AP Photo/Steve Yeater

BOX SCORE

And the award for weirdest game of the season goes to… this one.

First things first – after getting a nasty cut over his right eye that required five stitches, Russell Westbrook absolutely owned the fourth quarter. He scored 13 of his 21 in crunch time and basically shouldered his team, leading Oklahoma City to a 108-102 win over Sacramento. But on to the strange stuff.

In the first half, the Thunder picked up three technical fouls. I’m guesstimating here, but I only remember two or three techs on the entire team so far this season. But Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant all were hit with the bad whistle. Sacramento really tried to dirty this game up with a little shoving, a little flopping, a few wild elbows and a few tough screens. And the Thunder didn’t appreciate it and I don’t think they appreciated the officiating crew not stepping in and cleaning up things a bit.

I don’t necessarily have a huge problem with the three tees, because while I don’t advocate for yelling at officials and I’m a fan of shutting up and playing ball, I am also aa fan of equality. How Andres Nocioni can stand and yell at Tommy Nunez for literally eight seconds and not get teed is beyond me. Then Durant mutters something to himself and bam, he gets nailed. It didn’t make sense to me. And I don’t think it made sense to the Thunder, which resulted in the visible frustration.

The Kings played it a little chippy all night, with Nocioni finally getting nailed for a flagrant late in the third. But I actually thought this was a positive for the young Thunder. They really haven’t been presented with many games where they needed to keep their composure. It was a good test and potentially a good preview for a big playoff series. Guys are going to get under your skin. There will be hard fouls. There will be elbows thrown. And through it all, you’ve got to keep your head.

Back to Westbrook: Moxie. Machismo. Guts. Stones. Whatever you want to call it, Russ has got some. It’s becoming more and more obvious that Westbrook is becoming an excellent clutch player that you absolutely want the ball in his hands late. He made three huge baskets inside of two minutes, pulled down one of his patented offensive rebounds and even grabbed a big defensive board. His final line: 21 points, four assists, eight rebounds and five stitches in 32 minutes.

Notes:

• Tyreke Evans did pick up a technical foul late in the game after thinking he should have gotten an and-1. I don’t think he gets that tee if Durant doesn’t get his. I saw it as a makeup call, which I was happy about.

• Eric Maynor did a solid job of filling in for Westbrook for most of the third quarter. Four assists to one turnover, including a brilliant pass to Durant on a break for a dunk. He didn’t do anything overly flashy, but he was smart with the ball and got the rock to the people that could score. He really did exactly what you’d hope your backup point guard would do.

• James Harden had a big offensive first half. He had 14 points on 5-8 shooting, but that’s what he finished with. Harden didn’t score in the second and was 0-2. A lot of that was because Scott Brooks went a little more defensive minded, using Thabo on Evans and even going with a “big” lineup of Westbrook-Durant-Green-Collison-Krstic to close it out.

• Let it be noted though, that Harden did rock the headband tonight and of course, had a nice offensive night.

• With all the chippiness, I was a little shocked Serge didn’t get in a fight tonight.Though he did raise his elbows after Carl Landry and Jason Thompson wouldn’t get out of his face. Then he lost his head when Scott Brooks got on to him about it. He’s young though and he really hasn’t been in these situations.

• One thing on Ibaka, who played an excellent game (11 points, 5-6, five rebounds): He has great touch on his jumper. Perfect high release, perfect follow-through. It’s kind of surprising for a guy that’s as raw as him to have that kind of skill. It just tells you how high his ceiling is. He could easily be a pick-and-pop guy that consistently knocks down 15 footers.

• Hey! Thabo scored! Ten points in fact.

• Jeff Green just could not handle Carl Landry. He bit on every head fake, was beaten baseline a few times and just got muscled in the post. Though before you rip on Green, Carl Landry does this to a lot of people. He’s a really good low block scorer and uses his body extremely well.

• Arco Arena played Thunderstruck with 8:30 left in the fourth.  I was all prepared to bust out an awesome stat how OKC outscored the Kings this to that to close the game, but after the song was played, the teams equaled each other 16-16. But you think the sound guy would have been told to maybe take that one off the playlist for this game.

• A perfect play that showcased KD’s basketball IQ: About five minutes left in the third, Ime Udoka checks in the game. Udoka really hasn’t guarded KD much. And on their first man-to-man matchup of the game, Durant busts out the rip move on him.

• Big stat: OKC won the boards 45-33.

• Nenad Krstic had 10 of those. He played a pretty nice game.

