Thunder-Timberwolves Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Dec 20 2012 1:40AM

Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks doesn't expect Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to both have their shots falling every night.

Perhaps those expectations should be different when they're facing the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The league-best Thunder will try to extend their winning streak to 13 on Thursday night in Minneapolis, where they'll also go for a 13th consecutive victory over the Timberwolves.

The NBA's only teammates averaging at least 20 points, Durant (27.7) and Westbrook (21.1) combined for 68 in Wednesday's 100-92 victory at Atlanta. Westbrook scored 21 of his 27 in the opening 24 minutes, while Durant took over in the second half with 28 of his season-best 41.

Their performances helped Oklahoma City (21-4) move within two of matching the team record for consecutive wins set by the Seattle SuperSonics in 1996.

"There's going to be nights where one has the hot hand and there's going to be other nights the other does," Brooks said after the team's fourth consecutive road victory.

They weren't any nights last season when Durant and Westbrook were struggling versus Minnesota.

Durant averaged 38.7 points on 58.3 percent shooting in the three wins, while Westbrook scored 36.0 points per game on 52.7 percent from the field.

On March 23, they became the first tandem in league history to have two games in the same season with 40 points apiece as Westbrook poured in a career-best 45 and Durant added 40 in a 149-140 double-overtime home win.

Oklahoma City will get its first look at Kevin Love since he hit a career high seven 3-pointers and finished with a franchise-best 51 points in that contest. Love missed the last meeting against the Thunder, a 115-110 home loss on April 14, due to a concussion.

"It's going to be tough facing them," Love told the Timberwolves' official website. "... Hopefully we can come out, have a good game against them and just continue to stay healthy."

Facing a Thunder team that's holding opponents to 41.7 percent shooting during its surge might not help Love find his range. He's shooting 29.2 percent (19 for 65) over his last five games after missing eight of 10 in Tuesday's 103-92 loss at Miami.

Love (18) and center Nikola Pekovic (12) continued their strong work on the glass as Minnesota (12-11) outrebounded the Heat by 28, but it wasn't enough to prevent an 0-2 Florida trip.

"I like the way our guys battled," said coach Rick Adelman, whose team had won a season-best four straight prior to these losses. "We just have to respond."

Ricky Rubio should be available for the third time this season after he rested Tuesday when Minnesota completed its back-to-back. The team is easing the Spanish point guard back into the rotation following an ACL injury.

Guard J.J. Barea, the team leader off the bench this month with 11.8 points and 5.0 assists, averaged 21.0 points, 8.7 assists and 5.0 boards against the Thunder last season. He recorded his first career triple-double March 23 with 25 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.

"(The Thunder) just have the best scorers in the league," Barea said. "They just play as a team, too, and they got shot-blockers, they got rebounders, they got the fastest point guard in the league, they got the best scorer I think, the bench is good, so all-around, they are pretty good."

Oklahoma City's last loss to Minnesota was 129-87 on Jan. 7, 2009.

Barea, Wolves snap Thunder's 12-game streak

By JON KRAWCZYNSKI
Posted Dec 21 2012 5:51AM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder have been blowing the doors off the rest of the Western Conference in these first two months, playing with the swagger born of their run to the NBA Finals last season.

J.J. Barea and the Minnesota Timberwolves tried to send a message on Thursday night that a second straight trip isn't going to come easy.

Playing with the tenacity that made him so important to the Mavericks' run to the title two years ago, Barea scored 14 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to help the Timberwolves snap Oklahoma City's 12-game winning streak with a 99-93 victory over the Thunder.

Kevin Love had 28 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists and Nikola Pekovic had 24 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota. But it was Barea who was the key, scoring 12 straight at one point for the Wolves to hold off the team with the best record in the league.

"It's important," coach Rick Adelman said of beating the best in the West. "But I would like to see us get to a point where this is not a big deal. It's a big game against the best team, but this is something we can do."

Kevin Durant had 33 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Russell Westbrook had 30 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Thunder, who had not lost a game since Nov. 23 at Boston.

"It's not the end of the world. A lot of people said the world is going to end today, tomorrow, but it's not the end of the world," Durant quipped. "We lost to a good team (Thursday). They came out and played extremely hard and they beat us. We're 21-5 and we've just got to go back and work."

That it was Barea, and not the Olympian Love or the sensation Ricky Rubio who was chiefly responsible was the biggest surprise of all.

Barea didn't join the Timberwolves until training camp had already started last season, then languished through the first injury plagued year of his career. Finally healthy, he's getting back to the super pest that helped the Dallas Mavericks to the title two years ago.

With the Thunder charging early in the fourth quarter, the smallest guy on the court played the biggest.

After Durant's two free throws cut Minnesota's lead to 80-77, Barea hit two 3s and scored on a putback under the rim amid the tall trees, an 8-0 run by himself that gave the Wolves a little breathing room. His long 3 with 5:26 to play made it 92-81, and the Wolves held on.

"I love it," Barea said. "We just needed a little bit more tonight, a little energy and I'm glad I was able to provide that for us tonight."

Barea was also a nuisance on defense, drawing an offensive foul on Durant with 2:24 to play. The normally super-cool Durant uncharacteristically lost his composure, picking up a technical foul for arguing the call as well.

"Seems like him and Kevin Love don't miss against us," Durant said of Barea, who tormented them in the Western Conference finals in 2011 and had a triple-double in a double-overtime loss to the Thunder last season. "Seems like every team has that guy and I think those are the guys against us. Next time we've just got to do a better job."

