Oklahoma City Thunder

76ers swingman Andre Iguodala is among 15 players who were selected as finalists for the 2010 USA World Championship Team. The survivors of the team's recent workouts in Las Vegas were announced Wednesday. Chester native and NBA Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans did not make the cut. The team will re-assemble Aug. 9 in New York City, where it will train from there Aug. 10-16. The official 12-man USA roster will determined after the camp is complete, though USA Basketball chairman jerry Colangelo said a few more players may make the trip overseas for the games.

RUSSELL Westbrook had 27 points and nine assists, Kevin Durant added 25 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder blasted the weary Los Angeles Lakers, 119-90, on Monday night in the opening game of the Western Conference semifinals. The Thunder took a 15-point halftime lead, then opened the third quarter with a 15-2 blitz filled with homecrowd-pleasing three-pointers and dunks. Oklahoma City led by as many as 35 points, getting a measure of vengeance for the elbow Metta World Peace delivered to the head of the Thunder's James Harden 3 weeks earlier - and without needing dirty tactics to do it. Thunder starting center Kendrick Perkins limped off after aggravating a hip injury from the first round.

It won't take long for Philadelphia basketball fans to see the NBA's new Dream Team. The 76ers open their 2010-11 season on Wednesday, Oct. 27 when they host LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the rest of the Miami Heat at the Wells Fargo Center at 7 p.m. It will be the only visit for the Heat this season. The Heat opens its season the previous night at Boston. Other highlights of the Sixers' schedule which was released yesterday include a visit from the defending champion Lakers on Friday, Dec. 17; Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder will make their only appearance on Wednesday, March 9; and the Eastern Conference champion Celtics will play here twice, on Thursday, Dec. 9 and Friday, March 11. The Dec. 9 game will be on TNT, the Sixers' only appearance scheduled on the network this season.

An advertisement featuring the NBA's two biggest superstars includes a gun reference, the same week two players were suspended for carrying firearms to the locker room. The Nike ad, which appears in several publications including Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine, has LeBron James on one page and Kobe Bryant on the other. Along with the slogan, "Prepare For Combat," is a quote from each player showing how tough he is. NBA commissioner David Stern is sensitive to the issue of gun violence, and the league criticized the ad. In last night's games: LeBron James finished one rebound short of a triple-double, and the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Indiana Pacers, 94-73 . . . Jamal Crawford scored 29 points in the Atlanta Hawks' 100-91 win over the visiting Boston Celtics . . . Dwyane Wade scored 22 points as the visiting Miami Heat routed the Detroit Pistons, 92-65 . . . Earl Boykins hit a jumper with .4 seconds left and the visiting Washington Wizards defeated the New Jersey Nets, 81-79 . . . Kevin Durant scored 30 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped visiting Denver's nine-game winning streak, 101-84 . . . Two nights after losing to the worst team in the East, the Los Angeles Clippers lost to the worst team in the Western Conference, falling 111-97 to the Minnesota Timberwolves . . . Luol Deng scored 26 points as the Chicago Bulls won in overtime at the New Orleans Hornets, 108-106 . . . Tim Duncan scored 19 points and the San...

LeBron James became the youngest player to score 15,000 career points, breaking Kobe Bryant's mark by 2 years, and the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away late to beat the Chicago Bulls, 92-85, last night, for their 12th win in 13 games. James scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, giving him 15,026 in his career, and had 11 rebounds. He scored seven straight late in the game as Cleveland sent the Bulls to their 10th straight loss. Mo Williams added 18 points for the Cavaliers, who continued to roll without the injured Shaquille O'Neal.

The Unites States opens play tomorrow against Croatia in Istanbul. Those teams are in Group B of the four groups, which consist of six teams each. Group B includes Slovenia, Brazil, Iran and Tunisia. Four of the six teams in each group advance to the single-elimination round, beginning Sept. 4. The championship game is Sept. 12. Here's a look at five players to watch in the tournament: Kevin Durant, United States: If you have soured on NBA superstars such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, hang your hat on the young Oklahoma City Thunder forward.

As quick as lightning, the Oklahoma City Thunder returned the 76ers to reality. The Thunder dismissed the Sixers, 111-93, last night at the Wachovia Center. The Sixers entered the game with back-to-back victories, both over playoff-bound teams. This glimmer of improved play was dashed as emphatically as Kevin Durant's baseline jam in the third quarter: In the final minutes of the game, Oklahoma City's lead reached 25 points. The Thunder, led by Durant's 26 points and 10 rebounds, improved to 45-28.

For a while during the first quarter last night at the Ford Center, it appeared that the 76ers had come to play and were ready to build off an invigorating win over the athletic Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. Not so. On a night when the Sixers were erratic and unable to sustain any kind of momentum, the Oklahoma City Thunder took advantage and registered an 89-74 victory before 18,738 fans. With less than nine minutes to play, the hosts were leading, 77-62, and the Sixers were incapable of climbing out of that hole.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Sometimes, it feels as if the 76ers are poking holes in their own balloon. They'll claw their way back into a game they have no business winning, get themselves within one possession of victory, and then do something so silly that you can almost hear the air rushing out of them. During Wednesday night's 109-103 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the moment of puncture came with 2 minutes, 33 seconds remaining. After trailing by as many as 14 points, the Sixers used a ragtag lineup to find themselves down only one basket, 99-96, at Oklahoma City Arena.

