It was back to business-KD

Kevin Durant spent the past three days doing all he could to hide his emotions and downplay the significance of facing his former team.

Even when the ball tipped off for Warriors-Thunder on Thursday night, Durant’s face was as blank as a blue sky.

Kevin Durant

Beneath the calm exterior, though, there was a lot of emotion.

“It was before the tip,” Durant said. “As soon as the game started, it brought back some memories.
“But after that, it was back to business.”

Business was good for Durant. He opened the scoring for the Warriors, draining a 3-pointer from the top of the key 41 seconds into the game. He then went silent for a while, taking a brief rest midway through the quarter, and then returning with 3:37 left in the quarter.

That’s when Durant woke up – and spent the rest of the night torturing Oklahoma City, pouring in a season-high 39 points in a 122-96 thrashing of the Thunder.

There was a visible change in Durant’s demeanor after he was dunked on by OKC forward Jerami Grant with three minutes left in the quarter. Grant then made the unwise decision to get noisy while glaring at his victim.

“That’s not a good idea,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Grant’s bold move. “I think that did get him going a little bit.”

Durant’s expression changed into a mask of intensity and he proceeded to go off. He found another gear, scoring 15 points in less than four minutes. The Warriors during that time went from 10 points down to a six-point lead. They never trailed again.

This was the furious Durant, and he was on a mission to destroy his former teammates, from his longtime friend and teammate Russell Westbrook to Enes Kanter – who did plenty of yakking from the bench – to Grant.

“When you get dunked on like that, you want to come back,” Durant said. “As a competitor, you just want to come back at him and try to make a play, try to ignite the team. He ignited his team with that dunk, and I just tried to do the same throughout the whole game.

“Over the course of the game, I try to make plays throughout the whole game . . . and try to get them back that way. It definitely sparked us a bit.”

Asked what Grant said, Durant said the chatter actually came from Grant’s Thunder teammates.
“He just stared me down,” Durant said of Grant. “Everybody else was talking.”

Durant’s final line: 39 points (15-of-24 from the field, 7-of-11 beyond the arc), seven rebounds, one block and one assist. He played 31 minutes and finished plus-21 for the night.

Moreover, he made it clear he has moved beyond his OKC days and wishes others would follow his lead.

“I’ve been in the zone where I’ve just tried to look forward and think about the team I’m on and trying to be better and trying to work hard for this team and my teammates,” Durant said. “Everybody else has been stuck on the past, and is trying to bring me back with them.

“It’s hard when you get questions about it and you hear about it and friends and family ask you about it,” he added. “But I’ve been trying to look forward since I got here. Everybody else on the outside has been trying ot pull me back. I’ve just got to stay focused.”


Source:CSN.com

Will LeBron pass MJ, Kobe and Kareem for most points ever?

A big game Thursday against the Boston Celtics would help Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James pass Hakeem Olajuwon and move into the top 10 on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

How high will LeBron James climb on the NBA's all-time scoring list?

 Given he's still playing at an elite level, James can pass many more of the game's greats in years to come.

Can he get all the way to the top of the leaderboard, passing Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and even breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record of 38,387 points?

"I play every game like it's my last,"-Westbrook on Warriors matchup

LOS ANGELES -- The Oklahoma City Thunder are the last unbeaten team in the Western Conference after taking down the Clippers 85-83 on Wednesday to improve to 4-0.

Russell Westbrook

Awaiting the Thunder next: a trip to Oracle Arena in Oakland to take on the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.

The upcoming matchup carries heavy amounts of hype and anticipation, with Russell Westbrook and the Thunder meeting former teammate Kevin Durant for the
first time since he joined the Warriors over the summer. Asked if there's any extra level of excitement going into Thursday's game, Westbrook said it's just another game on the schedule.

"I play every game like it's my last," Westbrook said. "I play every game the same, always. Like I've been saying for years. And regardless of who we play, I'm going to play the same way."
Thunder coach Billy Donovan offered his take on the matchup.

"It's not just Kevin. We're playing the Warriors," Donovan said. "He's part of that. That's Klay Thompson. Steph Curry. Draymond Green. It's Kevin. It's all those guys. It's their whole team we have to prepare for."

Durant was asked in an interview on Tuesday if there was any "beef" with Westbrook but downplayed any kind of animosity. After being teammates for eight years in Oklahoma City, the two have not spoken since Durant sent a text to Westbrook informing him of his decision. In the interview, Durant expressed some regret about how he handled that situation.

Asked if he saw the comments, Westbrook declined to answer.

"Like I said in Oklahoma City, I don't know if you guys know, but I'm not answering any more Kevin questions," he said. "If you want to talk about basketball, I'm more than welcome to talk about that. But other than that."

Following Durant's departure, there was expectation from many that the Thunder would drop off as a contender. Westbrook scoffed at that notion.

"Who said that?" Westbrook responded. Informed it was a lot of people, Westbrook said, "That's where they went wrong."

On Wednesday, Westbrook scored 35 points on 14 of 30 shooting and posted six rebounds, five assists and 10 turnovers in the win over the Clippers. He scored eight of the Thunder's final 11 points and set up the other three -- a 3-pointer by rookie Domantas Sabonis. Westbrook is averaging 37.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 10.0 assists through the first four games of the season.

Source:ESPN.com

Draymond: Warriors want to beat Thunder 'really bad' for Durant

Not since the 2000s, when Kobe and Shaq were squabbling members of the Lakers, has a relationship between NBA teammates been analyzed and scrutinized as much Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City.

 

The examination – and insinuation – continues even now, four months after Durant left the Thunder to join the Warriors.

The subject can at least begin to be put to rest Thursday night, when Durant and Westbrook meet on the court as OKC comes to Oakland to face the Warriors at Oracle Arena.


