Notebook | Durant sees competition for rookie awards

One down, six to go?

Kevin Durant was the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for November and the Sonics guard figures to be the odds-on favorite to claim the award every month this season and eventually the league's Rookie of the Year title.

But don't tell him that.

Durant, who leads rookies in scoring with a 19.6 average, said he will receive stiff competition from teammate Jeff Green and Los Angeles Clippers forward Al Thornton.

"We're very competitive in our rookie class, and we love to see each other do well," Durant said. "I know I'm not going to win every Rookie of the Month award. ... I'd be surprised if I'm the only one."

Durant is considering dedicating the award to his aunt, Arlene Durant, 62, who died last week of cancer. She lived near the L Street Hill in Washington, D.C., also known as Hunt's Hill, where Durant would run sprints as a child.

"There were times after I'd run the hill that I'd go over to her house," Durant said. "She's a great lady. She came to the draft, which I think was a gift from God because she's been sick for a while now."

Injury update

Guard Delonte West missed his first game of the season Wednesday because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He was replaced by Earl Watson in the lineup.

Luke Ridnour, who has missed 10 games because of a left-quadriceps strain, is expected to practice today and return for Friday's game against Milwaukee.

Nick Collison was also back in action Wednesday after a three-game layoff due to a broken nose. He had 18 points and 17 rebounds while coming off the bench.

Notes

• Hall of Famer Earl "The Pearl" Monroe will visit the Garfield Community Center at noon today to talk about benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate screening awareness. The NBA legend, who has an enlarged prostate, will talk about the One Week Challenge, a national campaign aimed at helping men better understand BPH and how to identify BPH symptoms.

• Watson, Johan Petro and Mickael Gelabale will visit North Beach Elementary in Seattle at 2 p.m. today as part of the Sonics "Hip To Be Fit" program presented by Gatorade.

• Durant helped raise $6,940 for the New Orleans Recovery School District through a special donation by T-Mobile. For every point scored by players named the T-Mobile Rookie of the Month, T-Mobile will donate $20 to the New Orleans Recovery School District. This month T-Mobile will donate $2,620 on behalf of Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford, the Eastern Conference ROM, and $6,940 on behalf of Durant.

L.A. CLIPPERS
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Thomas	35:15	2-14	2-2	3-7	2	3	7
Maggette	37:00	7-17	8-9	1-4	0	2	23
Kaman	42:18	7-16	5-7	2-14	5	2	19
Knight	28:53	3-5	4-4	0-4	7	1	10
Ross	22:17	2-4	4-4	0-1	1	3	8
Mobley	28:52	2-10	3-4	1-4	3	4	8
Thornton	14:47	2-5	2-2	0-3	0	1	6
Dickau	19:05	2-6	0-0	0-1	2	1	5
Patterson	4:46	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Williams	3:09	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	2	0
Davis	3:38	0-0	2-2	0-1	1	1	2
Totals		27-78	30-34	7-39	21	20	88

Percentages: FG .346, FT .882. Three-point goals: 4-13, .308 (Dickau 1-2, Mobley 1-3, Thomas 1-3, Maggette 1-4, Thornton 0-1). Team rebounds: 7. Team turnovers: 14 (8 PTS). Blocked shots: 9 (Kaman 5, Ross 3, Thornton). Turnovers: 14 (Kaman 4, Maggette 4, Thomas 2, Dickau, Knight, Thornton, Williams). Steals: 7 (Mobley 2, Thomas 2, Dickau, Patterson, Ross). Technical fouls: None.

SEATTLE
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Wilkins	30:17	7-14	0-0	1-2	4	3	17
Wilcox	13:02	2-4	0-0	0-2	0	5	4
Thomas	27:06	2-7	1-2	3-9	3	3	5
Watson	36:45	4-7	2-4	0-3	6	3	10
Durant	34:54	5-13	7-8	0-7	1	4	18
Petro	11:19	1-4	0-0	0-2	0	2	2
Green	14:33	1-2	2-2	0-3	2	1	4
Collison	35:57	7-12	4-5	1-17	3	5	18
Szczerbiak	24:49	6-8	3-3	0-1	1	3	17
Gelabale	11:19	0-5	0-0	1-3	3	0	0
Totals		35-76	19-24	6-49	23	29	95

Percentages: FG .461, FT .792. Three-point goals: 6-11, .545 (Wilkins 3-6, Szczerbiak 2-2, Durant 1-2, Gelabale 0-1). Team rebounds: 6. Team turnovers: 21 (22 PTS). Blocked shots: 5 (Durant 2, Petro 2, Collison). Turnovers: 20 (Durant 3, Gelabale 3, Green 3, Watson 3, Collison 2, Wilcox 2, Wilkins 2, Petro, Thomas). Steals: 8 (Wilcox 2, Wilkins 2, Collison, Szczerbiak, Thomas, Watson). Technical fouls: None.

L.A. Clippers	17	18	26	27 — 88
Seattle	18	25	30	22 — 95

Attendance: 10,961 (17,072). Time: 2:20. Officials: Greg Willard, Tony Brown, Derek Richardson.