The Thunder had a rough week last week, playing inconsistently and getting thoroughly outplayed on the road both in Los Angeles as well as San Antonio. They have rebounded this week with two wins in highly competitive games that tested both their resolve and their skill. The OKC road trip continues.

From Around the League:

Rankings updated when available. If you know of any rankings that we have missed, please let us know!

Kendrick Perkins didn't mind getting dunked on (hard) by Blake Griffin. He told Yahoo! Sports in a recent story that it's his job to challenge shots and that it would be a "coward move" to get out of the way of the Blake Train in that situation. If it happens again, Perkins said, "He'd just have to dunk on me again."

What the Oklahoma City Thunder big man did have an issue with was the public hazing he took from a certain NBA star from Miami (by way of Ohio).

Mr. LeBron James tweeted the followed after "the dunk":

"Dunk of the Year! @blakegriffin just dunked on Kendrick Perkins so hard!!! Wow! I guess I'm No. 2 now. Move over #6."

Perkins fired back at James in the Yahoo! Story:

"You don't see Kobe [Bryant] tweeting," Perkins said. "You don't see Michael Jordan tweeting. If you're an elite player, plays like that don't excite you. At the end of the day, the guys who are playing for the right reasons who are trying to win championships are not worrying about one play.

"They also are not tweeting about themselves talking about going down to No. 2. I just feel [James] is always looking for attention and he wants the world to like him."

Take that, "King" James.

The Thunder just knocked off two physically taxing games on back to back nights, and soon enough, they will have two more. They head to Sacramento on Thursday, and then to Utah on Friday. The Kings are struggling but tend to play well at home, and Utah is one of those teams that hasn't made many waves this season, but have put together a solid record in the West.

Post-Game Nuggets | NewsOK

Mayberry notes that when the team started off slowly, Russell Westbrook took the initiative to keep his team in the game. Yes, his 9 turnovers area painful total, but he was not afraid to step behind a screen and drill a 20 foot jumpshot to give the Thunder the lead late in the game.

Thunder Survive Against Warriors | Daily Thunder

OKC had 15 turnovers on the night, which is great-but-not-terrible either. If Westbrook had only reached his season average of four, they would have only had 10 in total, which is a major improvement.

The Problem With Replay | HoopSpeak

Getting it right comes with a price. The price will continue to grow the more replay is used.

Why is Serge Ibaka Regressing? | Shaky Ankles

Here is a good essay that takes a look at some of Serge Ibaka's struggles this season; is there simply not enough room for Ibaka to grow?

Northwest Division Living Large | NBA.com

The Thunder's division is at an impressive mark almost halfway through the season. Every team is currently over .500.

Rookie Rankings V | Grantland

Kyrie Irving still leads the back, but all of the top three rookies are playing well. Ricky Rubio actually has helped Minnesota have a winning record, which ought to trigger some sort of celebration.

Steve Nash: 38 | Basketbawful

There is nothing bawful about Steve Nash. He remains a tribute to the league and to people who follow through on their promises, regardless of outcome.

Stern: Seattle a Possibility | CBS Sports

David Stern says that Seattle is in play for a franchise relocation.

Paul Pierce Passes Bird on Scoring List | CBS Sports

A day after Kobe Bryant jumped Shaquille O'Neal for 5th place on the NBA's all time scoring list, Paul Pierce surpassed the legend Larry Bird on Boston's all-time list. We are living in some pretty incredible basketball times.

JaVale McGee, Doing the Most JaVale McGee Thing Ever | Ball Don't Lie

I think what charms me the most about JaVale McGee is that he doesn't come across as malicious or stupid, but rather just magnificently on an entire different plane of reality. He plays like Ron Artest/Metta World Peace speaks. I can't even resist just embedding the best animated gif of the season:

The Thunder weathered the one man Monta Ellis storm last night, finishing strong for a 119-116 win over the Warriors. Ellis scored 48 points on a myriad of jump shots, drives, and free throw production. As a fan of the Thunder, it was pretty brutal watching him carve up Russell Westbrook, Reggie Jackson, and whoever else took a turn trying to guard him. As the game went on and it was clear that the Warriors had a good offensive rhythm, the rest of their players got into the act as well. Overall the team shot 55% from the field and hung a season-high point total on the Thunder defense.

OKC fought its way back into the game via some excellent shooting of their own. Overall the team made 11-26 from 3-point range, shot 52.4% for the game, and played defense just a little bit better than the Warriors when it mattered most. In the end, the game was a beautiful showcase of offensive basketball and the Thunder were fortunate to pull ahead in the end for another road win.

Box Score

What is your initial reaction to tonight's result?

Two nights, two polar opposite games, two incredible finishes, two Thunder wins.

Let us check our glass:

Half Empty: For the second time in less than a week, the Thunder allowed a small guard to score over 40 points and lead his team to the brink of victory. On Saturday, it was Tony Parker. This night it was Monta Ellis, who did the best impersonation of Allen Iverson I've ever seen in scoring 48 points on a variety of jumpers and layups. Overall, the Warriors shot 55% from the field for the game and 42.9% from 3-point range. Power forward David Lee(!) had a triple double. In two separate quarters, the Warriors scored 35 and 36 points, respectively. Thunder defense was...lacking.

Half Full: All of the above, and yet the Thunder figured out a way to win in the end. This is their new reality - they are the top dogs in the NBA, and every other team is going to give them their best shot to stick an 'L' on the Thunder's record. Tonight, the Warriors shot the ball as well as we've seen any team shoot all season long. Ellis had 48, David Lee had 25, they tallied 28 assists, and even then, despite playing A+ offensive basketball, the Thunder caught them late and finished strong to take the win.

