OKC Morning Loud Links: Surviving in Dallas

The Thunder held on to seal a win in Dallas last night. Neither team was at full strength nor played offensive ball particularly well, so hopefully we can just say, "at least the Thunder won," and move on to Friday night's showdown against the resurgent Grizzlies.

Post-Game Nuggets | NewsOK

Mayberry again has high praise for Serge Ibaka, who anchored the Thunder defensive interior for most of the night.

Thunder Survives Cold Shooting to Beat Mavs | Daily Thunder

Last night's win wasn't a satisfying dish, but as I always say, a microwave cheeseburger is still better than going hungry.

Post Game Quotes: "Try Out for FIFA" | Mavs Moneyball

MMB's post-game analysis, featuring lots of lolz.

Harden: NBA's Best 2-Guard? | Wages of Wins

Here is a good statistical look at James Harden's production over his first three years. One thing the author does not mention but I think is worth noting is that Harden's effective shooting percentage is so high because he rarely takes bad shots.

Carlisle Kicks Ball Into Stands | CBS Sports

Rick Carlisle was a frustrated man last night, and he took out his aggression on the orange roundie. He should be getting a call from Stu Jackson sometime today.

Breaking Down Top Scorers by Quarter | Bleacher Report

Kevin Durant's point distribution is a little surprising, as he is often stronger in the first half of the game than the second, but Russell Westbrook is the opposite - he gets stronger as the game goes along.

Scoring Volatility: How Valuable is Consistency? | SB Nation

Look, standard deviations!

Durant Hates Griffin's Dunk | Ball Don't Lie

In the ridiculous Thunder controversy du jour, Durant is getting flack for 'disrespecting' Blake Griffin's dunk. I don't see why this is so hard to understand; if Durant praises the dunk, he diminishes his own teammate. That's like giving a stranger a high-five after he successfully cuts in front of your wife in the grocery checkout line.

Blake Griffin Gets the Taiwanese Treatment | CBS Sports

Like Young, I have no idea what to say.

Mark Cuban - Refs Stink Again | Ball Don't Lie

Cuban is probably right. With the retirement of a number of veteran refs before the beginning of this season, the league is caught in an impossible situation - not enough quality refs to judge a game that is rapidly becoming too fast to actually judge effectively.