Nazr Mohammed News

After talking his way into a job with the Spurs, Sam Presti quickly rose through the ranks, then became the Sonics' GM at the age of 29.

Thunder center Nazr Mohammed played for the Spurs during the 2005-06 season and part of the 04-05 season.

A This year's Western Conference finals opponents share a link _ Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti, a former Spurs executive.

It is a moment frozen in Spurs playoff infamy, defined by a fraction of a second that broke hearts across South Texas.

When he heard Thunder forward Serge Ibaka had just been named to the NBA All-Defensive first team on Wednesday, teammate Nazr Mohammed had a succinct and understated reaction.

The Oklahoma City Thunder haven't found any shortcuts as they try to climb to the top of the Western Conference.

Thunder 106, Lakers 90: Offensive and Defensive Flaws, or Grasping at Straws? For this full recap, I'll be focusing on a few key areas that the Thunder struggled with in this game, and analyzing how they could have dealt with them better.

Dunks: A. The Thunder did not shoot well through three quarters - 22 of 62 on non-dunks. But OKC got 11 dunks the first three quarters, which kept the shooting percentage presentable.

During the regular season, Thunder coach Scott Brooks will stick to his substitution pattern through thick and thin.

What's happening today: The Padres host the Dodgers tonight with a chance to post their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Andrew Bynum was fined $15,000 by the NBA for skipping a post-practice media session.

I'm not trying to take anything away from what the Thunder's defense did during Game 1, but man, the offense was near perfect that night.

We were all over-eager to see how the Thunder would come out on Monday after the extended layoff, and tonight we wonder if the Thunder can continue the dominance they showed.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, left, passes off in front of Oklahoma City Thunder center Nazr Mohammed, right, in the third quarter of Game 1 in the second round of the NBA basketball playoffs, in Oklahoma City, Monday, May 14, 2012.

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After nursing a right hip strain for more than a week, starting Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins left Game 1 vs.

With a 96-87 grueling Game 7 victory over the Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Lakers have advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs.

Thunder starting center Kendrick Perkins continues to get ice treatments and go through strengthening exercises in an effort to overcome the right hip muscle strain he suffered in the first quarter of Game 4 last Saturday against the Dallas Mavericks .

When the task of practicing over and over again gets monotonous, Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks has his ways of trying to spice it up and get his players' attention again.

The Thunder's week off after sweeping the Mavericks in the first round should benefit Perkins, who suffered a right hip muscle strain early in Game 4 against the Mavericks and did not return.