Thunder-Cavaliers Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Feb 02 2013 12:14AM

While the Oklahoma City Thunder picked up a big win their last time out, all anyone wanted to talk about was Russell Westbrook's outburst.

The team, however, doesn't appear too concerned about its star point guard's flare-up.

Westbrook will look to do a better job of controlling his emotions when he and the Thunder head back out on the road Saturday night to face the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Westbrook, the only player in the NBA averaging at least 20.0 points and 8.0 assists, got a bit out of control in the third quarter of Thursday's 106-89 win over Memphis. The three-time All-Star snapped at teammates and stormed off the court following a turnover with his team up by 25.

"Russell's an emotional guy. He plays hard," said coach Scott Brooks, who benched Westbrook for the final eight minutes of the quarter. "He plays every night. He plays for his team every night. We can pick apart his game, like a lot of us have in the past. But Russell plays hard every night.

"I have no problem that guys compete every night the way he competes. If that's becoming a problem, then we're all in this for the wrong reason."

Kevin Durant, who scored 27 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists, also downplayed the situation.

"It was a disagreement," he said. "This is the game of basketball. You have so many different emotions on one team. You're going to have disagreements. It wasn't the first. It's not going to be the last.

"You've just got to know how to respond to each other. I think we always do a great job of that."

The Northwest Division-leading Thunder (35-11) certainly don't appear to have any problems with chemistry as they average a league-high 105.7 points and own the NBA's second-best record.

Oklahoma City's 15-8 road mark is the league's best. After dropping three of the final five on their recent six-game trip, the Thunder should have a good chance to get back on track in Cleveland.

They beat the Cavaliers 106-91 at home Nov. 11 behind 27 points, 10 assists and four steals from Westbrook, who also committed a season high-tying eight turnovers. The Thunder also cruised to a 95-75 win in their most recent visit to Cleveland on March 13, 2011.

The Cavaliers (13-34) have followed up a season-best three-game winning streak with back-to-back losses, falling 108-95 to Golden State on Tuesday and 117-99 at Detroit on Friday. Tristan Thompson, averaging 18.0 points over his last five games, had 19 and nine rebounds against the Pistons, but Cleveland was still outscored 62-42 in the paint.

"We came out soft, and we played that way for the whole game," said Kyrie Irving, who averaged 35.7 points during the win streak before scoring 14 in each of the last two. "I let things that happened in the game bother me, and I got disinterested and let the game get away from me. I can promise that won't ever happen again."

The Cavaliers, who rank last in the league in allowing opponents to shoot 47.4 percent, let the Warriors and Pistons hit a combined 53.9 percent.

"Maybe we need to go back to 2 1/2 or three-hour practices and run up and down the floor," coach Byron Scott said. "I asked our guys if they were content being 13-34, because if they are, let me know and we can make some changes."

Irving's 35 pace Cavaliers over Thunder

By TOM WITHERS
Posted Feb 02 2013 11:08PM

CLEVELAND (AP) Kyrie Irving wasn't just interested. He was incredible.

With one shot better than his last, Irving scored 35 points, including 13 in the final 2:52, as the Cleveland Cavaliers stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder 115-110 on Saturday.

One night after saying he was "disinterested" during a loss in Detroit, Irving was simply spectacular down the stretch. He single-handedly closed out one of the NBA's best teams, making his last five shots and showing why he's an All-Star at age 20. Irving's biggest bucket was a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left to make it 113-108.

"He's a killer," said newly acquired Cavs forward Marreese Speights, who added 21 points. "I knew a little about him, I didn't know THAT."

Kevin Durant scored 32 points and Russell Westbrook had 28 for the Thunder, who came in 35-11 and with the league's best road record. Durant left briefly in the third quarter with an injured rib, but returned and scored 13 in the fourth.

However, it wasn't enough to offset Irving, who sent the Thunder home with a loss.

"He's one of the best in the business," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "Give him a lot of credit."

Tristan Thompson added 12 rebounds and C.J. Miles scored 16 for the Cavs, who had played poorly in consecutive losses this week to Golden State and Detroit.

Irving was so frustrated with the Cavs' lackluster effort on Friday night against the Pistons that afterward he admitted to not being as involved as he should have been. Before facing the Thunder, he promised it would never happen again and the reigning rookie of the year more than kept his word.

"I figured he'd be a lot more focused - and he was," Cavs coach Byron Scott said. "He's a closer. That's exactly what he did."