• That’s 38-24. That’s pretty fun to look at.

• Grant Long on Tyreke Evans: “I’m just a traditional guy. I like my point guard to be a pass first guy.” And yet, Russell Westbrook is the point guard he calls games for. Does not compute.

• I thought about doing this recap in an extremely lame and cliche way of, “Best Director… Best Performance” and so on. You’re welcome I didn’t.

• But seriously though, was this not a weird game? A ton of bad calls (both ways), near fisticuffs, technicals, flagrants and blood. Just wild stuff. But if you’re a Thunder fan, this ended the right way. I say it should get Best Original Screenplay. /couldn’t help myself

Like I said, I think this a great learning experience for this team. Of course you’re thrilled to get the win because that’s what is most important, but losing your head can often cost you a game. First, it gave up three points, which could’ve come back to bite them. Second, what if you lose your cool again and pick up a second? Does OKC win this game without Russell Westbrook? Without Durant? Without Green? What if Ibaka swings an elbow and picks up a flagrant, gives Sacto two points and then gets suspended? It’s things like this that Scott Brooks will have an opportunity to point out on the game film and teach on.

Next up: Big game Wednesday night at home against the Hornets.

Okla. City Thunder (37-24, 18-13 road) at Sacramento Kings (21-41, 15-14 home)

TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, DirectTV 679, UVerse 753)
Stream: Click here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 8:00 CST

Offensive Rating: Thunder – 106.5 (18th), Kings – 105.8 (20th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 103.0 (5th), Kings – 110.4 (27th)
Pace: Thunder – 92.9 (14th), Kings – 94.3 (6th)

View from the enemy: Cowbell Kingdom

This game is dangerous. Absolutely, in every way possible, a trap game. The Kings played Oklahoma City tough five days ago at the Ford Center and they did it by scoring almost at will. And at Arco Arena, they are a scary team. They’re 15-14 at home and have beat a good number of solid teams there, including the Thunder once earlier this year.

Sacramento coming in: Since the two teams last played, the Kings made a trip through Texas winning at Houston and losing at Dallas Friday. Like I said, 15-14 at home, but 3-7 in their last 10.

THE MATCHUPS
Not too much to say since these two squads played just a few nights ago, but if we learned anything it’s that Sacramento can score if you play mediocre defense. Tyreke Evans tore apart James Harden, which is why I expect to see a good amount of minutes for Thabo. Francisco Garcia hit a handful of 3s, so I would think the closeouts might be a little better. Carl Landry has historically been tough on the Thunder, so that matchup is key. Sean May had a season-high game Tuesday against OKC, Beno Udrih has been playing really well and Andres Nociani is back.

But while the Kings have some scorers, they are a light defensive squad. Russell Westbrook completely abused Udrih, Sacto doesn’t have anyone to guard Kevin Durant and other than Landry, the Kings are a little light inside, with Jason Thompson still out. Overall, the matchups favor OKC.

Again, a dangerous game that shouldn’t be taken for granted in any way. But it’s a very winnable game and one the Thunder needs to take care of to keep pace in the West. You drop a game like this and you’ll be regretting it in a month.

Tip at 8:00 CST. Go Hurt Locker (I think that deserves Best Picture, alright?)

BOX SCORE

This game secretly worried me. A big tilt against Denver was on the horizon, the Kings aren’t a marquee opponent and the Thunder had cruised fairly easily in their last two. There was a lot of reason to come out unfocused, uninspired and unready.

And they were guilty of all three. On one end, at least.

The Thunder didn’t bring the calling-card defensive intensity they’ve become known for tonight, allowing the Kings to 107 points on 54 percent shooting. But the offense was clicking once again, keyed by Russell Westbrook’s 30 points and 13 assists and Kevin Durant’s 39 points, as Oklahoma City squeaked one out, 113-107.

There are multiple things to be flustered about from this one if you’re a Thunder fan. The aforementioned defense. The absolute stinker the Thunder bench turned in (15 points, 10 rebounds total). The lapse in focus at times. But the good news is, it’s a win. And when you’re battling for a playoff spot and now playoff seeding, just winning is kind of sort of good enough. OKC didn’t play its best game – far, far from it – but the Thunder had more points than the other guy when the clock read zero and that’s what matters.

I realize a lot of this has to do with the opponent, but it really feels like Oklahoma City is hitting an offensive stride – 113, 119 and 109 in the last three games, all three with the Thunder shooting over 50 percent from the floor. The ball is moving, Russell Westbrook is playing absolutely stellar basketball and guys like Nenad Krstic are stepping up in a big way (14 points, nine rebounds).

