Thunder players continue to beat a positive drum, even as the losses continue to pile up. Oklahoma City finished up a four-game road trip Saturday night knowing it battled on the weeklong trek.
The trip began with a win at Memphis, which snapped a 14-game losing streak and gave the Thunder its first road win. A tough loss followed at Charlotte before the Thunder hung with Southeast Division-leading Orlando into the fourth quarter. OKC made a run at Miami in the finale. "I definitely see the progress," point guard Russell Westbrook said. "Every game, I feel we're getting closer and closer. As long as we continue to play hard and we continue to keep clicking, I think we'll be all right."
Westbrook had 19 points and nine rebounds in the loss to the Magic, while Kevin Durant had his first double-double (16 points and 10 boards) of the season. Orlando was up only four at one point in the fourth before pulling away for the 98-89 victory.
The Magic needed just about every one of its 10 3-pointers (on only 16 attempts) to seal the win.
"We see ourselves getting closer," Durant said after the game. "To lose a game like this and know that we could have won is tough."
HEAT 105, THUNDER 99: Close but not quite once again for Oklahoma City. The Thunder went on a 20-5 run to open the fourth quarter and tie the game at 90, but Miami never relinquished the lead in winning its third straight.
Rookie point guard Russell Westbrook scored 30 points for Oklahoma City, which fell to 2-19 and 1-3 on the just-completed four-game road trip. The Thunder's record matches the fifth-worst 21-game start in league history.
Jeff Green added 21 points for the Thunder. Durant scored 18, Nick Collison had 14 and Earl Watson dished out a game-high 12 assists. NBA scoring leader Dwyane Wade scored 38 for the Heat.
