Thunder-Hawks Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Dec 19 2012 12:00AM

The Oklahoma City Thunder's consistent success has made them forget about their very brief early-season struggles, which basically ended after a home loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

In order to set a new franchise-best winning streak, they'll have to avenge one of their few defeats.

Oklahoma City seeks a 12th consecutive victory as it begins a three-game road swing Wednesday night in Atlanta.

The Thunder (20-4) have surged to the NBA's best record during their current run, bouncing back from a 1-2 start after a 104-95 home loss to the Hawks on Nov. 4. They've won 18 of 20 since and matched the 1996-97 Seattle SuperSonics' franchise-record winning streak with a 107-93 victory over San Antonio on Monday.

Serge Ibaka scored a career-high 25 points and added a season-best 17 rebounds, while Russell Westbrook scored 22 points and Kevin Martin 20 off the bench.

"It was good for us to get a win, but we've got to keep moving on," said Kevin Durant, who scored 19 points and is third in the league at 27.1 points per game.

Durant has six 30-point games during this run for Oklahoma City, which is averaging an NBA-best 105.8 points and is second from beyond the arc at 41.1 percent.

"We're happy with it but we're not satisfied," coach Scott Brooks said. "We're going to keep doing what we do, and that's play every game the best we can and live with the results. We know we're not going to win every game in this league."

That was proven early, as Durant's 22 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists couldn't help the Thunder avoid a loss to the Hawks, who have won 12 of their last 15 after beating Washington 100-95 in overtime Tuesday.

Josh Smith, who sat out the meeting in Oklahoma City with a sprained right ankle, finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds against the Wizards while Lou Williams scored a season-high 24 points off the bench.

Atlanta (15-7), starting a stretch of four games in five nights, was coming off a 115-93 home loss to Golden State on Saturday in which it shot a season-worst 36.9 percent, hitting only 5 of 26 from 3-point range.

"We didn't play with a lot of energy, so I just wanted to be aggressive any time I had the ball," Williams said.

Devin Harris injured his foot in the first half Tuesday and didn't return, forcing DeShawn Stevenson into action. He scored eight points and hit all three of his shots in nearly 13 minutes.

"I had no choice but to play DeShawn," coach Larry Drew said. "And I'll tell you what, he really stepped it up big time for me. His presence was felt immediately."

Al Horford, who had 23 points and 12 rebounds in the first matchup with the Thunder, had 11 boards and six assists but scored only five points and shot 2 of 11 from the field Tuesday.

Smith had 30 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Hawks to a 97-90 victory March 3 in the last meeting in Atlanta - a game Horford missed - to help overcome 35 points from Durant and 25 from Westbrook.

Durant is averaging 30.4 points in his last five games versus the Hawks.

Durant scores 41 as streaking Thunder top Hawks

By CHARLES ODUM
Posted Dec 20 2012 5:58AM

ATLANTA (AP) Oklahoma City's biggest stars displayed a unique version of balanced scoring against Atlanta: Russell Westbrook led the Thunder in the first half and Kevin Durant dominated the Hawks over the final two quarters.

Durant set a season high with 41 points and Oklahoma City held off Atlanta 100-92 on Wednesday night for its 12th straight win.

Westbrook had 27 points - 21 in the first half - and 11 assists. Durant scored 28 points in the second half, including 18 in the fourth, and also had 13 rebounds.

No other Oklahoma City player scored in double figures.

"There's going to be nights where one has the hot hand and there's going to be other nights the other does," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks.

Both top scorers were hot against the Hawks. Durant made six of nine shots in the final period, including three 3-pointers, and the Hawks couldn't find a way to slow the 6-foot-9 forward.

"We double-teamed him, we zoned him," said Hawks coach Larry Drew. "He still made shots. You can't stop him when he's hot like that."

Durant said Westbrook's strong first half helped open more opportunities for him after the break.

"He was aggressive and they were giving him jump shots," Durant said. "We just played off of that. He was very good and it opened up for me in the second half."

