Raptors-Thunder Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Nov 05 2012 1:41PM

The Oklahoma City Thunder are off to a slow start, but newcomer Kevin Martin isn't.

Neither is Martin's former backcourt mate, Kyle Lowry, who is also making quite an impression with his new team.

Off to their worst start since relocating from Seattle, the Thunder close out a three-game homestand Tuesday night when the Toronto Raptors try to build on their first victory.

Acquired Oct. 27 in the deal that sent James Harden to Houston, Martin has given the Thunder (1-2) a legitimate third scoring option behind Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Martin is 12 of 17 from 3-point range and is averaging 20.7 points off the bench after making six 3s and finishing with a team-best 28 points in Sunday's 104-95 loss to Atlanta.

Martin's production is a positive sign, but the Thunder need to take better care of the ball after their 21 turnovers led to 31 Hawks points.

"We know there is a lot of work to be done and we're going to do it," coach Scott Brooks, whose team also allowed 12 offensive rebounds, told the Thunder's official website. "They know that tomorrow we come back at 11 o'clock and watch some film and try to figure out a few things that we should have done better and go from there."

The Thunder, who opened with five consecutive wins last season, will need to figure out a way to contain Lowry. The Raptors' new point guard leads the team in scoring (23.7 ppg), rebounds (7.3) and assists (7.0).

Lowry and DeMar DeRozan each scored 22 points and grabbed seven boards in Sunday's 105-86 home win over Minnesota.

"He's a very good player and he really gets them going," Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said of Lowry, who was Martin's teammate in Houston the last two-plus seasons.

Lowry has also been getting the job done on the defensive side, recording 11 of the team's 29 steals. He and DeRozan both had three on Sunday.

"We took a little step forward tonight," coach Dwane Casey said. "We had a lot more possessions because of the (24 Minnesota) turnovers."

Durant, meanwhile, is among the league's worst with 5.3 turnovers per game after committing six for the second consecutive game Sunday.

"I wish I could have had a couple of those turnovers back," said Durant, who is averaging 22.7 points and 14.3 boards.

Toronto (1-2) is among the league's best with 11.7 turnovers per contest.

The Raptors are also among the NBA leaders in first-quarter scoring with an average of 28.3 points. Toronto is 9 for 16 from beyond the arc in that period.

That kind of early production could cause problems for an Oklahoma City team that trailed by eight after 12 minutes against the Hawks.

"We can't start the game off in cruise mode. We've got to go take it," Durant said. "A team's not going to just let us feel our way into the game."

The Thunder, who didn't lose their third game last season until their 15th contest, haven't dropped two straight in the regular season since snapping a season-worst three-game skid April 8 with a 91-75 home win over Toronto.

Oklahoma City is 3-1 at home in this series.

Westbrook leads Thunder past Raptors 108-88

By BOBBY ANDERSON
Posted Nov 07 2012 12:46AM

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Thunder coach Scott Brooks was happy to see his team get off to a fast start that made his job easy at the end.

Russell Westbrook shrugged off a sore shoulder to score 19 points and Oklahoma City cruised past the Toronto Raptors 108-88 on Tuesday night.

Serge Ibaka added 17 points for the Thunder, who led by as many as 29 before a sellout crowd of 18,203. They opened the game on a 30-17 run and never looked back.

"I thought the start was a big part of our win tonight," Brooks said. "We've talked about this the last few days. We're just starting to get in a defensive mindset."

Two nights after a nine-point loss to Atlanta, when the Thunder gave up 31 points off 20 turnovers, Oklahoma City controlled the tempo, packed the lane and forced Toronto to try and score from the outside.

"We had good ball pressure and our bigs did a good job," Brooks said. "Any time we can have four hands involved in a pick-and-roll we put ourselves in a position to have some success. I thought our activity and our deflections were good. We moved. We were all over the floor."

Wearing a black padded sleeve to protect his bruised left shoulder, Westbrook held Toronto's leading scorer, Kyle Lowry, to two points on 1-of-4 shooting. Lowry exited with 1:29 left in the second quarter with a right ankle sprain and did not return.

Raptors coach Dwane Casey turned the offense over to seventh-year guard Jose Calderon.

"Jose is a veteran player and he'll be ready to go," said Casey, whose team plays at Dallas on Wednesday night. "That's why I kept his minutes to a minimum tonight. He'll have to play big minutes and John (Lucas III) is a capable point guard, so they'll have to be ready to go. Knowing Kyle, he's a tough guy and he'll get back as soon as he can."

Lowry entered averaging 23.7 points per game. He also led the Raptors with 22 rebounds and 21 assists. His replacement, Calderon, had eight points and four steals in 19 minutes.

Kevin Durant and reserve Kevin Martin each scored 15 points for the Thunder, who never trailed after Durant converted a pair of free throws with 7:44 remaining in the first quarter.

Jonas Valanciunas led the Raptors (1-3) with 18 points and Andrea Bargnani had 16.

Casey said he "didn't recognize" his team Tuesday night.

"We knew they would come out aggressive, focused and we had to meet that type of intensity and we didn't," the coach said. "That was disappointing for our young team, but it was a learning experience."