When Krstic plays well, OKC has a pretty dynamic offense. There’s a real inside-out quality to the sets and Westbrook has a bailout option if his first look is shut down. Again, a lot of this has to do with OKC playing Minnesota, Toronto and Sacramento the last three. I realize this. But it feels like OKC is playing with a confidence and a swagger, and really hitting a stride. Sometimes putting in games like this boosts the confidence and makes a difference down the line. We know the Thunder can defend. But they’re really cranking it up offensively lately.

Notes:

• Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Thabo Sefolosha combined for 69 of OKC’s 113 total points tonight. Durant and Westbrook had 69 of those.

• The Thunder may not have played good defense tonight, but they took care of the ball, especially late. OKC didn’t turn it over in the fourth and good thing too. And extra possession or two for the Kings could have made this a bad, bad loss.

• Same could be said for the free throw shooting too. OKC went 28-32 from the stripe, but if they had struggled, you might be reading an angry recap.

• OKC had three alley oops tonight. That’s got to be a season-high. Russell Westbrook threw up an oop to Serge Ibaka late in the first quarter. It was very Chris Paul-ish to Tyson Chandler-ish. We haven’t seen many lobs this year from the Thunder, but I have a feeling we’ll see more of this connection in the very near future.

• James Harden is an improved defender, but there was an obvious difference between Thabo on Tyreke Evans and Harden on Evans. Evans finished with 27 on 7-17 shooting (13-17 from the line) and a lot of that was with Harden on him. Jimbo Slice isn’t a bad defender, but he wasn’t ready for the brute straightforward style of Evans.

• As a whole, OKC’s reserves got torched, giving up a 19-4 run in the first half. The four Thunder bench players were a -13, -10, -6 and -15. The Thunder starters were all in the double-digit positives.

• How many other point guards would you trade Russell Westbrook for in this league right now? One? None? He’s playing awesome right now and I don’t think he’s anywhere near his ceiling. I think this is just a small leap in his progression. 30-13-5 is a monstrous game and once again, he controlled every aspect of it.

• Another thing about Westbrook: He’s absolutely one of the most entertaining players in the league. I don’t know if there’s a guy I’d rather watch fly in the open court. He’s making no-look passes, plays above the rim and is always a threat to do SOMETHING on the offensive end. He’s just a treat to watch.

• Kevin Durant with 39 on 13-26 shooting and 10 rebounds. He’s a good basketballer.

• How about that runner Westbrook hit right before halftime? Brian Davis was calling for a foul (there was none), but the degree of difficult was definitely high on it.

• Speaking of, Davis and Grant Long spent a good minute talking about books they are currently reading. It was not the highlight of the broadcast for me.

• Nick Collison made some big plays off the bench (seven rebounds), but he’s really the only guy that saw extended minutes. Ibaka only played seven. Maynor five. Harden was in foul trouble and only played 16.

• Harden Headband Watch: Did not wear one tonight.

• You know that Cox commercial I said I hated last week? They played it TWICE IN A ROW tonight. I hate you FS Oklahoma. You did that just to spite me. I know it.

• How many times has Russell Westbrook come up with a HUGE offensive rebound inside a minute this year? Four times? Five? It’s kind of becoming a signature play.

• Thunder move to 21-2 against teams currently .500 or worse. Only the Lakers (20-1) are better.

Anything less than 3-0 on this homestand would have been disappointing. And Oklahoma City did exactly what needed to be done. Two blowouts and one closer-than-it-should-have-been. It sets up a pretty big game in Denver tomorrow night against a surging Nuggets squad. The Thunder haven’t played well in the Pepsi Center and the fact its a second of a back-to-back is disconcerting, but I think they’ll be ready. Maybe that’s why they took so many possessions off tonight. Like the Jonas Brothers, maybe they were just saving themselves.

Next up: At Denver Wednesday night.

Sacramento Kings (20-39, 5-25 road) vs. Ok. City Thunder (35-23, 18-11 home)

TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, DirectTV 679, UVerse 753)
Stream: Click here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 7:00 CST

Offensive Rating: Thunder – 106.4 (16th), Kings – 105.6 (20th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 102.7 (3rd), Kings – 110.3 (27th)
Pace: Thunder – 92.8 (14th), Kings – 94.6 (6th)

View from the enemy: Cowbell Kingdom

We don’t pile into the Ford Center so much anymore to catch a glimpse of a star, but more to see our Thunder in action. And I definitely prefer it that way. But there are certainly some can’t miss guys still. LeBron. Kobe. Wade. Dwight Howard.  And while Tyreke Evans isn’t a superstar (yet) in the mold of LeBron or Kobe, he is absolutely a player you need to admire live. His speed, his size, his ability – everything about his game is fairly breathtaking in person. Seeing Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green is plenty to get me to pay the price of admission, but Tyreke Evans is certainly added incentive.