My scotch glass: Make it a double, because we were just treated to two amazing performances by the Thunder on consecutive nights.

What was, overall, the main reason the Thunder won?

As great as the Warriors were on offense, the Thunder were just as good. They shot the ball 52.4% for the game, hit 11-26 from 3-point range, made 20 of 21 free throws, had 24 assists (7 each for Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden), and for a second night in a row made almost every single clutch play they had to in order to come from behind and win.

While the usual trio of Durant (33 points), Harden (19 points), and Westbrook (31 points) were good all around in their offense, one of the biggest keys to tonight's win was the play of Daequan Cook. Cook shot 5-6 from 3-point range and scored 17 overall. Cook was masterful in finding soft spots in the Warrior's defense so that Durant could whip passes to him out of the post. In the final five minutes of play, Cook hit a two and a 3-pointer that brought the Thunder to within a single point, and shortly thereafter the Thunder regained the lead.

What's the key statistic to understanding tonight's game?

As much as tonight was an offensive explosion by the Warriors, in the end, it was still defense that sealed the Thunder win. After giving up 36 points to the Warriors in the 3rd, OKC buckled down in the 4th and challenged shots better than they had all game. Golden State took a seven point lead with 7:20 remaining, but only scored nine points the rest of the way, and only four in the final 3:40. Because of this, the Thunder were able to close out the game on an 11-4 run to get the win.

What does this game mean for the Thunder today and moving forward?

Hopefully the team has some ice baths and masseuses ready for these players after having logged heavy minutes during two extremely physically challenging games.

To the Thunder's benefit, this game was not one where a poor team hung around with a disinterested Thunder team (see: Wizards loss) and then nearly upset them in the end. Rather, this was a Warriors team that played really, really good basketball and nearly pulled of an upset. The more the Thunder survive games like this, where they take the opposition's best shot and still prevail, the stronger their psyche will grow. By the end of the season, they will have an entire new catalog of experience on which to rely when the games start to have exponentially greater meaning.

For us the fans, it means that we got to enjoy another amazing display of basketball.

***

Thunder Wonder: Kevin Durant, 33 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and the go-ahead jumper with 14 seconds to go.

Thunder Down Under: Russell Westbrook, 31 points, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

Thunder Blunder: Thunder defense generally, and Westbrook's 9 turnovers specifically

Thunder Plunderer: Monta Ellis, 48 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

Next Game: At the Sacramento Kings, Thursday February 9, 9:30 PM Central Standard Time

The Thunder are back in action tonight, traveling down the coast to take on the high scoring Warriors. Let's hope they still have some gas left in the tank after last night's overtime win. Let's see some chatter!

Be sure to stop by Golden State of Mind and check out their great site.

Records: Oklahoma City Thunder (19-5) at Golden State Warriors (8-13)

Time: 9:30 PM Central Standard Time

Place: Oracle Arena, Oakland, California

TV: CSN Bay Area & NBA TV, FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, DirectTV 679, UVerse 754)

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1), KNBR 680

Enemy Blog(s): Golden State Of Mind, Warriors World

***

The Thunder travel south to Golden State tonight, less than 24 hours of a fantastic if controversial win over the Trail Blazers. In that game, OKC played the way we always hope they would play - focused, physical, and fearless. The team is now sitting atop the entire league at 19-5 and facing a Warriors team that is still learning the ropes under the tutelage of their new coach, Mark Jackson.

You know what that means, right?

TRAP GAME

We will all be sitting on pins and needles as we wait for tonight's game to start. Are we going to get the Thunder team that destroyed lesser opponents like the Pistons? Or are we going to see an unfocused squad that can lose to a team like the Wizards?

In the first match-up, a number of Thunder players posted outstanding stat lines, and we could be in for more of the same tonight. The danger is though that on any given night, any team can get hot from the field. Any team can win a game. The difference between a talented but streaky team and a playoff team is that the playoff team forces the streaky team to play its game, rather than the other way around.

We will look to see if the Thunder can maintain their defensive physical presence tonight, both in guarding the perimeter as well as guard the rim and grab rebounds. Rebounding was the biggest reason why OKC beat Portland, and if they can replicate the effort, tonight's game will go much more easily than if it turns into a shooting contest. Also, one of the under-reported elements of the Blazers win was that the Thunder bench played very well on the road and gave the team extended minutes where they were able to sustain their play. I think the bench will again play a big role tonight. Reggie Jackson is growing by the day, and taking on a team that is not exactly known for their defense should allow him the opportunity to learn some more in-game lessons.

I predict that there will be spots where the Thunder will be lured into playing Golden State's game. However, the difference will be if OKC can revert to their own strengths, guard the perimeter, and silence the crowd with consistent play.

***

Prediction: Thunder 105, Warriors 92

Last night's marathon game between the Thunder and Trail Blazers had a variety of twists and turns that we may have already forgotten in the wake of the controversial goal-tending call at the end of regulation, or the subsequent overtime. If we think back all the way to the beginning of the game in the 1st quarter, you may recall that things didn't start out well for the Thunder. Just as with last week, the team played soft on defense, giving up shots both in the post and perimeter. Offensively they continued to turn the ball over. Fortunately, Kevin Durant recognized the slump and assumed the primary offensive role early on to keep the team in the game. Once the Thunder recovered from their slow start, the game really got cooking.

Check out the highlights here. While they won't give the quality and competitiveness of the game its just due, it still can help us remember some of the highlights of a remarkable game.