The Magic made things competitive against the Thunder last night but ultimately Oklahoma City pulled out the win with a strong fourth quarter effort. Kevin Durant had 25 points on the evening while Serge Ibaka pulled down 13 boards in the 97-89 win. The Thunder now find themselves 2.5 games back of the surging Spurs and could still pass them for the No. 1 seed in the West. Here’s more on OKC and the rest of the Northwest..
- Speaking of Orlando and Oklahoma City, the Magic are using the Thunder as a model for their rebuilding effort, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. That plan starts with General Manager Rob Hennigan, who was a key part of the Thunder’s rebuilding in their front office.
- Coach Tyrone Corbin says that having eight players bound for free agency may be taking a toll on the Jazz, writes Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune. “It may have a little something to do with where we are,” Corbin said. “We can’t do anything about it. We’ve got to play our way through it, that stuff we can’t do anything about until it’s time to do something about it.” Both Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap could hit the open market this summer.
- Some questioned the Thunder when they traded James Harden to Houston before the start of this season, but Kevin Martin has proven to be a valuable piece for them. HoopsWorld (video link) spoke to the guard about his play in OKC in 2012/13.