Tag: Oklahoma City

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NBA (Basketball)

The Thunder and Cavaliers have a commanding lead in their conferences, but they’re focused on a bigger goal

Darius Garland and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the 1st half

The Eastern Conference is almost decided, and the Western Conference is even more certain. The NBA hasn’t seen a situation like this in almost 40 years.

With all the focus on NCAA brackets this week (by the way, here are some tips for the men’s and women’s tournaments), it’s safe to predict Cleveland will finish as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and Oklahoma City will finish as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. It’s not fully confirmed yet, but let’s be honest, neither team is likely to lose their position.

It’s not out of the question that both the Cavaliers and the Thunder could end up winning their conferences by at least 10 games. This has happened in one conference many times before, but it’s been almost four decades since both conferences had such a large difference in the standings in the same season.

In the 1985-86 season, Boston won the East by 10 games, and the Los Angeles Lakers won the West by 11 games.

As of Monday, Cleveland was leading the East by 7 1/2 games. Oklahoma City led the West by 13 games, with 14 games left to play — so, when you do the math, the West is practically decided. The East is nearly finished too.

Oklahoma City’s coach Mark Daigneault talked about the team’s chemistry

“We’ve really formed a nice chemistry on the court. Great blend. Guys are playing to their strengths.”

The Thunder have earned respect across the league — and from Las Vegas too. BetMGM Sportsbook lists Oklahoma City as a heavy favorite to win the West and to take the NBA title. The West is full of strong teams, yet Oklahoma City has a chance to become the first team to win the regular season title by 15 or more games since Golden State in 1975-76.

The Thunder are winning by an average of 12.4 points per game. This is on track to be the best point-differential in NBA history, and that’s a big deal.

It’s worth mentioning that the next five teams with the best point-differentials per game in NBA history — the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (12.3), the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks (12.3), the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls (12.2), the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors (11.6), and last season’s Boston Celtics (11.3) — all won the NBA championship that season.

Isaiah Joe and Naz Reid in the 1st half

Milwaukee’s guard Damian Lillard said, “They are who they are. They defend, they move the ball, they’ve got a deep team, they do a lot of good things on both sides of the ball.”

Interestingly, Cleveland — which still has the best record in the NBA at 56-11, a team that outscored opponents by “only” 11 points per game (which would be the eighth-best in league history) and had winning streaks of 12, 15, and 16 games this season — isn’t getting the same amount of respect from the bookmakers.

The Cavs aren’t favored to win the NBA title — they aren’t even favored to win the East. BetMGM has Boston as the favorite in the East. Cleveland isn’t bothered by this; they know their strengths and believe it will be enough when it matters most.

They know the true test will come in the playoffs

“We haven’t done nothing yet,” said Cleveland guard Darius Garland. “Regular season means something to us, but winning that ring, that’s what really matters to us.”

By the way, big conference leads are usually a sign that a championship could be coming.

Since the 1986-87 season, only one team that won its conference by 10 or more games failed to win the NBA championship: Detroit in 2005-06, which won the East by 12 games but watched Miami win the title that year.

Other teams that won by big margins and took home the NBA title include Boston, who won the East by 14 games last year, Golden State, who won the West by 11 games in 2014-15, Miami, who won the East by 12 games in 2012-13, the Lakers, who won the West by 11 games in 2008-09, and Chicago, who won the East by 12 games in 1995-96 and 10 games in 1991-92. Both times, they won the title. The Lakers also won the West by 10 games in 1986-87 and captured the championship that year.

The Thunder are aiming to join that group. The Cavaliers could do the same. Neither team is focused on just the No. 1 seed or the large margin in their conference race. They are playing for something more significant.

“We’re not letting go of the rope,” said Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson, “mentally or physically.”

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NBA roundup: Thunder win with Chet Holmgren’s comeback in Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto Raptors

Jalen Williams scored 27 points, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 121-109 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.

While Williams and All-Star teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (25 points) played key roles, the game was special because of the return of second-year player Chet Holmgren. Holmgren, who had been out since a pelvic injury on Nov. 10, made his comeback with four points, five rebounds, four blocks, and two steals in 22 minutes.

Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with 21 points as they lost their third straight game. Gradey Dick added 17 points.

Hornets 117, Spurs 116

Miles Bridges made a 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left, giving the Charlotte Hornets a tight win over the San Antonio Spurs to end a six-game losing streak.

Bridges finished with 25 points, and LaMelo Ball added 24 points with 10 assists in his return from an ankle injury.

Rookie Stephon Castle scored a career-high 33 points for the Spurs, while Victor Wembanyama had 16 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks.

Nets 102, Heat 86

Cameron Johnson scored 18 points as the Brooklyn Nets dominated the fourth quarter to defeat the Miami Heat, who played their first game after trading Jimmy Butler.

D’Angelo Russell contributed 17 points, and Nic Claxton added 12 points, 10 rebounds, and four of Brooklyn’s 13 blocks. The Nets shot 14-of-26 in the final period to outscore Miami 31-9.

Terry Rozier led the Heat with 20 points, and Bam Adebayo added 18 points.

Pistons 125, 76ers 112

Malik Beasley set a career-high with 36 points, leading the Detroit Pistons to a win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Tobias Harris added 22 points and nine rebounds as Detroit snapped a two-game losing streak. All-Star Cade Cunningham was scratched late due to an ankle injury.

Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons (NBA)

Tyrese Maxey scored 27 points and had seven assists for the 76ers. Joel Embiid contributed 23 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.

Cavaliers 134, Wizards 124

Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points, and Evan Mobley added 27 as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Washington Wizards.

Darius Garland finished with 23 points, and Max Strus scored 17 in Cleveland’s sixth win in seven games.

Despite Jordan Poole’s career-high 45 points, Washington lost their season-high three-game win streak. Kyshawn George scored 17 points.

Hawks 115, Bucks 110

Mouhamed Gueye had his first career double-double to help the Atlanta Hawks beat the Milwaukee Bucks.

Gueye scored a season-high 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds with four blocks, playing extended minutes due to trade-deadline absences.

Trae Young added 24 points and seven assists and sealed the game with a key steal in the final 34 seconds. The Bucks were without Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a calf injury. Bobby Portis led with 26 points and 15 rebounds, while Damian Lillard contributed 23 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists.

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Chet Holmgren makes his return for the NBA-leading Thunder in Oklahoma City after a nearly three-month absence

Chet Holmgren spins away from Scottie Barnes in the 2nd half

Chet Holmgren’s return from injury has made the NBA-leading Thunder even better.

The 7-foot-1 forward, who was last season’s runner-up for rookie of the year, returned to Oklahoma City’s starting lineup on Friday night after missing nearly three months with a pelvic fracture. Holmgren finished the Thunder’s 121-109 win over the Toronto Raptors with four points, five rebounds, four blocks, and two steals.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “I missed it for a long time, and I worked really hard to be able to get back out there. So I’m happy and excited and look forward to continue to try and help us win and keep improving.”

He played 22 minutes, and during that time, the Thunder outscored the Raptors by 22 points.

Holmgren was selected second overall in the 2022 draft and missed his rookie season due to a foot injury. In the 2023-24 season, he played all 82 games, averaging 16.5 points and 7.9 rebounds to help the Thunder secure the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

Before his injury this season, Holmgren was averaging 16.4 points and 8.7 rebounds in 10 games. He wasn’t expected to reach those numbers in his first game back on Friday.

“It ties a bow on his return to play. His return to performance isn’t over,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “It takes a while for a guy that’s been out that long, especially a lower-body injury, to get himself back to game shape, endurance, rhythm, all those things. And so we’ll continue to work with him on probably a week-to-week basis. But it was a great start.”

Holmgren was able to ease back into the game since the Thunder, led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, were sitting comfortably at the top of the Western Conference. With the win over Toronto, they improved to 41-9.

There was a lot of excitement for Holmgren’s return. He was cheered during pregame warmups, and the crowd got even louder when he was introduced as the first Thunder player.