Former Ohio State tailback Maurice Clarett asked a judge on Monday for permission to travel to a tryout with the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League. A review of the motion will take place Wednesday. Clarett, who rushed for 1,237 yards in 2002 to lead the Buckeyes to the national championship, pleaded guilty in 2006 to aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon and served 31/2 years in prison. He cannot leave the state of Ohio until he receives clearance from the court.

RUSSELL Westbrook had 27 points and nine assists, Kevin Durant added 25 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder blasted the weary Los Angeles Lakers, 119-90, on Monday night in the opening game of the Western Conference semifinals. The Thunder took a 15-point halftime lead, then opened the third quarter with a 15-2 blitz filled with homecrowd-pleasing three-pointers and dunks. Oklahoma City led by as many as 35 points, getting a measure of vengeance for the elbow Metta World Peace delivered to the head of the Thunder's James Harden 3 weeks earlier - and without needing dirty tactics to do it. Thunder starting center Kendrick Perkins limped off after aggravating a hip injury from the first round.

TECHNICALLY, next weekend's NBA All-Star break is more like three-fourths through the season instead of halfway. Still, the upcoming pause in the schedule provides a logical break to assess what has gone on so far and determine the front-runners for myriad awards:   Most Valuable Player   Even if, out of principle, I had not disqualified LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh for putting together that little triumvirate in...

OKLAHOMA CITY - Sometimes, it feels as if the 76ers are poking holes in their own balloon. They'll claw their way back into a game they have no business winning, get themselves within one possession of victory, and then do something so silly that you can almost hear the air rushing out of them. During Wednesday night's 109-103 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the moment of puncture came with 2 minutes, 33 seconds remaining. After trailing by as many as 14 points, the Sixers used a ragtag lineup to find themselves down only one basket, 99-96, at Oklahoma City Arena.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Early in the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 76ers' best player of the night, Jrue Holiday, had four fouls. Throughout last night's game, Oklahoma's premier player, Kevin Durant, had Russell Westbrook. Westbrook drove the lane as freely as he wished, dishing for open jump shots or scoring it himself when necessary. He also scored the most backbreaking basket of the night, off an ally-oop inbounds pass with 1 second on the shot clock. All that helped the Thunder to a 109-103 win over the Sixers at the Ford Center.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Though he is in just his fourth season in the league, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant is already being mentioned with the greats currently in the game. Last season, he averaged 30.1 points and 7.6 rebounds and helped the Thunder push the eventual-champion Lakers to six games in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. This past summer, 76ers swingman Andre Iguodala was a teammate of Durant's on the USA national team that won the FIBA World Championships in Turkey.

The Unites States opens play tomorrow against Croatia in Istanbul. Those teams are in Group B of the four groups, which consist of six teams each. Group B includes Slovenia, Brazil, Iran and Tunisia. Four of the six teams in each group advance to the single-elimination round, beginning Sept. 4. The championship game is Sept. 12. Here's a look at five players to watch in the tournament: Kevin Durant, United States: If you have soured on NBA superstars such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, hang your hat on the young Oklahoma City Thunder forward.

Former Ohio State tailback Maurice Clarett asked a judge on Monday for permission to travel to a tryout with the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League. A review of the motion will take place Wednesday. Clarett, who rushed for 1,237 yards in 2002 to lead the Buckeyes to the national championship, pleaded guilty in 2006 to aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon and served 31/2 years in prison. He cannot leave the state of Ohio until he receives clearance from the court.

Andre Iguodala of the 76ers is one of 13 finalists to make the cut for the USA World Championship team that will play three exhibition games with Lithuania, Spain and Greece in Madrid, Spain. Cut from the team were Jeff Green of the Oklahoma City Thunder and JaVale McGee of the Washington Wizards. The USA finalists include Tyson Chandler , Rudy Gay , Stephen Curry , Eric Gordon , Danny Granger , Kevin Love , Lamar Odom , Rajon Rondo , Derrick Rose , Chauncey Billups, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook . Twelve will make the team for the world championships.

It won't take long for Philadelphia basketball fans to see the NBA's new Dream Team. The 76ers open their 2010-11 season on Wednesday, Oct. 27 when they host LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the rest of the Miami Heat at the Wells Fargo Center at 7 p.m. It will be the only visit for the Heat this season. The Heat opens its season the previous night at Boston. Other highlights of the Sixers' schedule which was released yesterday include a visit from the defending champion Lakers on Friday, Dec. 17; Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder will make their only appearance on Wednesday, March 9; and the Eastern Conference champion Celtics will play here twice, on Thursday, Dec. 9 and Friday, March 11. The Dec. 9 game will be on TNT, the Sixers' only appearance scheduled on the network this season.