--G Damien Wilkins was Scott Brooks' new addition to the starting lineup. And of course, his minutes have gone up since.

"The most underrated statistic in the NBA is minutes, and I want to go out there and make the most of the time that I'm getting," Wilkins said. "I feel like I've been through two seasons already. I've gone from playing well in the preseason to not even in the rotation and playing spot minutes only if someone gets hurt to now being in the starting lineup.

"Hopefully, with this change comes consistency."

--G Desmond Mason had his sprained right elbow re-evaluated and the hope is he could return to practice Friday. Mason wasn't on the active roster Wednesday against Cleveland.

"There's a little bit of pain with normal stuff that I do, which it's going to be," Mason said. "But it's nothing like it was about a week ago."

--F Kevin Durant wasn't looking for a moral victory after the Thunder fell to Phoenix in the closing seconds Tuesday.

"We're not going to settle for losing to a great team like that, but it was good to see us compete in the last seconds of the game," he said. "I think we should have won this game, along with some others."

MEDICAL WATCH:

--F D.J. White (jaw surgery) had a benign tumor removed on Oct. 13. The second phase of the surgery, expected to follow in about six weeks, involves mending the jaw with bone graft taken from his hip. Recovery time is 4-6 months.

--F Desmond Mason (sprained right elbow) is out. He is averaging 8.4 points and 3.9 rebounds off the bench. He said the elbow was injured in the third game of the season and flared in a loss to the New York Knicks.

--C Robert Swift (lower back discomfort) didn't play Wednesday at Cleveland. He's listed as day-to-day.