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First Quarter
Early in and the Thunder are looking good. The defensive pressure results in two turnovers but missed shots keep the Thunder from capitalizing early. The Pistons turn it up and jump out to a seven point lead by the time Ben Wallace unleashes a block on Jeff Greens dunk attempt.
Then Krstic pulls down a monster rebound in traffic feeds it ahead to Westbrook who finds Green for a huge dunk, which propels the Thunder on a mini run of their own to cut the lead to two. Green was really struggling early on. KD is really having trouble with Princes length he is having difficulty getting open shots it seems like every shot is contested and he is having to shoot in a phone booth.
The Pistons have really picked up the defensive intensity here with 2:30 minutes left in the first but aren't really taking advantage of the missed shots by OKC. They still finish the quarter with an 8 point lead.
Collison just came into the game and is looking full of energy tonight; his ankle injury does not appear to be limiting him. Collison and Thomas just got about 800 offensive rebounds and finally get it in the basket. Harden is a little late following Gordon around some cross court screens and the result is a fairly easy basket for Gordon.
We have Ollie, Harden, Durant, Collison, and Thomas on the floor and I struggle to get comfortable with this lineup. Durant is bringing the ball up the court and Ollie lets Bynum just jog down the court and hit a wide open shot
Durant and Green are not playing well; Westbrook has been on the bench with foul trouble already. Not a good first quarter of action. The Thunder looks sluggish except Collison. How bad must Livingston and Weaver be to have Ollie be the first PGish player off the bench? Ollie is terrible on defense and offense.
Score to end the Quarter 16-24 Pistons
Second Quarter
Harden is getting a little careless early in the second quarter he left his feet to make one pass but was bailed out by a foul, then a little later picks up his dribble and can't find anyone to pass to but again is bailed out, this time by a three second violation. Harden is playing the point with Ollie in the game and making some nice passes other than the two mistakes mentioned earlier.
 KD is really working to make an impact on the defensive end of the court and it is paying off. He has deflected quite a few passes so far and has a steal to show for it. KD is sent to the line and the announcer seems unsure of how to say Durant. Du rant, Dur ant, Kevin Durant
The Pistons are really not taking advantage of the Kevin Ollie situation. Gordon drove straight at Ollie and got the easy pull up jumper; Ollie was playing about 4ft off and couldn't get back into position to even get a hand up in Gordon's face.
With 8:27 left in the second quarter KD is headed back to the locker room, not a good sign. But literally as I type that he immediately comes back onto the court.
Jeff Green is just not getting the wide open looks at the three tonight that he was getting and hitting against Sacramento. The Pistons are sagging off on dribble penetration but they are still able to close out quickly and get a hand up.
Thomas has done a good job protecting the paint so far tonight, I was unsure what we were getting when we traded for him but the more I see the more I like his game, a very solid player not particularly flashy at this point but solid in all aspects.
Thabo appears to be playing some solid defense against Gordon, but you aren't going to completely shut down Ben Gordon.
Ibaka just looked bad on defense running from the lane to the corner out to the three point line, he got caught under the basket off Villanueva and had to switch over to Maxiell.
Score to finish the half 45-38 Detriot
Half
The Thunder hasn't played well but are still in the game only down by seven. KD has yet to really look comfortable, Green is struggling, and Westbrook is getting a little careless with the ball. If Westbrook gets under control this could turnaround in a hurry. Thomas has looked good; Krstic has a couple of great rebounds but hasn't figured in offensively yet.
Third Quarter
Up and down defensive performance from Krstic so far. Admittedly it is a low sample size just tonight's game and the Sacramento game. Wallace is not really going to challenge in the paint for points. Kwame Brown is providing a better gauge of Krstic's defensive capabilities. So far Krstic is holding his own against the bigs but is having some problems cutting the dribble drive off from the rim.
Anytime I think about complaining about Grant Long and Brian Davis I remember Dante and Galante from the Orlando and I know it could be worse.
Durant is really playing much better defense. Looks like all the offseason work is really paying off. He has deflected multiple passes and is really disrupting the Pistons passing.
Score to finish the Quarter 62-61 OKC
Fourth Quarter
And KD pulls the Mason on Prince, long time no see that move KD. For those who don't know what I am talking about the move where KD brings the ball down low and sweeps it through the defenders arms when they are reaching in was taught to him by Desmond Mason and so has been coined the Mason by me.
Collison is showing some nice touch on a couple of midrange shots.
5 min left with a 6 point lead this is the time when good teams keep up the pressure and maintain the lead or extend the lead and bad teams fall apart which one will the Thunder be tonight.
This is really where having another defensive player would really help. I hate seeing Weaver on the sidelines in a suit this is the perfect situation to throw him out there and say don't let them score. Weaver, Thabo, and Westbrook that would be a killer defensive line up throw Thomas and Durant or Green in and I think that would be a group that can frustrate opposing teams. Late close games when you're trying to mount a comeback and you see two former Pac 10 all defensive team players (Weaver and Westbrook) and Thabo that can all guard multiple positions....
Westbrook with two great blocks to keep it close and free throws he is really taking over in the clutch.
Thabo, Durant, and Westbrook all come up in the clutch to preserve the eight point win.
Final score 91-83
The Good and The Bad individually
The Good
James Harden
Played some really good defense on two quick guards in Ben Gordon and Will Bynum. After the first quarter when Gordon had some success running Harden through some cross court screens Harden buckled down and made some adjustments and was able to keep up. Late in the third and fourth quarters when the game was still in doubt Harden played a big part in keeping the Thunder in the game by making Gordon and Bynum work for points.
Nenad Krstic
Looked good again down low, after the Sacramento game I for one was saying I didn't expect that kind of production. It was nice to see it wasn't a one game thing. If Krstic continues to play this well the Thunder will have a chance even in grind it out games when the outside shots aren't falling. As impressive as Krstic was down low on offense he was a beast rebounding, frequently he was able to beat Ben Wallace and Kwame Brown and come up with contested rebounds. He didn't perhaps have the numbers most people would look for but each of his five was hard earned and came among several Pistons.
Kevin Durant
Came up in the clutch. What else can you ask for when the game was on the line KD drew a foul, made a three, and played some awesome defense? Despite the slow start KD finished with a double double.
Nick Collison
4-5 and 8 rebounds in 16 minutes, Nick was very efficient and played with great energy.
Etan Thomas
Thomas looked like a force blocking shots. He also played some good defense down low and provided some offensive pop going 3-6.
Russell Westbrook
Late game heroics Westbrook was in foul trouble early in the game but in the end when OKC needed a score Westbrook would get to the line on a drive or find Krstic open for an open deuce.
The Bad
Harden shooting 1-6 0-1 from three. With all the other good things Harden did it's a little nitpicky to criticize him for having an off shooting night, but that is what we thought we were getting, a shooter someone to put points on the board off the bench. I doubt he will go 1-6 very often as he gets more comfortable in the NBA.
Krstic fouling out, in a closer game this would have been an even bigger problem. Luckily by the time Krstic fouled out with 1:30 left the Thunder had a 9 pt lead. Fouls could be an issue going forward particularly against centers with a more developed offensive game than Ben Wallace and Kwame Brown.
Westbrook shooting 2-11, he still put 10 points but it would be better if he could shoot a higher percent from the field. He also had some questionable decisions early in the game that lead to some turnovers.
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