With the Cavs trailing 101-100, Irving, who sat out the first 6:12 of the fourth, drew a foul and hit two free throws. On Cleveland's next possession, he drove and dropped a layup to make it 104-101. Durant's two free throws brought the Thunder within one, but Irving, dribbling between his legs and around Oklahoma City's defenders, hit a floater from the baseline.

Westbrook scored seconds later, and after Thompson scored for Cleveland, Durant coolly buried a 3-pointer to tie it at 108 with 1:26 remaining.

Then, with a sold-out Quicken Loans quaking the way it once did when LeBron James starred here, Irving dribbled through the lane, bought some room with a ridiculous hesitation move and hit another layup. Durant missed a 3-pointer with 59 seconds left, giving Irving a chance to ice it.

And that he did, burying a long 3 from the top of the key over Westbrook before clenching both fists in celebration.

"I never know what shot I'm going to take," said Irving, who was just 1 of 7 to start the game. "I saw him back on his heels a little bit."

Durant got the Thunder to 113-110 but Irving did it again, this time knocking down a 12-foot bank shot to cap a performance none of the 20,562 fans on hand will soon forget - and one Irving hopes to draw upon in the future.

"It's my responsibility as a leader of this team to do this every single night," he said. "It has to come from within."

The Thunder surrendered in the final seconds, and after the horn sounded, Westbrook wrapped his arms around Irving, who had gotten the best of him.

"He came through in the fourth quarter," Durant said. "He hit some big shots. He hit a tough 3. He was getting to the rim. He's a quick guy."

Durant appeared to injure his lower back in the third while hustling back on defense. He stayed in the game for two minutes before he was escorted to the locker room, grabbing his right side. When he left, the Thunder led by five but by the time he returned to the bench with 9:55 remaining, the Cavaliers had tied it at 81.

Following the game, Durant said he was fine.

Speights, recently acquired in a trade with Memphis, gave the Cavs a huge spark in the fourth, scoring 10 of Cleveland's 13 points in one stretch. The 6-foot-10 big man has only practiced twice with his new teammates.

"I love what I see," Scott said of Speights, who is helping ease the season-ending loss of Anderson Varejao. "He's a great kid around these guys, and he's very vocal, which is what we need."

Westbrook was better behaved than on Thursday night, when he snapped at his teammates and stormed off to the locker room in the third quarter of a blowout win over the Grizzlies. The Thunder chalked it up to Westbrook being Westbrook, but Brooks said he didn't worry about the outburst having any carryover effect.

Westbrook left before speaking with reporters.

Durant finished just 8 of 21 from the floor. He had several shots rim out in the first half, when he went just 3 of 10. His three-point play with three seconds left gave the Thunder a 57-52 lead at the break.

NOTES: Scott said the only player he has seen score as effortlessly as Durant was George "The Iceman" Gervin. "He got 37 and I didn't see a drop of sweat," Scott said, "and most of it was on me. And to add insult to injury he said, `Don't worry about it, young fella. You'll be all right."' ... Thunder rookie swingman Jeremy Lamb was inactive because of a back issue. He did not make the trip. ... The Thunder fell to 22-6 when Durant and Westbrook each score at least 20. ... Oklahoma City finished a stretch of playing 12 of 15 games on the road.

Notebook: Cavaliers 115, Thunder 110

Brian Dulik, For NBA.com
Posted Sun Feb 03, 2013 12:52 AM - Updated Sun Feb 03, 2013 12:52 AM

THE FACTS: All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving scored 13 of his game-high 35 points in the final three minutes, powering the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 115-110 upset of the Oklahoma City Thunder Saturday night. Center Marreese Speights added 21 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for Cleveland (14-34), which trailed by 11 points midway through the third quarter. Small forward Kevin Durant paced Oklahoma City (35-12) with 32 points, while point guard Russell Westbrook had 28 points and five assists. The Thunder made their first appearance at Quicken Loans Arena since March 13, 2011.

QUOTABLE: "We beat the best team in the league tonight. I hope the guys will go home and say, 'Hey, you know what? We've got to play this way every night.' It's amazing what happens when you play the game with energy."