Durant acknowledged he launched some "questionable" shots. "But my teammates wanted me to do it," he said.

Jeff Teague led Atlanta with 19 points, Josh Smith had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Al Horford and Lou Williams scored 13 apiece.

Durant was especially strong after Atlanta cut a 16-point deficit midway through the third quarter to 73-69.

Durant slowed Atlanta's comeback attempt when he dominated a sequence on both ends of the floor, blocking a shot by Smith before throwing down a jam. Smith drew a foul and Durant sank the free throw to push the lead to 85-75.

With about 3 minutes remaining, Durant hit a fallaway jumper. Less than a minute late, he made a spin move and then sank a 3-pointer over the 6-foot-7 Kyle Korver, who was left shaking his head.

"He's just one of those players," Korver said. "People don't understand how tall he is and how long his arms are."

The fallaway jumper and spinning 3-pointer would have been unlikely attempts for most players.

"That's him, though," Horford said. "He can do it. He's that good of a player, unfortunately for us."

Oklahoma City (21-4) improved the NBA's best record and atoned for a 104-95 home loss to the Hawks on Nov. 4. That loss left Oklahoma City 1-2; it is 20-2 since then and hasn't lost since Nov. 23 at Boston.

The 12 straight wins matches the longest streak for the franchise since 1996, when it had a 14-game winning streak as the Seattle SuperSonics.

The Hawks took their last lead at 19-17 on a follow shot by Anthony Morrow. The Thunder then went ahead with a 10-1 run that overlapped the end of the first period and the start of the second. Martin opened and closed the run with jumpers.

Oklahoma City stretched the lead to 17 on four straight free throws by Durant following fouls by Morrow late in the half.

"You can't have a second quarter like we did," Horford said. "We had a lapse and they took a big lead. You can't do that against a team like them."

The Thunder led 68-52 midway through the third quarter, but a technical foul against Smith with 3:12 remaining in the period seemed to spark the Hawks.

Smith sank a 3-pointer as part of Atlanta's 8-0 run to close the period. Anthony Tolliver scored the first three points of the fourth quarter on a free throw and jam to cut the Thunder's lead to 73-69.

Westbrook ended Atlanta's 11-0 run with a jam following an offensive rebound by Nick Collison.

Serge Ibaka had 4 points and 14 rebounds for the Thunder.

NOTES: The Thunder assigned F Perry Jones and G DeAndre Liggins to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League. Jones, the first-round pick from Baylor, has appeared in 10 games, averaging 1.2 points and 1.4 rebounds. ... The Hawks were without G Devin Harris, who left Tuesday night's game at Washington after injuring his left foot. He wore a walking boot on Wednesday. ... Morrow returned after missing two games with a sore back. ... Brian McCann, Jason Heyward, Dan Uggla, Kris Medlen and Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves attended the game and sat with former teammate Tommy Hanson, who was recently traded to the Angels.

Notebook: Thunder 100, Hawks 92

Matt Winkeljohn, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Dec 19, 2012 11:16 PM - Updated Wed Dec 19, 2012 11:16 PM

THE FACTS: The rematch wasn't much like the first meeting Wednesday, when Kevin Durant scored 18 of his season-high 41 points in the fourth quarter after Russell Westbrook scored 21 of his 27 in the first half in the Thunder's 100-92 win over the host Hawks.

The Thunder (21-4), who were the Seattle SuperSonics prior to 2008, won their 12th straight to pull within two of the franchise record of 14 set by the Sonics in the 1995-'96 season.

They rode their superstars to avenge Atlanta's 104-95 upset win in Oklahoma City on Nov. 4. Durant (14-for-23 shooting, including 4-for-8 on treys) had 13 rebounds and Westbrook 11 assists.

The Hawks (15-8) were coming off an overtime win in Washington a night earlier. They're now 4-1 in the second game of back-to-backs.

Save a few minutes late in the third quarter and a couple more in the fourth, payback was miserable for the Hawks as they lost their second straight home game to a team from the West. Golden State won 115-93 in Philips Arena on Saturday.

