Thursday Bolts – 5.8.14

Ben Golliver of SI.com

: “You could see the desperation of Oklahoma City’s 1-0 series hole and the shared pride in Durant’s MVP award collide in Game 2, as the Thunder switched from being a team that watched helplessly on Monday to a team that drove the action throughout on Wednesday. Westbrook was the motor, embodying Durant’s praise by playing disruptive defense, hitting the glass, pounding defenders in the post and keying a 37-point first quarter that put the Thunder in the driver’s seat.”

Jeff Caplan of NBA.com: “The emotional, high-strung Westbrook will never be the more naturally affable Durant. But there’s a pretty strong record building that Durant might not have been holding up that MVP trophy Wednesday night without his complex yet uniquely talented sidekick. The two 25-year-olds, seeking a second trip to the NBA Finals in three years, keep tuning out the noise to make more of their own.”

Andrew Gilman of Fox Sports Southwest: “When Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant show up and show out the Thunder are the best team in the NBA. When Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant each chase down triple-doubles, the Thunder aren’t going to lose. But when Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant get help, any kind of real help from anyone else on the team, starters, bench players, role players, whoever, the Thunder win playoff games. That’s the formula. Simple as that. Some nights even less than that works just fine, but the Thunder certainly don’t need more.”

J.A. Adande of ESPN.com: “A lighting outage caused by a power surge that temporarily halted the game right before halftime was the only thing that could stop Westbrook. He was so active the SportVU cameras probably lost track of him. There’s no way they can be programmed to follow him on the third-quarter play when he passed from the left side to Durant up top for a jumper, then managed to grab the rebound on the right side of the rim when Durant’s shot missed, raced out to the 3-point line and drilled a 3 of his own.”

Rob Mahoney of SI.com on KD’s MVP rise: “Let it be clear that Durant was the one largely responsible for the fact that he and James are now the NBA’s 1A and 1B. So much has been made of LeBron’s “coasting” and not enough of Durant’s continuous climb against an impossible slope. Already he was one of the league’s finest — a worthy second to the best basketball player on the planet — yet Durant found no satisfaction in silver. There’s an air of effortlessness to Durant’s game that obscures his commitment to process. He makes the game look so easy by approaching it with discipline and gravity, as few in the league are more committed to getting better at getting better.”

Anthony Slater: “Maybe it’s as simple as this: Whoever wins the star-studded point guard battle, wins the game. That’s how it’s played out so far. Chris Paul was the story of Game 1, controlling the tempo and shooting the Thunder’s lights out. It was a career night for CP3. But on Wednesday, Russell Westbrook was just as dominant, coming back with a ferocious counterpunch. The final line was as loud as his floral pattern pink postgame shirt: 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. That’s already Westbrook’s third triple-double of the postseason. Nobody else in the league has even one. But more than the stats, it was his spirit. He brought that infectious energy from the jump, remaining explosive yet under control on offense and unleashing it in full force on defense. All things considered, one of the best performances of his career.”

Sam Amick of USA Today: “Just as Durant’s MVP speech went exactly as he’d hoped, this was his perfect kind of MVP-trophy-acceptance game because it wasn’t just about him. Westbrook, who has had Durant at his back for years when it came to defending all the criticism that came his way, was at his electric, eccentric best. Guard Thabo Sefolosha and forward Serge Ibaka pitched in 14 points apiece, while center Kendrick Perkins was his tough-guy self while grabbing nine rebounds in 25 minutes.”

Jenni Carlson: “And it is because Westbrook went right at Paul. He drew that foul on the opening possession. Then, he just kept coming. He crashed the boards. He looked for contact. He drove to the basket. For as good as Paul is, he’s more jitterbug than bruiser, and with Westbrooks height and size advantage, he used that to his advantage. Less than halfway through the first quarter, Paul picked up foul No. 2 and had to go to the bench.”