Best win of the season came Thursday against the Clippers.
Next up: We'll see if the Thunder can keep it going against some of the other top teams in the Western Conference.
Here's a quick Thunder report from the past week:
What happened: Three-consecutive wins after a pair of losses in a row on the road. The Thunder are 2-0 on their current six-game home stand, including a victory over the Clippers – a team OKC had lost to a week ago.
What's next:
Sunday, vs. Utah
Wednesday, vs. San Antonio
Friday , vs. Golden State
Who's up: Starting to think Jeremy Lamb is figuring things out. Remember, he was the extra piece in the James Harden for Kevin Martin trade. Sure, a smaller piece, but he's getting real minutes now and producing, too. Consider him a rookie, despite the fact it's his second season in the league.
Lamb has played 20 or more minutes the past three games and has just two turnovers in that span. He's 11-of-26 shooting in that span, which isn't great, but he was 3-of-14 in the previous two games before that. Against the Clippers on Wednesday, Lamb went 5-of-10with four rebounds and a pair of assists and a blocked shot. That's real production from the bench.
Who's down: Steven Adams got off to a great start, a start most didn't expect, so saying he's down isn't truly accurate. He has, however, throttled back from his quick beginning.
Adams was two-of-five for six points and had seven rebounds in 23 minutes against the Clippers. That's impressive. The game before against Denver and the game before that against Milwaukee, Adams was pretty much invisible. He combined to go zero-of-four shooting in just 20 minutes total, scoring only two points in the two games.
Remember, and coach Scott Brooks will tell you this, too, the Thunder don't need points from their center. There are others on the team who can do that. Adams just needs to be a presence and not turn the ball over.
He got off to such a great start, though, expectations were a bit higher.
One thing you might have missed: 8-3 record, but until Thursday, there wasn't a great win on the schedule. And you could actually temper the win over the Clippers, too.
After the game, Reggie Jackson said he was well aware of the fact the Clippers had played the night before in Minnesota. It doesn't take away the fact it was the best win of the season for the Thunder.
Meanwhile, Clippers' coach Doc Rivers knew the situation.
"They had three days to prepare," he said of the Thunder. "They were into it early. We just couldn't get it going early on. It might have had something to do with last night's game, but I don't know that for sure. It was just disappointing."
Get excited about the Thunder's win Thursday. It was an excellent performance by Durant, the bench, the defense, everything. It was the kind of win that looked familiar to those wins the Thunder had on their way to the NBA Finals two seasons ago.
And it's not OKC's fault the schedule set up the way it did. They haven't had many chances to make a statement. Thursday was really their first try.
Team temperature: Warmer, that's for sure. The Thunder will have a nice, three-game winning streak heading into Sunday's home game against the Jazz. With games at home upcoming against the Spurs, T-Wolves and Warriors we'll have a better idea if this OKC team can get a bit hotter.
Follow Andrew Gilman on Twitter: @andrewgilmanOK