Enough about Reke though. This is the tail end of Oklahoma City’s three-game homestand. Anything less than 3-0 was to be considered disappointment, and the Thunder took care of business, and I mean took care of business, in the first two games. And in comes an improved, but still very beatable Sacramento squad.

Sacramento coming in: This isn’t the same team the Thunder saw twice before this season. No more Kevin Martin. Enter Carl Landry, a player that has given OKC problems. The Kings have won two straight after dropping their last 18 of 23. Both of those wins came at home where Sacto has won 75 percent of its games. The Kings are just 5-25 away from home.

THE MATCHUPS
In the first two matchups, the Russell Westbrook-Tyreke Evans head-to-head has been split. Westbrook got the best of Evans in the first, going for 14 points and 13 assists to Evans 10 points and two assists. The next meeting the Kings won by three and Westbrook had just nine points on 3-13 shooting while Evans had 20 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. So if there’s a matchup to watch tonight, it’s this one. It should be a bunch of fun.

However, I would bet Thabo sees a good amount of time on Evans and Westbrook to roll over and cover Francisco Garcia (who comes off the bench). Last game out, Beno Udrih played 37 minutes for Sacto, meaning that Evans moved over to the two, so there will be a lot of mishing and mashing on the matchups tonight.

The Kings really don’t have anyone to cover Kevin Durant though. Omri Casspi will likely start the game on KD, with ultra-athletic Donte Greene seeing a little time as well as Garcia. But this could be a big night for Durant.

The addition of Carl Landry inside certainly helps the Kings, but OKC still should hold an advantage, especially with Jason Thompson still out with a back injury. Spencer Hawes played well for Sacramento last time out, but the Kings bench consists of Sean May and Joey Dorsey on the front line, which isn’t very good. Nenad Krstic is a little banged up but will play, so add him, Nick Collison, Jeff Green and Serge Ibaka and the Thunder should have a big leg up inside.

The only thing that could stop the Thunder tonight besides a monstrous performance from Evans is to lose focus and look ahead to the big showdown with the Nuggets tomorrow night. And that’s definitely a real possibility. But if all goes to plan, the Thunder should be riding another three-game streak when they take the floor at the Pepsi Center tomorrow night.

Tip at 7:00 CST. Go Focus.

(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

See, this is exactly what I was afraid of.

For some reason, something didn’t feel right heading into this game. Maybe it was because the Thunder was coming off a cakewalk against Orlando. Maybe it’s because it was on the road. Or maybe it was because the Kings have been playing better. Whatever it was, it just didn’t feel like a lock. Really, at this point, nothing does for this team.

Regardless of playing a pretty poo poo game, Oklahoma City had a shot to tie it in the end, with a Kevin Durant 3 falling short as the Thunder (3-4) lost 101-98 to Sacramento (4-4). It looks like a bad loss and in some ways it is. The Thunder was outrebounded by 15. At one point missed nine straight shots and went seven-plus minutes without a bucket. Shot under 40 percent. Missed a couple key free throws. And Tyreke Evans banked in a lucky jumper that basically broke OKC’s back. One of those nights.

Sure, they’re better. That much is clear. But we can’t forget this is a group with an average age of 24 and these nights are going to happen. If you expected a team that was going to be focused 82 nights and never lose to teams it shouldn’t, well, then you were expecting too much. The Thunder are a good team. They really are. But they aren’t ready to hit it every single night and win everything they should. Just aren’t.

Something just felt flat about this game. It could be that about 19 people showed up to see it in person. But I think in a backwards way, poor road turnouts hurt the Thunder’s energy. Hear me out. At home, OKC is used to playing in front of at least a semi-full house and pretty raucous fans. In situations like Tuesday night, the lower bowl was sparse and you could hear the players talking on the broadcast. And maybe that affects OKC’s energy. It shouldn’t, but the team looked flat, especially defensively in the first half.

