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Peake performance: Thunder rounding into playoff shape, but is Tulsa ready?
Published: 4/25/2012 10:08 PM
Last Modified: 4/25/2012 10:08 PM

The Oklahoma City Thunder concluded its regular season Wednesday, and as you would expect, the team did everything right in its home finale.

The Thunder played its starters throughout, refusing to shortchange the sellout crowd of 18,203. Russell Westbrook took the microphone before the opening tipoff to thank "the best fans in the NBA." And an appreciative crowd roared early and late, already in playoff form.

Kevin Durant put on a show in his chase of the NBA scoring title, going off for 32 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the 3-point line.

Well, the Thunder did almost everything right. Denver capped the night and the Thunder's regular season by handing OKC a 106-101 loss.

The NBA playoffs start Saturday, with the Thunder holding the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

A rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals against Dallas could await in the first round.

It's a series, that perhaps more than anything, united the entire state behind Oklahoma City's pro basketball team. As evidenced by the energy inside and outside Chesapeake Arena on Wednesday, Oklahoma City fans are hungry for more postseason success.

It will be interesting to see if Tulsa fans are still on the bandwagon.

From the interactions I've had with folks in Tulsa about the Thunder, it's a bit of a love-hate relationship. For some, the rivalry between the two cities is too strong to ever support a team with Oklahoma City on the jersey. Others have adopted the Thunder as one of their own.

I watched my first Thunder game in person Wednesday and came away impressed. From its likable star to its passionate crowd, the Oklahoma City franchise is hitting all the right notes.

In one of its pregame introduction videos Wednesday, the Thunder flashed city limit signs from Owasso and Bartlesville to show the franchise's reach.

Thunder fever is spreading east it seems. It will be interesting to see if more Tulsa fans decide to catch it.

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The Truth Hurts (10 months ago)

Born and raised in OKC...moved to Tulsa in 2008...Love the Thunder and all that the organization does for the state. GO Thunder and GO Rumble, the best mascot in the NBA!

26889 (10 months ago)

I will buy tickets to any game they play at the BOK Center, and they are now my favorite NBA team, but I won't ever consider them to be our home team. They made it abundantly clear that they are OKC's team, not Oklahoma's team.

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The Editor's Desk

Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters has nearly 20 years of daily newspaper experience. A 1993 graduate of Texas A&M, he worked at papers in Bryan-College Station, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, and Galveston, Texas, before joining the Houston Chronicle as High School Sports Editor in 2008. While in Houston, he coordinated coverage of the 2008 Texas Class 5A state football championships and the 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four.

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