Chet Holmgren in the 1st half

Holmgren scored his first basket just over two minutes into the game, a floater from 4 feet away. On the next basket, he drove to the paint, spun, and passed the ball to center Isaiah Hartenstein, who scored with a floater.

His second field goal came in the first quarter when he made a fadeaway jumper just inside the free-throw line after a quick spin move.

In the fourth quarter, Holmgren blocked a dunk attempt by Scottie Barnes, which was his most exciting play of the night.

This was the first time Holmgren and Hartenstein played together, as Hartenstein, a free-agent pickup this past summer, missed part of the season with a broken left hand.

Holmgren took just five shots, knowing that scoring wasn’t the only way to help the team.

“It’s not going to be the Chet Holmgren show,” he said. “This is the Thunder. Whether I had an injury or not, that’s what it is. I’m just trying to go out there and help the team win in any way I can. I’m not expecting to become like a sideshow apart from what our goal is going out there every single night, and that’s to win basketball games.”

Daigneault said that adding such a talented player to a successful team can be challenging, but he praised Holmgren for being a good teammate and making it easier.

“We’re not asking for it to be perfect,” Daigneault said. “It’s one of those things that, if it requires one step backwards to take two steps forward, we’re willing to do that because we think it’s got a really high ceiling.”

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NBA (Basketball)

Kevin Durant aims for 30,000 career points as the Phoenix Suns face the Oklahoma City Thunder in Phoenix

Kevin Durant takes the shot in the 1st half

Kevin Durant achieved a lot during his time with Oklahoma City.

On Wednesday, the Phoenix Suns star has a chance to hit another big milestone in the same arena where he played for eight seasons, if he plays in the game.

Durant needs 26 points in the Suns’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder to become the eighth player in NBA history to score 30,000 points.

The only players ahead of Durant on the all-time scoring list are LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, and Wilt Chamberlain.

Durant scored the first 17,566 regular-season points of his career with the Thunder. His rookie year was in Seattle, but the team moved to Oklahoma City for his next eight seasons.

On Tuesday, the Suns listed Durant (left ankle sprain) as doubtful for the game, which was a surprise. Phoenix might be looking to trade the 15-time All-Star before Thursday’s trade deadline.

The Suns enter the game having lost two straight games in Portland and three of their last four games.

Their most recent loss was 121-119 in overtime to the Trail Blazers on Monday.

In that game, Devin Booker became the Suns’ career scoring leader, surpassing Hall of Famer Walter Davis. Booker now has 15,678 points for Phoenix.

Booker said he doesn’t take for granted playing his whole career so far with one team.

“It’s rare in this league for people to do what the Tim Duncans and Dirk Nowitzkis and Kobe Bryants did, staying with one team,” Booker said. “I came in at 18, not knowing what to expect.”

There was a time when it seemed like Durant might do the same, leading the Thunder to the 2012 NBA Finals. But in 2016, Durant signed with Golden State and helped the Warriors win titles in his first two years there.

Devin Booker and Kevin Durant

After leaving Oklahoma City, Durant faced a lot of anger when he returned, though the tension has lessened over time.

Things have gotten easier for Durant because the Thunder have been successful in recent years, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander emerging as a star.

Gilgeous-Alexander is having an impressive season, leading the NBA with 32.5 points per game. Among the top 10 scorers in the league — including Durant and Booker — Gilgeous-Alexander plays the fewest minutes, averaging 34.1 minutes per game.

The Thunder have been outscoring opponents by 12.7 points per game. In their last two wins, they won by an average of 31.5 points.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 63 points in those wins over Sacramento and Milwaukee, not playing in the fourth quarter of either game.

After being pulled midway through the third quarter against Milwaukee, Gilgeous-Alexander showed some frustration.

“I would like to play as much as I can,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I wake up, come to the game to compete. Coach (Mark Daigneault) decides how much I play, but I want to play as much as possible.”

Wednesday’s game is the second of three between the two teams this season. Oklahoma City won the first game, 99-83, on Nov. 15, with Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 28 points in just under 33 minutes.

Durant missed that game due to a calf injury. The Thunder have won 24 of their last 28 games.