Oklahoma City's Thunderous Road Win Serves Notice to NBA Foes

The name might still sound dinkier than a wedding at a roller rink and cheaper than box wine, but the team is as excitable as a litter of Dobermans.

With a resolute performance in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, the Oklahoma City Thunder inched farther from the NBA's cellar and closer to its rooftop.

Though the Thunder still needs a few years to join the ranks of the league's elite, it notified the Utah Jazz and other conference adversaries that no contest will be won easily.

The team's 104-94 victory at Energy Solutions Arena oozed gameness and maturity.

Anyone not able to appreciate this squad's competitive spirit needs a pulse check.

Even if championship contention is reserved for the Boston Celtics, L.A. Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, and maybe a few others, things are looking up in Oklahoma City.

It might be too early for the NBA's newest die-hards to start talking playoffs, but with the West muddled more than ever, the lower seeds could lock up the final slots with less than 45 wins.

The Thunder needed to show some life after a dreadful performance against the champs at Staples Center.

How did Oklahoma City eke out a win in a building where the home squad lost eight times last year and four times in 2007-08?

How did a former 23-win franchise complete the kind of confidence-building conquest that was off-limits mere months ago?

The Jazz had more rebounds and points in the paint and still lost by double figures.

Here's how the Thunder stole this one, and the seven others, that have the franchise one game above .500 for the first time ever.

Rumbling and Rolling

• Kevin Durant delivered a star performance, posting 28 points on 11-of-22 shooting. His defense was active, and he scored several breathtaking buckets in transition.
• His two treys and career-high assists also helped the cause.
• The ball moved from side to side, rarely sticking in one player's hand for an extended period. This unselfishness forced Utah defenders to react, causing open jumpers galore. Most of Oklahoma City's 18 three-point tries were uncontested. The Thunder drilled eight of them, good for 44 percent.
• For a team in the throes of puberty, 25 assists to 16 turnovers in a hostile environment is a groovy ratio.
• Players put their athleticism to good use on the defensive end and swiped the ball 18 times.
• The Thunder caused 24 turnovers, a season high for an opponent and the Jazz.
• Surviving after making only 4-of-12 baskets in the final frame, with Utah charging back to within eight, is commendable.
• Russell Westbrook deserves props for sinking all four of his freebies in the fourth quarter. Those free throws helped the Thunder keep the Jazz at arm's length.
• The reserves drained of 11-of-15 attempts. Rookie James Harden sizzled with 10 points, and Kyle Weaver swooshed a timely triple in the fourth period.
• The team also swatted six shots, three more than the Jazz.
• Thabo Sefolosha's clingy defense frustrated Deron Williams into a 5-for-14 night. Williams recorded nine assists, but also turned the rock over nine times.
• Memo Okur missed eight of his 13 looks, a testament to the Thunder's interior labor.
• Closing out quarters is the underappreciated key to scoring road triumphs. The Thunder finished strong in the second, third, and fourth periods with mini-runs.
• The 53-52 halftime lead alone put the Thunder in position to snatch the game.

Presti's Plan Procures Praise

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich once called now Thunder GM Sam Presti a "resident genius."

His work in Oklahoma City has done nothing to tarnish the tremendous reputation he built in San Antonio.

Had he kept Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis two summers ago, the Seattle Sonics-turned Thunder might have been a playoff team.

Instead, Presti let Lewis walk, where he promptly signed a $100 million deal with the Orlando Magic he would never have earned in Seattle. He then traded Allen to the Boston Celtics on draft night for the rights to Jeff Green.

This determination to avoid stopgap players and borderline All-Stars will give the Thunder's budding star core of Westbrook, Green, and Durant ample time to grow together.

The Memphis Grizzlies could learn from this wise philosophy. How bad would Oklahoma City be had it signed Zach Randolph or Allen Iverson?

Underrated Signing and Overlooked Trade Pay Dividends

When Presti traded a first round pick to the Chicago Bulls for two-guard Sefolosha, it did not garner mass SportsCenter  attention.

The move, however, has allowed the Thunder to make massive improvements on the defensive end. He can hound ones, twos, and threes, as evidenced by his recent pesky turns on Caron Butler, Kobe Bryant, and Williams.

He won't shut many stars down, but he can make any of them work. His long arms force opponents into wild shots, and his resourcefulness often causes bad passes and poor clock management.

Twice in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's win, Sefolosha filched the ball from Williams.

Coach Scott Brooks calls Sefolosha his hardest working, best defender.

Also under the radar was Presti's signing of Serbian center Nenad Krstic. His eight-point, four-rebound average would dazzle few observers at first glance.

He fouled out late in the fourth quarter in Utah and scored a listless two points in L.A. on Sunday.

His mid-range shooting and spirited defensive stands have juiced the Thunder's attack.

The team owes much of its win in San Antonio to a third quarter stretch in which Krstic nailed three straight 20-footers.

Tuesday, he drew two fourth quarter offensive fouls and blocked a would-be layup.

Coach's Demeanor Triggers Competitive Streak

When former NBA journeyman Brooks took over for P.J. Carlesimo, the team was 3-29. Since, the squad has improved to a .500 record.

How many thought this interim hire would seize the job?

Brooks has cultivated his own style on the sidelines, molding a streetwise product, where players up and down the roster contribute.

The players, Durant in particular, have responded to his tactics.

Undrafted in the CBA and now one of the game's youngest coaches at 44, Brooks has guided his team into the top 10 in field goal percentage defense after a dolorous 26th place finish last year.

His squads own victories at Miami, Detroit, San Antonio, and Utah. The Thunder smacked around the Magic at the Ford Center.

After the beat down, Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said with a straight face, "The Thunder is a better team than we are now."

A lot of coaches could emerge from matches with Oklahoma City grumbling similar blunt assessments.

Dinky name. Excitable product.

In September 2008, Oklahomans felt the Thunder's impact for the first time. Now, everyone else in the NBA is feeling it, too.