Tag: thunder

Cavs struggle late, lose home opener to Thunder

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The Cleveland Cavaliers(1-1) had their home opener on Friday night as they hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder(2-0).

In this contest, Cleveland was again with starting center Jarrett Allen(ankle), and he was joined by starting point guard Darius Garland(hamstring).

OKC would lead most of the game, but the Cavs would take over late. Unfortunately, Cleveland would fall apart down the stretch and fall to the Thunder 108-105.

Here’s the Great, Not So Great, and the Bottom Line of the Cavs’ loss to OKC.

Great:

Donovan Mitchell was once again big-time for Cavs, as he had game-high 43 points(15/27 FG, 4/11 3-point FG), including 14 points in the fourth quarter. He also added eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Mitchell was rolling in the fourth and Cleveland had their largest lead of 10 point in that quarter. 

Evan Mobley got the start at center, and recorded his first double-double of the season with 14 points, 15 rebounds, and two blocks.

Third Quarter: Cleveland trailed 52-42 at halftime, and they trailed 58-48 with just over nine minutes left in the third, but Cleveland turned things around and went on a 14-4 run to take their first lead since the second quarter. Caris LeVert scored 12 of his 17 points in the quarter, and Mitchell also had 12. However, the Cavs trailed 79-75 heading into the fourth.

Not So Great:

Shooting: Cleveland shot only 41% from the field, including 27%(12/45) from deep. Without Garland and Allen, these numbers are not surprising. 

Final 2:37 of the Game: The Cavs led 100-90 with 2:37 left in the fourth; however, the Cavs could not seal the deal. The Thunder outscored the Cavs 18-5 the rest of the way. Chet Holmgren’s three with just over a minute to go tied the game at 102, and OKC would take the lead for good on a driving layup from Lu Dort with 28.6 seconds left. 

With Cleveland trailing 105-102, they had one last chance to tie, but Mitchell would have a costly turnover, which led to a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander steal.

Bottom Line:

The Cavs stole a game from the Nets in the season opener, and the Thunder took it right back in the home opener. Cleveland should have won this game for sure. This game was winnable on all levels. However, again, the Cavs could not close the show.

What’s Next:

Cleveland plays the second half of a back-to-back as they host the Pacers on Saturday night.

Best of the Rest:

Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 34 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and five steals. Dort added 25 points and six rebounds.

Isaac Okoro added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Cavs; Dean Wade made his season debut and got the start; he added eight points, five rebounds, and two steals.

Hawks’ GM: ‘Danilo(Gallinari) checks a lot of boxes for what we have prioritized

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The Atlanta Hawks have acquired forward Danilo Gallinari  and cash considerations from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a conditional 2025 second-round pick in a sign-and-trade transaction, the team announced on Tuesday.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, it’s a three-year, $61.5 million contract.

“Danilo checks a lot of boxes for what we have prioritized. We wanted to add productive veterans and high-level shooting to our group and he provides both. At his size, he is one of the league’s most versatile and efficient scorers and he has proven to be the type of veteran you want in your locker room,” said Hawks President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Travis Schlenk.

Last season in 62 games with Oklahoma City, the 6-foot-10 native of Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, Italy averaged 18.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 29.6 minutes (.438 FG%, .405 3FG%, .893 FT%), ranking 16th in the league in three-pointers made (178), tied for 19th in three-point percentage and sixth in free-throw percentage. Over the last two seasons, the 11-year veteran has averaged 19.3 points while shooting .418 3FGs (on 6.2 3FGA per game).

The 32-year-old Gallinari was the sixth overall pick by the Knicks in the 2008 NBA Draft following an Italian League MVP season with Olimpia Milano.

Report: Westbrook shipped to Rockets for Chris Paul, picks

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According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Oklahoma City Thunder have traded Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for Chris Paul;  first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, pick swaps in 2021 and 2025.

With the move, Westbrook reunites with his former teammate James Harden. Should be interesting to see how the combination of Harden and Westbrook will be in Houston, but for now, with the trade of Paul George and Westbrook, OKC is rebuilding having acquired eight first-round picks since draft night, and Houston is trying to get an NBA title.

76ers-Thunder game time changed

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The NBA announced today that the Philadelphia 76ers-Oklahoma City Thunder game scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 28 at Chesapeake Energy Arena will now be played at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT.

The game was initially slated to begin at 9:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. CT; the game will be broadcast nationally on TNT.

This will be a battle of two of the top teams in the NBA, and will be a rematch of their game back in January, in which the Thunder won 117-115 in Philadelphia.

