Oklahoma City Thunder

Pundits didn't project the Oklahoma City Thunder to do well this season, but they proved many people wrong by earning the Western Conference's No. 5 seed and nearly picking off the Houston Rockets in the first round before losing their postseason series in seven games.

Speaking after the Thunder's 104-102 Game 7 loss to the Rockets on Wednesday, Thunder point guard Chris Paul told reporters how he and his team felt about the prognostications.

ESPN's Basketball Power Index gave the Thunder a 0.2 percent chance to make the playoffs before the season, per Moke Hamilton of Thunder Wire.

Paul repeated that 0.2 percent figure after his team crushed the Western Conference No. 1 seed Los Angeles Lakers during the seeding-game portion of the regular season.

"Nobody expected us to be here," Paul said. "0.2...0.2 percent, 0.2 percent."

The Thunder also had an over/under win total of 31 before the season, per Caesar's Palace, giving them the eighth-lowest total in the league:

OKC crushed that prediction by 13 wins en route to a 44-28 record. The Thunder accomplished that feat despite their regular season being cut short by 10 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Paul, who was traded from the Houston to OKC before the season, played a large part in the Thunder's excellent season.

The 10-time All-Star averaged 17.6 points on 48.9 percent shooting and 6.7 assists for the Thunder, which featured a well-rounded team with five players averaging double digits in scoring. OKC also finished seventh in the NBA in defensive rating, per Basketball Reference.

The Thunder did all this despite trading 2016-17 NBA MVP Russell Westbrook back to the Rockets and dealing six-time All-Star Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers last summer. The 2019-20 season looked like it would be a rebuilding one in OKC, but that was not meant to be.

The season may have ended with a heartbreaking loss, but the Thunder crushed all expectations and had an excellent season all things considered.

The officiating was a major storyline at the end of the Houston Rockets' 104-102 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Wednesday's Game 7 of their first-round playoff series, and Chris Paul was not happy about it.

Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks shared his response in which he called Scott Foster out by name for a delay-of-game call, accepted he will be fined as a result and said, "that s--t don't make no sense. ... We could have won the game."

There were multiple reviews down the stretch, as officials checked the clock, an out-of-bounds and whether there was an away-from-the-play foul on the final possession.

Paul also said that Foster reminded the Thunder point guard before the loss that he was on the floor for another Game 7 loss:

There is a history in place with Paul and Foster.

Foster officiated a Rockets loss to the Los Angeles Lakers when the point guard was still on Houston in February 2019. After the game, Paul said, "I met with the league with him," per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. "I don't know what else to do."

James Harden also called Foster "rude and arrogant" after that game and suggested "it's personal" while saying, "I don't think he should be able to officiate our games anymore, honestly."

There was surely a level of irony that Foster was on the floor for a Game 7 showdown between Paul and Harden, but the former can point to more than just the officiating when looking for a reason his team lost.

After all, the Thunder made one field goal in the final four minutes of the contest and didn't even get a shot up on the last possession of the game. Danilo Gallinari missed a free throw down two in the final seconds—that only came after the officials called an away-from-the-play foul before OKC was granted a timeout—and the Thunder then threw it away on the final inbound pass.

As a result, the Rockets will face the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the playoffs, while Paul will be left to ruminate about the officiating and what could have been Wednesday.

Luguentz Dort went undrafted last season before the Oklahoma City Thunder signed him to a two-way contract.

A little over a year later, Dort has become one of Oklahoma City's most important scorers and has found himself on a list with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

With 30 points against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Dort is just the third player 21 years old or younger to score more than 25 points in a Game 7. In the process he made his own history, becoming the only undrafted rookie in NBA history to score 30 or more points in Game 7.

James scored 27 points in a Game 7 loss to the Detroit Pistons in 2006, while Bryant dropped 25 in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers in 2000.

Dort's development earned him a four-year, $5.4 million contract in June. His performance Wednesday earned him a chapter in the sport's history.

LeBron James took notice as Chris Paul scored 28 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 104-100 victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series Monday night.

OKC's victory forces a Game 7 on Wednesday to determine which team will advance to face James' Los Angeles Lakers in the conference semifinals.

Along with his team-high 28 points, Paul added seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and no turnovers in 40 minutes. He was a plus-20 in the contest; no other player was better than plus-seven.

"When it gets to clutch time, fourth quarter, some people are built for it, some people shy away from it," Paul told TNT's Jared Greenberg after the Game 6 win. "Some people are built for it, man, and we're just gonna keep hoopin'."

