Playing with a broken left thumb the past two months, the Thunder's Nick Collison suffered a chipped fracture in his middle finger on his right (shooting) hand Monday vs. San Antonio. He sustained the injury while blocking a shot and slapped the backboard. The injury occurred during the fourth quarter.
Team officials said Collison will play Wednesday night against the Chicago Bulls unless the pain is too severe. "I'm going to try a splint in practice (today) and see how it feels," Collison said. "I'm not 100 percent sure, but I hope I will be able to play."
TURNOVER IMPROVEMENT
The Thunder, last in the NBA in turnovers, finished with only 12 turnovers against the Spurs. Oklahoma City only had three in the final 2 1/2 quarters, zero in the fourth quarter.
"Saturday night (in) Phoenix, we played hard, but it was sloppy," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. "Tonight, we played hard, but we did a good of taking care of the ball, especially in the second half."
HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE
The Thunder has struggled on the road but is 12-6 in the Ford Center since New Year's Eve.
Of the six losses, three were buzzer-beaters (Chris Paul and two by Carmelo Anthony). Another was a two-point loss to Houston. The other two were fourth-quarter heroics by MVP candidates Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant
"This crowd is unbelievable," said Kevin Durant. "During the fourth quarter, I was trying to talk to Thabo (Sefolosha), and he couldn't hear me. That's always a good sign."
DEFENSIVE MOMENTUM
Improved defense helped Oklahoma City go 5-2 without Durant. The Thunder is 1-1 since he returned. Durant said the defense improved while he was out and hopes he can help continue the defensive momentum. It was the first time all season the Spurs have lost when holding an opponent to 40.0 percent or less shooting from the field. The reason is San Antonio shot 35.7 percent the final three quarters, 29.4 percent in the fourth quarter.
DANCE TEAM CONTEST
Starting at 1 p.m. today, fans can vote online in an NBA March Madness dance team contest. The Thunder's first-round match-up is against the Phoenix Suns' dance team. The winner, after 24 hours of voting, will advance to the next round. Thunder fans can vote on Thunder.NBA.com.
POPOVICH MILESTONE
Monday's game was the 1,000th for San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich. Only Phil Jackson and Pat Riley won more games their first 1,000 games than Popovich (676), who has led the Spurs to three NBA titles (2003, 2005 and 2007).
Does the milestone mean anything? "Sure it does," Popovich said. "It means having a good owner, a good GM and good players equals longevity in the NBA."
FAST BREAK...
Spurs guard Manu Ginobili has missed 28 games - the last 14 with a stress reaction of his right fibula. He missed the exact same number (14 games) early in the season with a sprained left ankle. Ginobili is expected to be sidelined at least two more weeks. ... Nenad Krstic was in the starting lineup two days after receiving six stitches near his right eyebrow following an incidental elbow from Shaquille O'Neal in Phoenix. Krstic had a mild headache Sunday.
