A Grain of Saul: Don’t forget about the Thunder

Three players in the NBA put on historic performances Sunday night, and none of them were Jeremy… Three players in the NBA put on historic performances Sunday night, and none of them were Jeremy Lin.

In a show that might never again be repeated in NBA history, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder made the “Big Three” of the Miami Heat look like Division II benchwarmers.

Together, in a victory over the Denver Nuggets, Durant and Westbrook combined for 91 points. That’s more than the Celtics, Pistons, Raptors, Hornets and Bobcats average per game.

Durant scored a career-high 51 points, and it only took him 28 shots to do it. He hit his first five 3-pointers. It was the first time two teammates each scored 40 points in a game since Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan did it on Feb. 18, 1996.

If you think these two players were just hogging the ball in a blowout, think again: They only had two points from their teammates in the final 12:40 of basketball. In that time, the Thunder managed to go from being down seven to winning by six. Together, Durant and Westbrook scored 34 of their team’s final 36 points.

Durant — who is third in the league in scoring with 27.1 points per game — continued the dominance that we’ve seen since he entered the league. His 51 points could easily have been 70, considering the forward shot over 67 percent in the game.

Westbrook’s unusual outburst of points also came with nine assists and two turnovers, a pretty incredible statline for a young, up-and-coming point guard.

So, how does Ibaka fit into this equation? Well, he tallied a triple-double on Sunday, making the Thunder’s trio the first three players in the NBA’s 65-year history to combine two 40-point scorers with a triple-double.

Not only that, but Ibaka got the triple-double with 15 points, 14 rebounds and 11 blocks, making him the first player in franchise history to record a triple-double with blocks as one of his double-digit figures.

Only 16 players have recorded a triple-double with blocks since 1986 (and theirs include names like Shaquille O’Neal, David Robinson, Dikembe Mutombo, and Hakeem Olajuwon), and Ibaka did it on a night on which two of his teammates combined for 91 points.

The best part about Oklahoma City pulling out the 124-118 overtime victory against the Nuggets was the reminder that these small-market teams can be a force.

Oklahoma City has just more than a half million people living within its city limits. Compared to the eight million of New York City, that number seems miniscule. Yet who was on the home page of every major sports outlet that covers basketball on Monday morning? It wasn’t Lebron James, it wasn’t the New York Knicks and Jeremy Lin, but it was Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

And if you think the Thunder might just fade into the background as NBA playoffs come around, consider this:

At 24-7, the team has the best record in the Western Conference. They’ve only lost one game at home this year, in an arena that resembles most college basketball home courts.

They have the fourth-best point differential in the NBA, scoring 102.3 points per game and only allowing 96.5. They’re 7-3 in their last 10 games and they are seven and a half games ahead of their closest competition in the division (the Portland Trail Blazers).

So while the big-market teams like the Knicks, the Miami Heat, the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers continue to dominate the headlines, don’t forget about the little Thunder.

Even if they don’t win their first championship this year, there is no need to sweep them under the rug: Of the three players who made NBA history on Sunday, none is older than 23.