One reason it may have been flat is because there was literally a whistle every time down the floor. Not that the officiating was bad, but there were 55 fouls called and 71 free throws shot. There was just absolutely no flow to this game. You weren’t going to see more than 30 seconds of continuous basketball in the second half. You just weren’t. I actually went back and counted – the Kings were fouled on 11 straight possessions in the fourth quarter. Seriously.

Not to be lost in this one was Durant’s solid game. He had a season-high 37 on 9-23 shooting, but hit 18-18 from the free throw line. He went 1-6 from 3 and it wasn’t a great shooting night for KD, but he did what great players do – when things aren’t falling for you, take it to the line and he took advantage of that in every way possible. He carried his team when it needed him and tried to get it done on his own. I thought he played a good, tough game.

Quick thoughts:

• I think my plea has been heard. I have called for black/dark shoes on the road with the blue unis. And so far, in three roadies, OKC has sported dark kicks in every one. I think they look fantastic. What, nobody cares about this?

• Jason Thompson abused OKC tonight. After being in foul trouble in the first meeting, the Sacto big man had 21 and 14 tonight. Oklahoma City didn’t have a single guy with double-digit rebounds. Nenad Krstic led OKC with eight.

• Another night where the Thunder couldn’t put it all together. Russell Westbrook was 3-13 and missed a bunch of open looks. Krstic was cold early but finished with 12 on 5-10 shooting. Thabo went 1-7 from the floor and 0-3 from deep. James Harden went 3-5 from 3, but those were his only makes as he was 3-7 overall.

• With that said, I thought Westbrook played pretty solid. He had six assists to only one turnover and if some open looks go down, he’s looking at another 10 assist game and a Thunder win. It’s easy to “What if” but it’s not Russ’s fault when guys miss the open shot that he set them up for. Sometimes he misses shots and you’ve just got to deal with it. I know it can make you want to punch a wall, but it’s just the good and bad that comes with Russell Westbrook.

• Jeff Green had a decent game – 19 points, five rebounds – but again, just didn’t get it done on the glass. In a game like this, Green should have had at least 10 boards.

• James Harden saw some crucial minutes in the fourth. He played OK tonight, but didn’t really take advantage of his key time late. He missed an open 3, but hey, HE HIT A HALFCOURTER!

• Serge Ibaka saw a little burn with two minutes left in the first half. He registered one rebound and got tagged with a three-second violation. I like that Brooks hasn’t given up on him and is giving him a chance to come along.

• Durant did his best to take over in the second half. He wanted the ball and for the most part, got it done. The Kings absolutely bracketed him in the fourth and KD’s teammates just didn’t get the job done in his steed.

I know the perception is that this is a bad Kings team without its best player, but these guys have now won three in a row and are .500. It’s not like they are the suck. Sure it’s a bad loss and a game I think we all expected to win, but life goes on. Everything is not lost just because OKC dropped a game on the road against Sacto. I’d expect the Thunder to come out with solid energy and effort tomorrow night in L.A. Granted, it’s the first back-to-back of the season, so you never know, but I’m sure OKC has a little bit of a bad taste after this one.

Next up is the Clippers Wednesday night at the Staples Center.

Sacramento Kings (3-4, 2-1 home) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (3-3, 1-1 road)

TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, Tulsa Cox 27, HD 722; DirectTV 679, AT&T U-Verse 753)
Stream: Click Here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 9:00 CST

View from the enemy: Cowbell Kingdom

Offensive Rating: Thunder – 102.0 (23rd), Kings – 110.0 (7th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 97.2 (4th), Kings – 112.4 (27th)
Pace: Thunder – 90.1 (27th), Kings – 93.6 (12th)

After starting 0-3 and one of those losses at the hands of the Thunder, the Kings are trying to win a third straight tonight. Granted, the last win was against the lowly Warriors, but winning in Salt Lake City is nothing to dismiss. The Kings are improving and are already a better team than what Oklahoma City saw opening night.

And now there’s no Kevin Martin, the only reason Sacramento was even remotely close in the first meeting. And you know what? That scares me.

Because Sacto has been playing better WITHOUT Martin. And it’s not some “Oh, is the Thunder better without Durant?” bullcrap. It’s that the team is relying more on everyone, instead of hoping Martin scores 40. Tyreke Evans is blossoming. Omri Casspi is becoming a deadly bench player. And the addition of Ime Udoka helps them on the perimeter. These guys are better and this one is on the road. On paper, it looks promising. But the Kings aren’t some pushover.

Now Sacramento isn’t a good team or anything – yet – but they’ve got pieces to make you sweat. Especially for a team like the Thunder that while good, isn’t at the place where you can pencil in wins against even lackluster opponents.