-- Cavaliers coach Byron Scott

THE STAT: Irving and Speights each rung up 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers outscored the high-powered Thunder 39-32. The aforementioned duo shot 11-for-15 from the field, answering every big hoop by Durant and Westbrook with one of their own. "Kyrie is a killer," Speights said, smiling. "I knew a little about him before I came here, but I didn't know that." Irving -- the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year -- scored 23 points in 18 second-half minutes, going 3-for-3 on 3-pointers while burying nine of his 13 field goal attempts.

TURNING POINT: After Durant made a 3-pointer to tie the game at 108-108 with 1:26 remaining, Irving answered with five straight points for the Cavaliers. He scored on a layup, then drained a 26-footer to give Cleveland a 113-108 lead. "Kyrie is a closer," Scott said. "That's exactly what he did tonight." Durant cut Oklahoma City's deficit to 113-110 on a drive with 39 seconds left, but Irving again responded, calmly running down the shot clock before banking home a runner that sent the sellout crowd into delirium with 18 ticks on the clock.

QUOTABLE II: "When we were up 11 [points], we have to put them away. We can't just come in and play nonchalant basketball. They were home, too, so we knew if they made a few shots, they were going to get some momentum."

-- Thunder small forward Kevin Durant

HOT: Speights is averaging 15.4 points and 6.8 rebounds in five games since joining the Cavaliers in a trade with Memphis on Jan. 22. The fifth-year pro also has a 53.4 field goal percentage and is shooting 87.5 from the line. "I love what I see from Marreese," Scott said. ... Cleveland power forward Tristan Thompson notched his 18th double-double of the season with 11 points and a game-high tying 12 boards. ... Cavaliers shooting guard C.J. Miles buried four 3-pointers and scored 16 points in 15 minutes. ... Cleveland has won four of its last five home games. ... Thunder power forward Serge Ibaka collected 18 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots.

NOT: Durant was an uncharacteristic 8-for-21 from the field and 13-for-17 from the foul line. The three-time NBA scoring champion also briefly exited with a rib injury in the third quarter. "I was good," Durant said. "I came back in and played. That's all that matters." ... Thunder shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha failed to score or earn an assist in 24 minutes. ... Cavaliers small forward Alonzo Gee is 3-for-16 shooting over the last three games. Both of his baskets against Oklahoma City never passed through the net, both coming on defensive goaltending calls. ... Irving wedged the basketball between the rim and backboard on a field goal attempt.

QUOTABLE III: "I could have rejected the trade, but I didn't because I knew this was a great city with great fans, and I always wanted to be here. The crowd was great tonight. I don't know if we'd have won without them."

-- Cavaliers center Marreese Speights

GOOD MOVE: Irving refused to back down from his comments on Friday night, when he admitted being "disinterested" and "[ticked] off" on the court during Cleveland's 117-99 loss at Detroit. "I said there were different points in the game where I became frustrated and disinterested," the second-year pro said. "There are no excuses for last night. It's part of the game."

BAD MOVE: Irving subsequently excused his lack of effort -- and sounded eerily like former Cavaliers superstar LeBron James in doing so -- against the Pistons. "For the first game in my career, I said I was disinterested," Irving said. "I'm pretty good. I'm allowed to have one game like that. Most of the season, I've been OK. I think my stats and my team speak for it."

NOTABLE: Thunder coach Scott Brooks was a backup point guard on the Cavaliers' 1997-1998 playoff team. "Nobody remembers me around here," Brooks quipped. ... Oklahoma City shooting guard Jeremy Lamb (lower back strain) did not travel to Cleveland, allowing center Daniel Orton to be placed on the 12-man active roster. ... The Thunder completed a stretch of 12 road games in its last 15 contests. ... Cleveland was without shooting guard Daniel Gibson (right big toe sprain), power forward Luke Walton (personal matters), and center Anderson Varejao (season-ending right knee surgery). Gibson was injured in Toronto on Jan. 26, but said he hopes to play Wednesday against Charlotte. "I think I'm running out of suits to wear on the bench," he quipped.

UP NEXT: For the Thunder, Monday vs. Dallas, Wednesday vs. Golden State, Friday vs. Phoenix. For the Cavaliers, Wednesday vs. Charlotte, Friday vs. Orlando, Feb. 9 vs. Denver.

• Thunder: Lamb
• Cavaliers: Selby, Varejao

• Thunder: Liggins
• Cavaliers: --

• Lead Changes: 19
• Times Tied: 15

• Arena: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
• Officials: #36 David Jones, #45 Brian Forte, #70 Brent Barnaky
• Attendance: 20562
• Duration: 2:10