Brooks was able to rest his starters in the fourth quarter as the Thunder improved to 2-2 with their highest-scoring game of the season. Brooks played 13 of the 14 players on his roster, and Oklahoma City had six players in double figures.

"You need nights like that in the NBA," Martin said. "You're not going to be able to beat teams with three guys, and tonight Serge stepped up and Eric (Maynor) played well. They're going to have nights like that and we're going to need them."

The Thunder shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half to lead 57-38 at the break and finished the game shooting 47 percent. Oklahoma City will play at Chicago on Thursday.

NOTES: The Thunder outrebounded Toronto 46-37, including 39-29 on the defensive end. ... Oklahoma City scored 42 points in the paint.

Notebook: Thunder 108, Raptors 88

Randy Renner, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Nov 07, 2012 12:08 AM - Updated Wed Nov 07, 2012 12:08 AM

THE FACTS: The Oklahoma City Thunder got off to a fast start and never slowed down in a 108-88 blowout of the Toronto Raptors. OKC's starters spent the fourth quarter being cheerleaders from the bench with the game in hand. Point guard Russell Westbrook led six Thunder players in double figures with 19 points and eight assists, forward Serge Ibaka had his second straight solid game with 17 points, Kevin Durant added 15 points, six rebounds and three assists, Kevin Martin also had 15 points for the Thunder.

Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry who came into the game averaging a team-high 23.7 points, managed just two on 1-for-4 shooting before leaving late in the first half with a sprained ankle. Rookie center Jonas Valanciunas led the Raptors with 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Forward Andrea Bargnani dropped in 16 but it took him 14 shots to get there.

The Thunder dominated inside, outrebounding Toronto 46-37 at one end of the floor and outscoring the Raptors in the paint 42-34 at the other end.

QUOTABLE: "The start was a big part of our win tonight. We talked about coming out with defensive toughness and everybody got involved on the defensive end and offensively I thought our ball movement and our passing were outstanding."

--Thunder head coach Scott Brooks

QUOTABLE II: "We let them score a lot of easy points. We've got to get better on defense. They're one of the best teams in the league so it's hard to compete with them but we can do a better job."

-- Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas

THE STAT: Thunder backup center Hasheem Thabeet has rejuvenated his career in Oklahoma City, drawing praise from coaches and teammates for his strong work ethic. Tonight Thabeet logged almost 23 minutes and scored 10 points (tying his career-high) on 2-for-2 from the field and 6-for-6 at the line. He also grabbed five rebounds, blocked two shots and stole the ball before fouling out late in the game.

TURNING POINT: OKC went on a 9-0 run in the first quarter to erase an early Toronto lead and never looked back. The Thunder led by as many as 29. After being in "cruise mode," as Durant said after the Atlanta loss, the Thunder put the pedal to the metal early and kept it there.

QUOTABLE III: "Everybody down the line was good tonight. We got stops, we got rebounds, we got out in transition. It feels good."

-- Durant

HOT: OKC started the game shooting 62.5 percent (10-for-16). ... Thunder shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha, known more for his defense, was 3-for-3 on long balls in the first quarter. ... Ibaka was 4-for-5 in the first half and finished the game 8-for-9.

NOT: After averaging 28.3 points in the first quarters of their three previous games, the Raptors managed just 17 points in the first 12 minutes against the Thunder. Toronto started the game with four turnovers in the first five minutes and shot just 36.8 percent (7-for-19) in the first quarter. The Raps' shooting percentage got as loaw as 31.4 percent in the second quarter before finishing the half at 33.3 percent. ... Bargnani was just 4-for-12 in the first half and finished the game 5-for-14. ... Lowry was 1-for-4 (two points) before leaving with a sprained ankle late in first half. ... Durant was just 4-for-11 (1-for-4 on 3-pointers).

GOOD MOVE: Brooks told reporters before the game he wanted to see his team play lock-down defense and that's exactly what the Thunder did. The Raptors were shooting just 33.8 percent (22-for-65) after three quarters.

BAD MOVE: Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said before the game he would pack the paint against Westbrook and dare him to shoot 3s. In the first half Westbrook was 2-for-4 on 3-pointers and even though the Raps packed the paint, Westbrook drove in there anyway and was fouled three times. He hit five of his six free throws and finished the half as OKC's leading scorer (13 points).

NOTABLE: Lowry rolled his right ankle just before halftime when he landed on Ibaka's foot after a jump shot. He did not return to the game and his status is day-to-day. ... The Thunder continue to be one of the best "bounce-back" teams in the NBA. Last season OKC was 15-3 in games following a loss. In 2010-11 the team posted a 20-6 mark in those games. With the win tonight the Thunder are 2-0 following losses this season.

UP NEXT: For the Raptors, Wednesday @ Dallas, Saturday vs. Philadelphia, Monday vs. Utah. For the Thunder, Thursday @ Chicago, Friday vs. Detroit, Sunday vs. Cleveland.

• Raptors: Acy, Kleiza
• Thunder: Orton

• Raptors: Lowry
• Thunder: Westbrook

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
• Officials: #10 Ron Garretson, #45 Brian Forte, #75 Eric Dalen
• Attendance: 18203
• Duration: 2:15