THE MATCHUPS
Not too much has changed since the first meeting. Oh wait. Check that. In just two weeks, A LOT has changed. As mentioned, Martin is out. But also, starting small forward Desmond Mason is gone and now Ime Udoka is in his place. Plus the fact Evans is playing so well.

But clearly, the matchups still favor OKC, I have to think. Westbrook is an ideal defender for Evans because Westbrook pressures constantly. Russ isn’t going to ease of and let Evans drive. Plus, Westbrook’s quick hands and good instincts will probably frustrate the rookie and offensively, Russ might get Evans in foul trouble. But Evans will play both the point and shooting guard tonight, so Thabo will have a crack at him too. And Beno Udrih versus Westbrook isn’t all that terrifying.

On the block, Jeff Green abused Jason Thompson and Nenad Krstic had his way with Spencer Hawes and Sean May. I’d imagine things won’t change too much. Thompson got in foul trouble early the first meeting and never had a chance to try and match Green. But that’s the thing – Uncle Jeff can get opposing fours in foul trouble easily because of his inside-out ability and also because he can put it on the floor.

Udoka will probably get the majority of the minutes on KD, even though Andres Nocioni is technically the starter. Donte Greene will get some minutes too and he may be the most athletic player on the King roster, Evans included.

This one feels a bit like a toss up to me. Riding high off a beat down of the Magic, you’d hope OKC would bring in some serious momentum. But then again, the Kings are feeling pretty good about themselves too. The Thunder tries to get back over .500 while Sacto looks to get to .500. It actually kind of an intriguing game. It’s the first of a three-game road trip that could bring the Thunder back to OKC at 6-3, 3-6 or somewhere in between. But it could start off on a good foot with a win tonight.

Late start for us Okies tonight. Tip at 9:00 CST. Go NBA in OKC.

(AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Well honestly, I’m not sure that could have gone much better.

Oklahoma City’s starting five poured in 91 of the Thunder’s 102 points, as OKC rolled Sacramento 102-89 to open the season 1-0. Which also means we’re enjoying the first winning record in Thunder history.

Now, now before we get ahead of ourselves here we must understand this was a stinky Kings squad. And it’s just one game. Nobody should start dreaming of playoffs or a .500 record or anything like that. Yet.

Yes, everything went very well. If you scripted this out, I’m not sure it would’ve gone this well. OKC started with great energy, basically burying the Kings early. The Thunder outscored Sacto 39-22 in the first and really never looked back. The closest the Kings really got was the 13 they lost by when OKC had scaled everything back. Offensively, the Thunder looked near unstoppable. Weapons everywhere, points from everywhere and crisp, clean ball movement.

Russell Westbrook looked like an absolute STAR going for 14 points on 7-12 shooting, 13 assists, seven boards and just two turnovers. If this happens all season then maybe we can start getting ahead of ourselves. The new and awesomely improved Westbrook was something else. He played with his usual fire and energy, but really harnessed it. He just sees the court and plays so much better. A perfect example among many: the bounce pass to KD for a dunk late in the second quarter. He read everything perfectly and instead of jumping and getting caught mid-air and trying to force it to Durant, he slowed down and made a smart but decisive one-handed bounce pass. That play really summed it all up for me. Westbrook is a new player. A new and much, much better player. And he was pretty good to start with.

Kevin Durant scored and unassuming 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while also dishing out four assists. Jeff Green was 4-5 from deep and had 24 points, eight boards and three blocks. Nenad Krstic had 20 and seven. Thabo Sefolosha scored eight and held Kevin Martin to a 5-19 shooting night. Everything fired on every cylinder tonight.

Speaking of Thabo, he’s off to a good start earning that check he cashed today. He played nice defense on Martin, and was productive offensively. He went 2-2 from 3, 3-7 from the field, had five rebounds and a block. He’s clearly the glue to this team defensively. He helps everywhere, rotates well and is one of the best communicators on that end. Color me happy that we locked him up.

A couple closing thoughts:

• Rumble came out right before the tip with a big bass drum and rolled on it producing a “rumbling” sound. Then he pounded on it slowly starting up a slow clap. I thought it was a nice touch.

• The two inactive players for the game were Byron Mullens and Kyle Weaver. With Thabo’s extension today, Weaver may find himself as the odd man out. I still think he’s worth a roster spot because injuries happen and he’s the perfect, versatile player to step in.