Westbrook led the Thunder to a 55-41 halftime lead, yet he missed all four of his shots in the third quarter when the Hawks closed the period with a 12-2 run.

Anthony Tolliver scored the first three points of the fourth quarter to draw Atlanta within 73-69 before Durant and Westbrook re-entered. Durant finished 6-for-9 from there, including 3-for-5 on 3-pointers, and added three free throws and five rebounds to put the game away.

Atlanta point guard Jeff Teague led Atlanta with 19 points and nine rebounds, but he and his teammates had fits with Westbrook early and Durant late. Josh Smith had a double-double for the home team with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Al Horford and reserve guard Lou Williams scored 13 each for Atlanta.

Serge Ibaka grabbed 14 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which had just Durant and Westbrook score in double figures.

QUOTABLE: "They were giving Russell jump shots in the first half, and he helped us get out to a good lead. Then, things opened up for me in the second half (28 points) and ... I just started taking shots (10-for-16). I took some questionable ones, but my teammates want me to do it. My teammates wanted me to shoot tonight."
-- Durant, whose career high is 51 points.

THE STAT: +8 -- Each team made 36 shots and nine 3-pointers. The difference came at the free throw line, where Oklahoma City went 19-for-20 to Atlanta's 11-for-17.

Durant (9-for-10 from the line) and Westbrook (8-for-8) took 18 of the Thunder's 20 free throws. Small surprise. Together, they outscored all of their teammates 68-32, and took 44 of OKC's 84 shots.

TURNING POINT: The Hawks pulled within 85-80 as late as the 5:16 mark in the fourth when Lou Williams stroked a 3-pointer, and Atlanta had two chances to pull closer. Durant had a turnover after the Williams shot, but Kyle Korver quickly turned it back over.

After Ibaka missed a jumper and Atlanta rebounded, Williams missed a quick jump shot and following a defensive rebound by OKC's Kendrick Perkins, Durant worked his way around a screen and was wide open at the top for a 3-pointer and an 88-80 lead with 4:26 to go.

The Hawks came no closer than seven points after that.

QUOTABLE II: "It seemed like as the game wore on, we wore down. ... They're a very talented team. Durant is as good as there is in the league. Russell Westbrook is one of the top point guards in the league. You really have to be on the money with your coverage on them."
-- Hawks coach Larry Drew

HOT: Westbrook shot 7-for-13 in the first half, and made all six of his free throws while adding four assists, three rebounds and two steals. . . . Ibaka is averaging 14 rebounds per game over the past three.

NOT: Horford had 23 points and 12 rebounds in the Hawks' upset of the Thunder last month, but he shot just 5-for-14 Wednesday with six rebounds. He's 7-for-25 in the past two games (28 percent).

ROOKIE REPORT: The Thunder assigned rookie guard DeAndre Liggins and rookie forward Perry Jones to Tulsa of the D-League. ... Guard John Jenkins played 5:56 for Atlanta Wednesday, ostensibly because of the absence of injured guard Devin Harris (sore left foot). Jenkins did not attempt a shot and had an assist and a turnover.

NOTABLE: Harris missed the game while dealing with a left foot injury suffered a night earlier in the Hawks' overtime win in Washington. His status for Friday's game in Philadelphia is unknown. ... With five offensive rebounds (10 total), Hawks reserve center Zaza Pachulia moved into eighth place in franchise history with 1,178 to Cliff Levingston's 1,177.

UP NEXT: For the Thunder, Thursday @ Timberwolves, Tuesday @ Heat, Thursday vs. Mavs. For the Hawks, Friday @ 76ers, Sunday vs. Bulls, Wednesday vs. Pistons.

• Thunder: Jones, Liggins
• Hawks: Harris

• Thunder: --
• Hawks: Horford, Smith

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
• Officials: #49 Tom Washington, #47 Bennie Adams, #60 James Williams
• Attendance: 16284
• Duration: 2:08