OKLAHOMA CITY -- This is the one we've been waiting for.
The kind of win that makes you think, no, believe, the Thunder are good enough to play basketball into June.
Haven't had this kind of feeling in awhile around here. Not since before the playoffs started, back in the spring when Russell Westbrook's knee was good and our hopes were high. Way before Kevin Durant and the rest of the team ran out of energy and out of wins against Memphis in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
But then came Wednesday. Jay Z and Beyonce sat courtside. A fan made a $20,000 half-court shot. The Thunder jumped out to a 13-3 lead and it was like the band was getting back together again after a 105-91 win in front of a sellout crowd.
Durant made his first five shots and the Clippers never had a chance. Not in this one. Not when Oklahoma City plays championship-style basketball, taking defense personally and playing offense with a sniper's purpose.
This wasn't just showing up out-athleting Dallas or needing a rally to get past Washington or Denver. Wednesday was TNT and Charles Barkley, a cold front moving through, but playoffs in the air.
OKC coach Scott Brooks may not admit it, but you know he believes it. You can, too. Wednesday night proved the Thunder are good enough to play at the highest level
"That was as well as we can execute a game plan on both ends of the floor," Brooks said. "I feel good about how we played throughout the game."
The win was over the Clippers but it was beat-the-Heat kind of stuff. Durant had 28 points and eight assists. Serge Ibaka was 8-of-10 from the field and scored 17 points and had three blocks. The bench chipped in for 35 points, the team shot 52 percent and the Clippers shot 41 percent.
"I thought tonight we played at our maximum potential," Brooks said. "We don't ever say, 'bad win or great loss.' We want to win every game we play no matter where we play them."
OK, sure. Makes sense, but that hasn't exactly worked out. Not since Westbrook went down in game two and of the first round and the Thunder limped past the Rockets in six games before being eliminated in five against Memphis. Durant saved the Thunder with a last-second shot in Game 1 against the Grizzlies, but no one was giving that team much of a chance to get back to the Finals. Not without Westbrook.
So, back to this season, a November that's been more sluggish than satisfying. At 8-3, OKC has a nice record, but not a nice resume'. No quality wins. Nothing that would impress Jay Z, anyway.
"I look at 29 teams as quality opponents," Brooks said. "We don't look at the records."
The rest of us do, though. The Thunder players do, too.
"The main thing we had lost against them," said guard Thabo Sefolosha of last week's second-half collapse in Los Angeles to the Clippers. "We took it more personally probably, which is good."
Real good, because it felt personal. The Clippers have become notorious these days. Oklahoma City's own Blake Griffin getting into it twice in the past two seasons with Ibaka. Matt Barnes – who didn't make the trip, due to injuries – pushing Ibaka a week ago and doing his best to escalate a situation that was simmering.
The Clippers have coach Doc Rivers arguing and Chris Paul, who used to be loved and now is an afterthought, complaining. It's the kind of game that feels like the playoffs even when the calendar says November.
"That was crazy," Durant said. "I don't know how to describe it."
He was talking about Jay Z, his agent, coming to little, ole, Oklahoma City with his bride to watch a ball game.
But for the rest of us it was a crazy we hadn't seen in a long time.
And that's a good thing.
Follow Andrew Gilman on Twitter: @andrewgilmanOK