• No Serge Ibaka. No D.J. White. No Shaun Livingston. Not seeing all three sort of surprised me, but it really surprised me that Kevin Ollie is ahead of Livingston in the rotation. Ollie wasn’t bad, but didn’t really do a ton. But when your starter is playing like Westbrook, just giving a spell for a few minutes is enough.

• Thabo’s block on Martin? Delicious.

• Scott Brooks went with an interesting lineup before halftime of Westbrook, Durant, Green, Collison and Krstic. I would assume this is the big lineup that Brooks is going to go with to counter other team’s going big.

• I was a little disappointed with the crowd. The announced attendance was a sellout, but there were some big empty pockets in Loud City. The Kings aren’t the most attractive opponent, but I kind of expected more for opening night.

• The box score doesn’t show it, but I really liked what Etan Thomas gave tonight. Sure he had just two points and one rebound in 18 minutes, but he had a block and played tough, physical defense on the Kings’ big men.

• For his first game ever, James Harden played pretty well. Kevin Martin had his way with him a bit, but Harden was 2-2 from the floor for five points and hit one 3. He played just 13 minutes and I’ve got to think he’ll slowly get more time as the season goes on.

• Omri Casspi really impressed me. He’s going to be a good player.

• It was clearly the starters’ game tonight. Durant played 42 minutes, Green 39, Krstic 30, Westbrook 35 and Thabo 34. I don’t know if any point fewer than three starters weren’t on the floor at a time. And for good reason too: Russ was a +23, Durant a +17 (OH YEAH!), Green a +19, Krstic a +19 and Thabo a +12.

It’s a 13 point win over a poo poo team and exactly what we expected, but dang, it feels good to be 1-0. A loss would have took a lot of air out of us, but not only was this win good, it kind of inflates our balloon even more. It was everything we could have wanted. The Thunder shot 51 percent, went 8-14 from 3, outrebounded Sacto and had just 13 turnovers. Oh, and won 102-89.

Next up, OKC takes its 1.000 winning percentage to Detroit Friday night for a duel with the Pistons.

Sacramento Kings (0-0) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (0-0)

TV: Thunder TV – KSBI 52 (Cox 15, Tulsa Cox 3, HD 715)
Stream: Click Here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 7:00 CDT

View from the enemy: Cowbell Kingdom

Offensive Rating: Thunder – 102.9 (29th), Sacramento – 105.5 (25th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 109.4 (20th), Sacramento – 114.7 (30th)
Pace: Thunder – 93.6 (8th), Sacramento – 94.2 (7th)

And. Here. We. Go. (waves hand)

Basketball! Basketball! Basketbawwwwwwl!!!! We’ve waited six months for this night. We feel good about our squad and there is a good chance to start out 1-0. A less than awesome Sacto Kings team comes to town and if this Thunder team is going to improve the way we think it is, a win should happen this evening.

Now, I don’t want to be this guy that’s placing too much importance on a season opener and calling it must-win or anything like that. Over-quantifying a single game is a sports pet peeve of mine. I’m not into that. If I was, I would become a baseball writer so that I could rule the Yankees out every May, especially after a loss to the Red Sox, just to watch them come back and win 97 games and the division. Then I’d act like I saw that happening all along and forget about my dumb bold statement.

But at the same time, a loss would be somewhat deflating. It was be against a team the Thunder SHOULD beat, at HOME, in a game everybody is stoked for. It would be more of a bummer than the egg this team layed opening night last year against the Bucks.

TWO KEY MATCHUPS
Tyreke Evans vs. Russell Westbrook
Holy hybrid super athletes Batman. I know it’s Kings/Thunder, two of the worst teams in the league last year, but this game should be on national television just for this matchup. Two guys possibly playing out of position with insane ability, playing AGAINST each other. I know where I’m looking all night. I give the edge to Westbrook though because he’s a quality defender and has had a year in the league. This is Evans first game of his pro career and he’s playing it on the road against a solid defender.

Desmond Mason vs. Kevin Durant
Nobody knows how to defend KD better than Dez. And nobody should know Durant’s defensive capabilities better than Dez either, considering he taught him basically everything he knew. Durant obviously wins this matchup because, well, he’s going to win most every matchup. But Dez is going to be his usual bulldog self for sure.

The slate is clean and an opportunity is there for the taking to get to 1-0. The Hornets kicked off season one in OKC against the Kings, blew them out, and flirted with the playoffs. So this could be a good sign, right? RIGHT? Well that is if the Thunder can win tonight. And so it begins gang. Thunder in the direction above you.

Tip at 7:00. Go season.

