looked onto the floor and liked what he saw. He believed in his guys, he’d say afterward. More than ever, he also gave them a reason to believe in him.”

Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo! Sports: “Let the TV pundits and national columnists (sneering descriptions that we’re now starting to toss out with the same invective those types used to save for “bloggers and dot com’ers” some five years ago, five months ago, five days ago) pump this story up to fulfill their insecure need to turn basketball into mere fodder for that next day’s cable, print, or radio lineup. The real story here, as All-Star Oklahoma Thunder guard Russell Westbrook sat for the entire fourth quarter, is that for small one-possession stretches Dallas’ defense was no good when it needed to be, and its offense was lacking when it needed to be. And that Oklahoma City won, and took the homecourt advantage in the victory.”