Because of his eight seasons alongside Westbrook and also his nine years with the organization, Durant acknowledges his emotions will run high.

“It’s just the way it is,” he said last Tuesday night, after a 127-104 victory over the Trail Blazers. “I’ve got a job to do. At the end of the day, I’m going to go out there and do it.
“But it’ll be good to see some people I haven’t seen in a while.”

Durant’s July 4 decision as a free agent to leave OKC and join the Warriors broke hearts and some of the spirit in the heartland. Once a beloved icon of the Sooner State, Durant in the eyes of many became a traitor. Fans of the Thunder were, and still are, angry that Durant made a choice that not only weakened their team but also left them feeling abandoned.

Westbrook has said and done precious little to distance himself from those who remain bitter over Durant’s departure.

That Durant has continued to speak highly of Westbrook and also expressed a modicum of regret over not personally speaking to his ex-teammate about his decision speaks to the personality differences between the two men.

Whereas Westbrook is a hard-charging competitor who approaches every game, every season, with an us-or-them mentality, Durant takes a broader view. Suns coach Earl Watson, a friend to both, recently explained that an in-season meeting with Durant would result in an embrace but such niceties with Westbrook would more likely be put on hold until the offseason.

That hardly means Westbrook hates Durant, and it surely does not imply Durant detests Westbrook.

“We’re boys,” Durant told Bay Area News Group this week. “My interest went this way, his went that way. He got married, I didn’t. He hung with his wife. What you want me to do? I love Russ. I don’t care what nobody say. I don’t care what he say or what the fans say. Like, this is a tough time right now in our relationship. But I love Russ. I love his family.”

Meanwhile, in Oklahoma City, the rage continues. Some fans burned Durant jerseys, while others vented on talk radio. Durant’s popular restaurant, KD’s, was forced to undergo a change in management and, moreover, get renamed.

That Westbrook, now the clear franchise player, has started in such spectacular fashion – he leads the league in scoring and through three games is averaging a triple-double – the fans may be on the verge of getting over Durant.

Whereas Westbrook is a hard-charging competitor who approaches every game, every season, with an us-or-them mentality, Durant takes a broader view. Suns coach Earl Watson, a friend to both, recently explained that an in-season meeting with Durant would result in an embrace but such niceties with Westbrook would more likely be put on hold until the offseason.

That hardly means Westbrook hates Durant, and it surely does not imply Durant detests Westbrook.

“We’re boys,” Durant told Bay Area News Group this week. “My interest went this way, his went that way. He got married, I didn’t. He hung with his wife. What you want me to do? I love Russ. I don’t care what nobody say. I don’t care what he say or what the fans say. Like, this is a tough time right now in our relationship. But I love Russ. I love his family.”

Meanwhile, in Oklahoma City, the rage continues. Some fans burned Durant jerseys, while others vented on talk radio. Durant’s popular restaurant, KD’s, was forced to undergo a change in management and, moreover, get renamed.

That Westbrook, now the clear franchise player, has started in such spectacular fashion – he leads the league in scoring and through three games is averaging a triple-double – the fans may be on the verge of getting over Durant.

Source:CSN.com

NEWS:Hornets With The First Win.

Result The Hornets picked up their first first win ever at Spectrum Center and pushed their record to 3-1 overall with a 109-93 victory over Philadelphia on Nov. 2 in Charlotte. Kemba Walker led the way with 22 points – his third-straight 20+ point performance – and Nicolas Batum added 20 points as the Hornets cruised to victory in the second half.

Turning Point The Hornets woke up in the second half after falling behind by as many as 13 points in the second quarter. Trailing 53-46 coming out of the locker rooms at the break, Charlotte caught fire to start the third, hitting four of its first five shots leading to a 13-0 run that turned a seven-point deficit into a six point lead just four minutes into the frame. Led by 17 points from Nicolas Batum in the quarter on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 shooting from long range, The Hornets torched the 76ers, 39-20, in the third. Charlotte shot an astonishing 72.7 percent (16-of-22) from the field and 50.0 percent (5-of-10) from the field, compared to 36.8 percent (7-of-19) and 37.5 percent (3-of-8), respectively for Philadelphia.

Hornets Player of the Game Nicolas Batum played arguably his best basketball of the young season in the third quarter, scoring 17 points on 75.0 percent (6-of-8) shooting from the field and 60.0 percent (3-of-5) shooting from distance while also grabbing two rebounds and dishing out two assists. Batum’s 17 third-quarter points marked the most scored in a quarter by a Hornets player this season. He finished with 20 points, seven boards, four assists and one steal.

Source:NBA.com

NEWS:Kings sign Jordan Farmar

The Sacramento Kings today signed free agent guard Jordan Farmar, according to Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Vlade Divac.

Farmar averaged 6.5 points (.471 FG%, 5-11 3pt, .833 FT%), 1.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in four preseason contests with Sacramento, including 14 points (5-8 FG, 4-5 3pt), one rebound and five assists against the L.A. Lakers on Oct. 13. A 10-year NBA veteran, Farmar has tallied career averages of 7.7 points (.423 FG%, .374 3pt%, .739 FT%), 1.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 19.5 minutes per game in 502 contests.

NEWS:Michael Carter-Williams out 4-6 weeks with knee and wrist injuries

Bulls guard Michael Carter-Williams underwent an MRI Tuesday morning on his left knee and left wrist. The results of the MRI showed that he sustained a bone bruise with no ligament damage to his knee, as well as a left wrist sprain. His recovery time is estimated to be between four and six weeks.

Carter-Williams suffered the injury in the second quarter of last night’s win at Brooklyn. Acquired in a trade with Milwaukee on Oct. 17, Carter-Williams has appeared in three games with Chicago and averaged 4.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 0.67 steals in 15.0 minutes.