Serge Ibaka had 14 points and nine rebounds, but Westbrook missed 19 shots and turned the ball over eight times in an off night.

Alexey Shved had 12 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds for the Wolves, who are trying to claw their way back to respectability after years at the bottom of the Western Conference.

With a nucleus of Love, Rubio and Pekovic, there is optimism here for the first time in a long time.

The Thunder stormed into Target Center riding the longest winning streak since the team moved to Oklahoma City, bullying opponents by an average of 14.2 points per game as they warm up for a run at a second straight finals appearance.

Rubio was playing his third game since being activated from a torn ACL in his left knee that had kept him out since March 9. He had a scintillating debut last Saturday, throwing no-look passes between his legs and looking as if he'd never left. But it's been slower going in the ensuing two games. He was a non-factor in a loss in Orlando on Monday and had trouble getting going again against the Thunder.

His handle wasn't nearly as sticky as usual and he was thwarted every time he tried to penetrate, then could be seen wincing in pain after an awkward landing on a shot in the second quarter. Adelman immediately pulled him, but Rubio returned in the second half.

"We battled, we fought. I'm proud of our guys," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "We had a great streak, a great month going. But we lost to a very good team. We knew sooner or later they were going to get hot. They got hot tonight."

NOTES: Kevin Martin did not play for the Thunder because of a right thigh contusion. ... The Timberwolves waived G/F Josh Howard on Thursday after an MRI revealed a torn ACL in his right knee. ... The Thunder lost for the first time in six tries on the second night of a back to back.

Notebook: Timberwolves 99, Thunder 93

Jim Beilby, For NBA.com
Posted Thu Dec 20, 2012 11:12 PM - Updated Thu Dec 20, 2012 11:12 PM

THE FACTS: For whatever the reason, the Minnesota Timberwolves always seem to give the Oklahoma City Thunder their best game. And, Thursday night, it was enough for a victory as the Wolves (13-11) snapped the Thunder's 12 game winning streak, defeating them 99-93. Kevin Love had a well-rounded game, getting 11 rebounds and seven assists to go with his 28 points. But it was smothering defense from Andrei Kirilenko and a spark from J.J. Barea down the stretch that made the difference for Minnesota.

Kevin Durant scored 33 points and Russell Westbrook scored 30, but it was not without difficulty. Minnesota jumped out to an early 14 point lead in the first quarter and never trailed. Despite his scoring output, Durant was noticeably frustrated by the myriad of defenders Minnesota threw at him.

QUOTABLE: "A very good win against the best team in the West. What I really liked about it is how we played four quarters. ... We knew they were going to make a run at us, but we got some stops and made some shots down the stretch. Just a terrific win for our guys."

-- Minnesota coach Rick Adelman

THE STAT: Minnesota shot 45 percent from beyond the arc, a big improvement from their previous two games where they shot less than 25 percent. Oklahoma City (21-5), on the other hand, only hit 25 percent of their 3s, a significant departure from the 40.9 percent they have averaged this year..

TURNING POINT: After seeing Oklahoma City cut their lead to one with less than 10 minutes in the game, Barea put the Wolves on his back. He scored 14 points in just a little over four minutes and gave Minnesota an 11 point lead with 5:26 to play. Oklahoma City made it interesting, with Westbrook making some big shots down the stretch, but Minnesota made their free throws and secured the win

QUOTABLE II: "I knew that we would fight to the end. That's what we do. The first quarter we didn't come up with a good start and either end of the floor. They were making shots. Kevin Love, we knew, was going to start hitting shots -- he's not a 20 percent 3-point shooter. Everybody got in an offensive rhythm. They had 20 assists in the first half, which is too many. The ball was moving wherever they wanted it to go and we weren't stopping it from moving it where they wanted it. But I'm proud of our guys. We have a great streak and we have a great month going. We lost to a very good team. We knew sooner or later they were going to get hot and they were hot tonight."

-- Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks

GOOD MOVE: Minnesota found something in Oklahoma City's defense in the second quarter. They ran pick and roll to the right side of the floor, hitting Nikola Pekovic on the roll. The result was nine straight points by Minnesota

BAD MOVE: Kendrick Perkins tried to guard Pekovic on the pick and roll, to no avail.

ROOKIE WATCH: Minnesota guard Alexey Shved had another strong all-around game. He triggered Minnesota's fast start with six assists in the first quarter and he finished with a season-high12 assists to go with his 12 points and seven rebounds.

NOTABLE: Minnesota is in the middle of three games all against division leaders: Miami on Tuesday, Oklahoma City tonight and New York on Sunday. ... After drawing LeBron James on Tuesday and Durant tonight, Kirilenko gets to guard Carmelo Anthony on Sunday. ... Minnesota waived forward Josh Howard after finding out that his ACL was torn on December 14th in New Orleans. ... Ricky Rubio played to his current 18-minute limit for the Wolves, tallying three assists.

UP NEXT: For the Wolves, Sunday @ New York, Wednesday vs. Houston, Saturday vs. Phoenix. For the Thunder, Tuesday @ Miami, Thursday vs. Dallas, Saturday @ Houston.

• Thunder: Jones, Liggins
• Timberwolves: Budinger, Roy

• Thunder: Durant
• Timberwolves: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
• Officials: #17 Joe Crawford, #26 Pat Fraher, #58 Josh Tiven
• Attendance: 17114
• Duration: 2:27