One thing has kept the Thunder from being competitive in nearly all of the games this year. Two words are all it has taken for Oklahoma City to play itself out of contest after contest all season.
Third Quarter
Erasing nearly all of the frustration, OKC demonstrated the type of effort needed to improve in the NBA on Monday night. New Jersey came to town on an icy night and left feeling burned in an 94-85 defeat. The Nets couldn't come all the way back after trailing by 30, allowing the Thunder to finally get out of the cellar with win number 10.
The victory was cemented after an impressive third quarter of action by the home team. Holding New Jersey to only 14 points, all five Thunder starters got into the act in a big way.
Kevin Durant scored half of his team-high 18 points in the third, followed by Nick Collison and Russell Westbrook with six apiece. Jeff Green and Desmond Mason combined for eight as OKC nailed down the coffin in the 31-point quarter.
Not even a 12 point fourth by the second team could dampen the night, and the Thunder got their revenge by playing tough defense and hitting the boards. Newcomer Chucky Atkins made his team debut as well, and OKC sent the sparse crowd home happy.
Now that the club is not the worst team in the league, a winning month is the next step of the ladder. With a 6-6 mark in January, the Thunder can nail down the feat with one more victory in the final two games. The key may be in how OKC responds after halftime, something they may have proven to grasp after a try, try again attitude.
And that poses a big problem for the rest of the NBA as people are finally starting to take notice of the up and coming team from the Sooner state.
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