Monday Bolts – 4.13.15

Anthony Slater: “The late spurt, though, was to no avail. OKC lost on a night it could have jumped the Pelicans and retaken control of the eighth seed. Now, in the season’s final two games, OKC still must gain one on New Orleans. And, potentially, the Thunder may have to do that without the suspended Russell Westbrook on Monday night. Stay tuned.”

Per Elias: “Russell Westbrook made 21 of 43 field-goal attempts while scoring 54 points in the Thunder’s 116-104 loss at Indiana. No NBA player had made at least 20 field goals in a game and still shot under 50% in a non-overtime game since the Spurs’ George Gervin shot 23-for-49 in a 63-point effort versus the Jazz in the final game of the 1977-78 season. Gervin needed nearly all of those points to edge David Thompson, who scored 73 points himself that day against the Pistons, by a margin of 27.22 to 27.15 to win the league scoring title.”

Story for ESPN.com last night.

Kevin Durant: “Good fight fellas! Love yall, let’s get this one tomorrow!! #Imissgoingtobattlewiththemob”

Slater’s piece on Enes Kanter is a great read: “By his third season, Jefferson and Millsap were gone and Enes was getting the court time he coveted. But his relationship with Utah never fully mended. There was a certain distrust of organizations that was hard for him to overcome. He got a ruthless introduction to the business side of sports during his dealings with Fenerbahçe and the NCAA. The Jazz’s decision to draft Enes against his wishes, while understandable, may have made the relationship immediately irreparable.”

David Thorpe of ESPN Insider on top sophs: “Adams hasn’t seen a real jump in his production this season, even though he’s become a smarter player on offense. Still, he fills a basic role for his team as a hard-nosed defender and rebounder, who also takes pride in setting good screens. Adams would likely be seen as more valuable if Kevin Durant had played all season and the Thunder were battling at the top of the West.”

Forgot to include this in last night’s recap: Scott Brooks ruled Serge Ibaka out for the rest of the regular season (two games!).

Shocking: Bill Simmons ignored context to rip on the Thunder.

This interview with Sam Presti is pretty good. In it he says of Kevin Durant’s 2016 free agency: “There won’t be any negotiation. He’ll get what he wants.”

Gregg Doyel of the Indy Star: “The points mounted on the scoreboard for Russell Westbrook, 22 in the first quarter and then 30, then 40, then 50. And still he wasn’t finished. Westbrook was putting on a show Sunday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, and the Pacers were willing to watch it unfold. Because they weren’t the only ones watching. Westbrook’s teammates also were watching – had no choice but to watch, given the way he was chucking a franchise-record 43 shots – and when it was over, the Thunder had been given a lesson in mathematics, courtesy of the suddenly playoff serious Indiana Pacers: Five is better than one.”