Although Paul isn't often mentioned among the best players of his generation, he's built a resume worthy of at least being in the conversation. He ranks second among active players (behind only James) and 12th in NBA history in win shares, per Basketball Reference.

"When you're as competitive as myself and the guys on our team, it don't matter if it was my mom and my auntie, we wanna hoop. We wanna win," Paul said. "Yes, it was the team I played for last year, but regardless, it's gonna be the same energy no matter who it is."

The 35-year-old Wake Forest product has averaged 21.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals through the first six games of the series.

He'll likely need another standout performance Wednesday if the Thunder are going to keep their championship hopes alive for at least another round.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard and National Basketball Players Association President Chris Paul gave his account Friday of the players meeting that nearly resulted in the cancellation of the 2020 NBA playoffs Wednesday.

According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, Paul said: "Fifteen years in this league, I've never seen anything like it. The voices that were heard, I'll never forget it."

The playoff games scheduled for Wednesday were postponed after the Milwaukee Bucks refused to play in the wake of the police shooting of 29-year-old Black man Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday.

There were no games Thursday or Friday either, but a meeting between players and owners Thursday yielded results, and the decision was made to resume the playoffs.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers voted against continuing the season, though it was more of a poll than an official vote.

With two prominent teams willing to end the season, Lakers veteran Danny Green said it was "50-50" whether to resume play, and Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said: "I think it was close. I don't think it was a layup either way."

Per Mannix, players wanted greater opportunities and a more consistent platform to spread a message of social change.

As a result, the two sides agreed to advertising spots during games "dedicated to promoting greater civic engagement in national and local elections and raising awareness around voter access and opportunity."

The NBA and the players also agreed to a plan that will turn NBA arenas into polling places as a means of getting more people—specifically Black people—to vote.

Paul said "everyone in the room [was] very passionate about" voting and also that players are fed up with social injustice, racial inequality and police brutality in society: "Guys are tired. We're all hurt. We're tired of seeing the same thing over and over again and everybody expecting us to be OK, just because we get paid great money. We're human. We have real feelings. And I'm glad that we got the chance to get in a room and talk with one another."

The NBA showed its support for the players before the restart in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, by backing their decision to kneel during the playing of the national anthem and allowing them to wear preapproved social justice messages on the backs of their jerseys.

The players and owners have now taken another step together in the wake of the Blake shooting, and all involved are satisfied enough with the new plans in place that playoff basketball will resume Saturday.

Oklahoma City Thunder star Chris Paul got emotional speaking to reporters Friday when talking about a conversation he had with Jacob Blake's father, who shares his name. 

Paul said he was "blessed and fortunate" to speak with the elder Blake recently:

The younger Blake remains hospitalized and is paralyzed from the waist down after being shot in the back seven times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Aug. 23. 

Paul, who was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and attended college in the city at Wake Forest, noted that the elder Blake graduated from Winston-Salem State University. 

Per Clare Proctor of the Chicago Sun-Times, the elder Blake currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is currently in Kenosha to be with his son. Proctor noted that the younger Blake spent part of his youth in Winston-Salem.

Blake's shooting spurred the Milwaukee Bucks to refuse to play their playoff game against the Orlando Magic in protest on Wednesday. The NBA later postponed all three games that day, as well as those scheduled for Thursday and Friday. 

The Athletic's Joe Vardon, Shams Charania, and Sam Amick reported Paul and Andre Iguodala convinced their fellow players to resume playing by emphasizing they could lose "the strength of the platform they have in the bubble to continue to push for the changes they want."

The NBA and NBPA announced Friday the postseason would resume, with additional agreed-upon initiatives focused on having the league and team owners increasing voting access and help raise awareness of social justice causes. 

Chris Paul put together his best performance yet this postseason on Saturday in Game 3 against the Houston Rockets, though it didn't come without some late controversy.

With the two teams battling in overtime, Paul went to work on creating separation on the wing against Houston's Ben McLemore when he appeared to hit the defender's groin before stepping back for a shot.

McLemore kneeled over in pain while Houston coach Mike D'Antoni lobbied the officials to look for a foul.

After the 119-107 victory, Paul told reporters the play was incidental and that McLemore said he was fine.

"I tried to get by him," Paul said. "It was incidental. I know when I did it on purpose. That was in college. That was a long time ago."

Even with McLemore telling Paul he was OK, plenty on the Rockets felt the play was worth stopping the game for a review.

"Anytime that happens, it should be reviewed." Harden said. "I don't know what it was, but it should have been reviewed, especially [when] somebody gets hit in a private area."

D'Antoni went even further with his remarks and critizied officials for not even giving an explanation for why the refs wouldn't take a second look at the incident. The coach was given a technical foul on the floor for his outburst during the game.