Report: Thunder expected to move Carmelo Anthony this summer

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According to ESPN, Carmelo Anthony and OKC will part ways at some point this summer,

Oklahoma City can use the stretch provision on Anthony’s $27.9 million contract to eliminate a staggering $107 million off the team’s 2018-19 payroll and tax bill, but the Thunder first plan to pursue trade possibilities with teams looking to acquire a massive expire deal to salary cap space in July 2019 free agency, according to the report.

Anthony, 34, had his struggles last season fitting in with Paul George and Russell Westbrook, but he should have options. Would he try to play with LeBron in Los Angeles? Does he play with Chris Paul in Houston? We’ll see, but Melo still can be a valuable piece for a championship contending team.

At this point, OKC has a payroll and luxury tax bill of $310 million, so moving on from Melo is not surprising.

Paul George returns to OKC; Westbrook, George celebrate(Video)

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Happy days are here again in OKC. Paul George will return to the Thunder on a four-year deal worth $137 million, according to ESPN. The five-time All-Star announced his decision at a party hosted by Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City on Saturday night.

George, who was acquired by OKC from the Pacers last summer, was expected by many to go to the Lakers, but he fell in love with OKC.

The rest is history!

Westbrook: ‘Here in Utah a lot of disrespectful, vulgar things are said to the players'(WATCH)

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Russell Westbrook tried to do everything in his power to get the Thunder to Game 7. Despite scoring 46 points, Westbrook, and the Thunder would lose 96-91 to Utah in Game 6 on Friday night.

With the loss, OKC season ends in disappointment, while the Jazz move on to face the Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals.

After the game, Westbrook got into a confrontation with a fan

Watch and here Westbrook’s reaction to the fans in Utah:

Does Westbrook have a point? Maybe. Just because you buy a ticket, does not mean you have the right to be disrespectful. Considering his frustration level after being eliminated from the playoff, you can understand Westbrook’s reaction. However, Westbrook has to try to stay calm in those situations because he’s the one that will look bad.

 

 

Russell Westbrook calls Zaza Pachulia ‘dirty'(Watch)

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Warriors C Zaza Pachulia has been accused of being dirty by many in the NBA. He was called dirty for sliding underneath the Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard in the Western Conference Finals last season, which caused Leonard to miss the whole series.

Last night, he was called dirty again. This time by OKC’s Russell Westbrook.

You be the judge:

Here is what Westbrook had to say after OKC’s 112-80 loss to the Warriors on Saturday night:

Pachulia called Westbrook’s allegations “childish.” I think I am going to side with Westbrook on this one.

Report: Carmelo Anthony to OKC

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The final shoe has dropped in this NBA offseason. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Knicks have sent Carmelo Anthony to OKC for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and a draft pick(2018 2nd round pick).

In order for this deal to happen, Anthony had to waive his no-trade clause. With Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Anthony, the Thunder have turned themselves into title contenders.

According to Wojnarowski, Westbrook and George convinced Melo to waive his no-trade.

Westbrook, George, and Anthony can opt out of their contracts in summer of 2018.  Maybe they can win in Oklahoma City and stay for a long time.

This is shaping up to be a great NBA season!

The Thunder will play New York in the season opener.

 

Paul George on why he wanted to leave Indy: ‘I kind of felt a rebuild coming’

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Thunder F Paul George played with the Pacers for seven years. During that time, George and the Pacers went to the Eastern Conference Finals twice, but ran into LeBron and the Heat. Over time, the Pacers got old, and ultimately, they went from the top of the Eastern Conference to barely making the playoffs the past two years.

George, who told the Pacers that he would not return to the team at the end of next season, explained to SI’s Lee Jenkins why he was going to leave the Pacers in the summer of 2018:

 “Here I am, the last guy, and I kind of felt a rebuild coming. I felt like the window had closed. I thought they were going in a different direction and I wanted to go in a different direction.”

Ultimately, George was traded to OKC, and is very happy to get the help that he needs to compete:

“I’m thrilled,” George says. “All I was asking for was a little help in Indy. Now I’m getting a lot of help in Oklahoma.”

If things go well in OKC, George would be willing to stay with the Thunder:

“I grew up a Lakers and a Clippers fan. I idolized Kobe. There will always be a tie here, a connection here. People saying I want to come here, who doesn’t want to play for their hometown? That’s a dream come true, if you’re a kid growing up on the outskirts of L.A., to be the man in your city. But it’s definitely been overstated. For me, it’s all about winning. I want to be in a good system, a good team. I want a shot to win it. I’m not a stats guy. I’m playing this game to win and build a legacy of winning. I’ve yet to do that. I’m searching for it. If we get a killer season in Oklahoma, we make the conference finals or upset the Warriors or do something crazy, I’d be dumb to want to leave that.”

If a few things go right, the Thunder could make it to the conference finals, but beating the Warriors is a long shot!i