National Basketball Association

Tied for NBA's best record, Thunder want more

Published Feb. 28, 2012 9:44 p.m. ET

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Kevin Durant is far from satisfied with how the Oklahoma City Thunder are playing. And it doesn't matter that they're tied with the Miami Heat for the NBA's best record.

''I'm greedy,'' said Durant, the All-Star Game MVP after a 36-point performance. ''There's some games we lost that we should have won. But, all in all, it was decent.

''We've got to keep working, keep improving. We can't be happy with just being 27-7. There's a lot of things we have to work on.''

Specifically, coach Scott Brooks wants Oklahoma City to get better on the boards and at sharing the ball without committing turnovers.

The second half of the season begins Wednesday night at Philadelphia, the start of a three-game road trip.

''We've got some room to get better, but we've done a good job,'' said Brooks, who was put in charge of the West All-Stars because of the Thunder's impressive start. ''Guys have really done a good job of competing every night and practicing when we were able to practice and finding ways to get better on the fly. ... Our guys don't rest. They want to keep moving forward.''

The Thunder made it to the Western Conference finals last season, a rapid rise for one of the league's worst teams only two seasons earlier. This year, they're third in the league in scoring (102.7) and rank in the top five in both field-goal percentage offense and defense.

It's the little things that need improving before the playoffs start in two months.

Oklahoma City commits the second-most turnovers in the league, just behind the New York Knicks, and is 27th out of 30 teams in assists per game despite scoring at such a high clip.

Durant and fellow All-Star Russell Westbrook are among the biggest offenders. Westbrook has long been among the leaders in turnovers and is tied with New Jersey's Deron Williams for the most in the NBA this season. Durant is ninth.

Westbrook (4.2) and Durant (3.6) - two of the league's top seven scorers - are responsible for about half the team's 16.9 turnovers per game.

''I've been up and down,'' Durant said. ''I think I've been confident in myself. I've tried to play more of a floor game, tried to have more of an all-around game.''

NBA scoring leader Kobe Bryant had a much more glowing assessment of the Thunder after finishing the first half with a loss at Oklahoma City on Thursday night.

Bryant said the Thunder have three of his favorite players in the league - Durant, Westbrook and top reserve James Harden - plus the player he considers the league's best post defender, Kendrick Perkins.

He was particularly protective of Westbrook, who draws frequent criticism for occasionally taking more shots than Durant and committing so many turnovers.

''Everybody needs to just lay off on Russell. That's a bad little dude, man,'' Bryant said. ''You guys are fortunate to have him. You guys have two explosive scorers. I like how he's playing. He just has to continue to improve and do his thing.''

Bryant even sees some of himself in Westbrook.

''He's got the same type of dog that I had in me, that I still have in me, when I was coming up playing with Shaq. He's got the same fight,'' Bryant said.

That fight helped Bryant win five NBA championships. The youthful Thunder are still seeking their first.

''We've just started to jell - young guys that love playing basketball, that's all that we do. It makes it easier to come to work every day,'' Durant said. ''I'm just blessed I'm a part of this organization. Everybody is just Grade A, and I'm glad we're getting better as a group.''