Harden fouled out for the first time all season, finishing with 38 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, while McLemore struggled on offense, taking just two shots from the field and missing both.

Paul, meanwhile, notched 26 points, six rebounds and five assists as the Thunder picked up their first win of the series. Houston still leads 2-1 with Game 4 set for Monday afternoon.

Chris Paul said he's "gotta do more" in Game 3 after his Oklahoma City Thunder went down 2-0 in the first-round matchup against the Houston Rockets.

"Straight up. It's that simple," the point guard added, per Royce Young of ESPN. "That run they went on in the beginning of the fourth quarter, that can't happen. Gotta be better. I gotta be better. That's the tough thing, to know how hard we fought, guys worked hard. We put ourselves in position to win that game, and I gotta be better for us."

Oklahoma City led by three early in the fourth quarter but ended up losing 111-98 to Paul's former team. It was the second straight double-digit loss after a 123-108 defeat in Game 1.

Paul played well on an individual level in the first game, finishing an assist shy of a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. He had more issues in Game 2 with just 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, plus just two assists.

The biggest issue was his minus-36 on the court, by far the worst of anyone in the game.

The veteran is now taking it upon himself to lead his team to a better effort in Game 3 and beyond.

Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams will sit out Friday afternoon's game against the Memphis Grizzlies because of a leg injury.

Head coach Billy Donovan said it's not a serious injury but the team is opting to play it safe, per ESPN's Royce Young.

Adams continues to be a consistent presence inside for the Thunder. Prior to the NBA suspending the season, he averaged 10.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks through 58 games. He had played in all three of OKC's contests since the season restarted at the Disney World complex in Orlando, Florida.

A left knee contusion caused the seventh-year big man to miss a few games earlier in the season. Then he was on the receiving end of a flagrant foul from Houston Rockets center Clint Capela on Jan. 20 that resulted in a sprained left ankle.

For the most part, injuries haven't been a problem for Adams. He missed 12 combined games over the previous four seasons. It's an impressive mark considering how much his game is predicated on crashing the boards and protecting the rim.

Despite trading Paul George and Russell Westbrook, the Thunder have clinched a playoff berth in the Western Conference. Their massive haul of draft picks allows general manager Sam Presti to build from the ground up over the long term, but they have a solid roster for the time being.

Nerlens Noel should receive most of the playing time to fill the short-term void at center.

Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Chris Paul dropped 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a dominant 105-86 upset win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.

After the game, ESPN's Rachel Nichols asked Paul how he felt the NBA players' efforts to take action amid the ongoing social justice movement have been going.

The guard laid out what players have done and will continue to do, including supporting the WNBA and keeping Breonna Taylor's name in the public's mind.

Taylor, a Black emergency room technician who lived in Louisville, was shot and killed in March after three Louisville police officers served a no-knock warrant to her apartment, which she lived in with boyfriend Kenneth Walker.

Walker shot at the officers, who were in plainclothes, thinking they were intruders. The cops then shot into the home over 20 times, killing the 26-year-old Taylor.

Darcy Costello of the Louisville Courier-Journal provided more information from Taylor's attorneys regarding the officers' actions and why they were there:

"The attorneys representing Breonna Taylor's family in their lawsuit against Louisville Metro Police say officers provided 'false information' in the affidavit used to secure a no-knock search warrant for Taylor's home.

"... Records show the warrant police used to enter Taylor's apartment connected her with a narcotics suspect, Jamarcus Glover, who was arrested in a separate raid that night at a house 10 miles away."

A Louisville detective claimed Taylor was receiving mail for Glover, who he said took a package from Taylor's apartment to a "known drug house."

However, postal inspector Tony Gooden told WDRB the Taylor residence had not been receiving "suspicious mail."

Calls to arrest the three police officers present at Taylor's apartment that evening have been prevalent nationwide, with many athletes taking up the cause, including Paul and Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell:

NBA players have also increasingly shown support for the WNBA in various ways, including wearing orange WNBA hoodies for their re-opening day and praising the WNBA players for their recent collective bargaining agreement.

Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving also donated $1.5 million to WNBA players sitting out the season because of COVID-19 concerns.

The NBA is holding its restart following a four-and-a-half month suspension because of the COVID-19 pandemic at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, which is home to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. One-and-a-half weeks of regular-season play remains before the playoffs, which will run into October.

Teams and players will undoubtedly make their voices heard during that entire stretch, including Paul, whose Thunder have already clinched a playoff berth and will therefore be playing throughout August and potentially beyond.