(Also, I’ll be taking part in the Daily Dime’s Live Chat tonight at the mothership. It’ll be a big group discussion and you’re welcome to pop by if you’d like.)

At least this one didn’t count. Wait, didn’t I just say that two nights ago?

The Kings walloped Oklahoma City 104-89 and it wasn’t even that close. The Thunder shot poorly from everywhere and didn’t play that great of defense. But we’ll just tell ourselves it’s because the starters didn’t play much. Jeff Green played just 22 minutes. Kevin Durant 26. Russell Westbrook only 14. We saw a lot of Serge Ibaka, James Harden and Etan Thomas, especially in the second half. Which is fine by me. We know who the first five are. We just need to figure out the next.

I’m not worried by anything I saw honestly. Sure it was ugly, but these guys are sick of this. They’re ready to play for real. This was the last go-through-the-motions meaningless game and I don’t think they cared a ton. OKC plays this same team in just five days so it’s not like Scott Brooks was going to go all out and try and get a win tonight. Of course you’d love to see a better effort, but I just saw the whole night as very meh and a chance for some late rotation guys to maybe prove themselves a bit.

If there was one thing to take from this game, it was Serge Ibaka’s awesome fast break dunk coming from a sweet no-looker from Harden. That’s already in the running for my top plays of the year. Not too many times during a preseason game do you stand up and pull the “OHHHHHH!!!!!” routine. But I did there.

Speaking of, Ibaka was solid. He had nine points, seven boards and one block. He went 1-4 from the free throw line which is a shame, because he’s got such nice form. The more and more I see him, the more I think he’s playing his way into the rotation. We didn’t see any D.J. White or Byron Mullens on a night that supposedly was going to feature mainly the rotation guys. So maybe Ibaka’s 22 minutes mean something.

Undercover Brother, Kyle Weaver played some quality minutes tonight as well. He’s never going to blow you away offensively, but as long as he does what he did tonight (hit open shots and play solid defense) he should always have a spot. I hate to say it but injuries happen. And Weaver is exactly the type of player you want on your roster that you can plug in for a week to give you solid minutes. I think he’s worth keeping around.

It was nice to see Desmond Mason back in town and girlballer passed along this interesting note:

Royce– I don’t know if you are watching this close, but Desmond is breaking MY HEART!! After the half, he called KD over during warm-up and was literally GIVING HIM ADVICE for DEFENSE!! Just like he was still his teammate!! Sighs….. I miss Desmond…….

How cool is that? I’m still sad to see Dez go, but if he’s working for a staff spot once his time is up, that’s a pretty good start.

But the important thing – thanks to a friend (thanks again Derek), I was able to sit in a suite tonight for the first and probably last time in my life. It was just very cool to feel that wealthy for once. I pranced around with my lanyard and plastic ticket dangling from it. I got to park just steps away from the door instead of making the mile hike from Bass Pro. And I got to sit somewhere other than Loud City for once. The suite experience is very cool.

Thus wraps the preseason and onto bigger and better things next Wednesday. The Thunder doubled its win total from last year’s preseason, so if that means anything, we’re looking at 46 wins this year, right?

Next up is the Kings again at home, Wednesday in the season opener.

Sacramento Kings (1-4) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (2-4)

TV: None
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)
Stream: None
Time: 7:00 CDT

View from the enemy: Cowbell Kingdom

Finally, we can be done with these meaningless, pointless games. I want to lose for real! (Or win…)

Kevin Durant played 35 minutes in Austin Tuesday night, Russell Westbrook saw extended minutes and Jeff Green played a solid amount. I’d bet that all three of their minutes are cut down somewhat tonight. Darnell Mayberry presumes that we’ll likely see no strange lineups and the actual rotation tonight, but for how long? I don’t really know what to expect since there are six days off before the opener.

The roster stands at 16 now with the cutting of Michael Ruffin, so I’d assume as well Ryan Bowen and Mike Harris might get a little burn as well. Maybe one last push to make the roster.

Desmond Mason returns to the Ford Center which is nice, as well as the first appearance of Tyreke Evans, a player I’m very intrigued by. A matchup of him and Westbrook would contain so much athleticism, I think I might tear my ACL just watching.

No TV for this one tonight, but I will be in attendance and thanks to a friend, sitting in very solid seats. I’ve got to soak up these fan experiences while I still can (/elitistmediaview). So even though it’s preseason and the best players are likely not to play a ton, I’m very excited.

Tip at 7:00. Go Thunder-Mifflin.