The Thunder lost its first game of the NBA Summer League, falling 86-57 to Memphis on Sunday night at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.
Oklahoma City was plagued by turnovers, shaky defense and a little too much one-on-one play. The Thunder turned the ball over 23 times, leading to 26 Grizzlies points, and shot just 37 percent from the field. Memphis guard Marcus Williams had twice as many assists (17) as the Thunder had as a team (eight). The Thunder was led by Russell Westbrook's 14 points. Kyle Weaver was the only other Thunder player to score more than six. WEAVER PLAYS THROUGH INJURY
Weaver played in Sunday's opening game despite suffering a minor left thumb injury in the final days of the Orlando Pro Summer League.
Weaver played 18 minutes, scoring 11 points.
DOVE, LONGAR SIGHTINGS
Former Oklahoma State forward Marcus Dove checked into the game for the first time with 3:17 left in the third quarter. He went scoreless in six minutes, missing his only shot attempt and committing one foul.
Former Oklahoma forward Longar Longar played the final three minutes, pulling down one rebound. The
ALL-HUSTLE TEAM
When the Thunder fell behind by 20 at 62-42 with 2:51 to go in the third quarter, Thunder summer league coach Brian Keefe inserted a lineup of Keith McLeod, Robert Vaden, Dove, Doug Thomas and DeVon Hardin. The unit narrowed the deficit to 14 at the end of the period through defense and hustle.
PLAY OF THE DAY
Early in the first quarter, Thunder rookie James Harden crossed over his defender from the right wing, drove into the lane and threw down a tomahawk one-handed dunk that brought cheers from the crowd.
COMING UP
Remaining games for Oklahoma City in the NBA Summer League:
→Tuesday: vs. L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m.
→Thursday: vs. San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.
→Friday: vs. Chicago, 7:30 p.m.
→Saturday: vs. Dallas, 3 p.m.
All NBA Summer League games can be seen live online or on demand by visiting http://www.NBA.com/summerleague2009. The NBA Summer League Broadband package is available for $14.99.
