Oklahoma City Thunder – Russell Westbrook Helps Out Billy Donovan, Shreds Tony

The game also marked Thunder’s new coach Billy Donovan’s debut in the National Basketball Association.

The Oklahoma City Thunder outscored the San Antonio Spurs by ten in the fourth quarter to claim a six-point opening-game victory over their Western Conference rivals Wednesday night.

Welcome to the league, rookie. He said he won’t have any trouble sleeping the night before the opener.

What’s fantastic is how those missed opportunities didn’t destroy the Thunder, who are not only back with Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka intact, but…is OKC stronger, better and deeper than ever? The fans are there all the time at the games; every game feels like it’s a sellout.

IRVING, Texas (AP) – Dez Bryant is returning to practice for the first time in nearly seven weeks, boosting the prospects of Dallas’ All-Pro receiver returning from a broken right foot against Seattle this weekend. Aldridge went chilly in the second half Wednesday, missing six of seven and was a non-factor in a tight game, when the Spurs needed someone other than Leonard. Nothing could stop him from dropping triple-doubles, not a double-team (which he saw frequently with Durant out) and certainly not a broken face, which did nothing except make him angrier.

Both of these teams have a lot of work to do and a lot to figure out before any meaningful games are played. The first came on a pick-and-roll in which Waiters looked off Durant, rose for a midrange jumper, and appeared to be cheered by Durant on the way back up the floor. He impacts the game in so many different facets and the intangibles put him amongst the all-time greats.

Bryan Gibberman: I’m putting the Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder above everyone else to start the season.

“It felt good, man”, Durant said. “Obviously I’m a competitive person”. We’ve hit it off since the beginning. There are a handful of players from this year’s class who just exude star power, including Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor and D’Angelo Russell.

If the preseason is an indicator, Donovan will be fine.

“For me, it’s not so much a whole new offensive system as much as it’s concepts”, Donovan said.

“He keeps it real”, he said. He doesn’t let nothing slip between the cracks. “It’s his nature…. For sure he is going to be aggressive”.

The 37-year-old has played only 41 games since tearing his Achilles tendon at the end of the 2012-13 season.

“Every year people are always talking about what we’re going to do next”, said Basso.

“I was very pleased that our guys just kept their composure”, Donovan said, reports ESPN. Plus, the more times you kick the championship door, the more likely it’ll fly open at least once. Yet, they still managed to beat the Spurs thanks to the great play of Russell Westbrook, Enes Kanter providing valuable offense off the bench, and clutch shots by Dion Waiters, the leading MVP candidate. Still, all signs point toward that conclusion, and the league knows what a healthy Durant, a threat to score 30 anytime, is capable of doing. In 21 games with the Celtics last season, he averaged 19.0 points and 5.4 assists per game.

Manu Ginobili scored 11 points and Tony Parker added 10 for San Antonio (see full recap). “There’s going to be ebbs and flows”. With the way he shoots the basketball, I know he’s accustomed to seeing those shots go in, but they didn’t. The fact is, they won’t be playing a team as good as San Antonio on a nightly basis.