Saturday's game at Washington was one of the few contests on the schedule the Thunder could walk into with confidence and feel good about having a good chance of winning. Instead, the Thunder dropped a 104-95 decision to Washington to fall to 3-28 and help the Wizards improve to 5-23.
"We knew they were a good team, a talented team that's way better than their record shows," said Kevin Durant. "We had to come out and fight hard, but give credit to them. They played hard." While the Thunder's poor record can be attributed to rebuilding and youth, the Wizards have been plagued by injuries, playing without starters Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood all season and Caron Butler on Saturday. Still, a combined 8-51 record between the teams was considered incredible going into the game.
"It doesn't happen often. It's two starts that neither team is happy about or accepting," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. "But we have to continue to fight and work through our issues right now. We're hanging in every game. We just have to figure out ways to win."
COLLISON UPDATE
Brooks would not give a timeline for the return of Nick Collison, who is continuing to recover from a broken left thumb, saying only the 6-10 forward remains day-to-day. Brooks did not say whether he expects Collison to try to play Monday against Phoenix or Wednesday against Golden State.
"I trust Nick. He's tough," Brooks said. "Every day he's getting better. It's just going to be a matter of when he's able to catch a ball and take the pounding. When he can handle that, that's when he'll give us some minutes."
NEW KICKS
Durant unveiled his signature shoe, the Nike KD1, against Washington and said he's proud of the outcome. The shoe is half patent leather and half suede and has the Thunder's orange and blue colors throughout.
"I like the half-and-half look," Durant said. "I told them that I wanted some patent leather and they did it. It's different to me. It looks a little plain with the Nike sign compared to other guys' shoes, but I like them a lot."
Durant plans to unveil an all-orange pair during All-Star Weekend, when the shoe will officially be launched and sold for $88.
