OKC Loud Links: kicking off the week of March 4th

Various and sundry.

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To start things off, what did you think of Russell Westbrook's staredown after his baseline jumper vs the Clips all but iced the game? Do you believe Russ?

On his stare down following his dagger, Russell Westbrook said he was looking at his father in the stands.

— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) March 3, 2013

Thunder closes out Clippers | Daily Thunder

In the last 5 minutes:

Just like Denver, nine possessions. Unlike Denver, four different players scored. Westbrook did the bulk of it, but Martin made a terrific slashing layup, Ibaka finished a great pick-and-roll and Durant knocked his free throws. There was diversity in the offense, but still a focus. Instead of simply handing it off to Durant on first, second, third and fourth down, the Thunder ran… offense?

Westbrook keeps calm, carries on | ESPN

How does a team recover from a seven-point possession? It helps if you have a guy like Westbrook, who generated seven points himself on the Thunder's next three possessions.

What Adande does not mention is that on those 3 possessions, Westbrook never went into overdrive mode where he forced anything. He simply waited for the moment to arrive and then exploited what the defense gave him.

The Rolling Thunder Revue | Grantland

Are the Thunder obnoxious? Sure. But so is everybody else. That's kind of what makes the competition so fierce and fun.

Russell Westbrook leads the way | NewsOK

"He's done a great job and today was a classic example of what he has done," Brooks said of the three-time All-Star. "We know that. We see it all the time. We don't like to tell everybody how good he is, but he leads our team. He's an emotional guy, he keeps everybody together, and he's a big reason why we won this game (with his) dialogue in the locker room, dialogue in the timeouts and on the court."

Kevin Durant talks with Magic Johnson | ESPN

Ibaka did not intend to hurt Griffin | NewsOK

Shorter Ibaka defense: he was doing the equivalent of breaking a stiff-arm move by Blake Griffin. I'm not saying it flies, or that Stu Jackson will care, but at least it wasn't as overt as the infamous Reggie Evans moment.

Can OKC's 2-man game work in playoffs? | LA Times

It is certainly a valid question, but respectfully, it is as if the writer has completely forgotten about the team that just won the championship.

Jeremy Lamb tearing through the D-League | NewsOK

Nice game, this Jeremy Lamb kid has.

Dennis Rodman goes to North Korea | ABC News

I'm a long time supporter of the Dennis Rodman experience, but this whole ordeal leaves me troubled. Not because Dennis was persuaded by the leader of one of the most oppressive regimes in world history, but because he somehow got legal clearance to even go over there in the first place. One does not simply walk into NORK.

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New Rochelle vs Mt. Vernon