"It's important that we all think defensively and I think that's why we've improved, is everybody is on the same page, we're helping each other out," Brooks said. "You're going to get beat in this league, there's some incredible offensive players. That's why you need your four teammates, your four buddies backing you up. We're doing a good job of that. We're not perfect and it's work every day. The effort has to be there every day and we're getting better at it."

--One game after a miserable showing beyond the arc, the Thunder drained three-pointers from all angles Wednesday. Oklahoma City hit 12-of-24 from downtown in beating Philadelphia, led by five from Kevin Durant.

"It was good to finally see us hit some threes," Scott Brooks said. "Of course, they were dropping in a lot, too."

The Sixers were 14-of-23. In Sunday's loss to Houston, Brooks' squad missed 14 of its 15 three-point attempts. Oklahoma City came into the Philly game 23rd in the league in three-point percentage at 31.4.

"I wouldn't say we're a bad three-point shooting team, but our percentages are showing we're not a good one either," Brooks said. "We just have to continue to work at it. It helps every team's offense if you can space the floor and knock down those shots." QUOTE TO NOTE: "We played some great defense in the first half, but came out in the second half with a lot of fire and got some stops and just really pushed it from there." -- F Kevin Durant, on breaking open a tight game in the second half.