Tulsa finishes the first half strong

No Cecil Brown? No problem for the suddenly surging 66ers as Tulsa earned its second win in as many games in Los Angeles with a 102-90 win on Wednesday afternoon.

Tulsa jumped on the D-Fenders early, screaming to a 17-4 lead to open the game and never looking back as the 66ers improve to 16-14 on the season heading into the All-Star game in Dallas.

Five Tulsa players finished in double figures. Mustafa Shakur had a typical All-Star performer outing with 26 points, but maybe the key was the play of Moses Ehambe off the bench. Not much has been made about Ehambe mow coming off the bench for the 66ers, but the former Oral Roberts player has taken the change in stride. In today's win over L.A., Ehambe hit 4-of-6 from 3-point range on his way to finishing with 22 points off the bench.

Deron Washington seemed to show few ill effects from an injured foot, playing almost 39 minutes and scoring 18 points. Now we'll see how Washington's foot feels heading into the dunk competition in Dallas. Will he participate? Time will tell, but Washington told me yesterday he would decide after today's game.

Latavious Williams posted double-digits in rebounds for the third time in the last four games by grabbing a game-high 12 boards. Williams took time out of his schedule to talk to me about what the first half of the season has been like for him, and I've posted the interview on Ridiculous Upside. You can click here to read it.

And let's not forget the play of Larry Owens and DeVon Hardin. Owens is truly becoming Tulsa's silent assassin, doing his work under the radar every game. Today's 17 points including shooting 7-of-11 from the field. Hardin had his best game since coming back from an injury with 11 points.

Shakur told me the other day that the 66ers couldn't wait to get to the All-Star break and get a few days off to nurse some injuries. Riding a two-game winning streak and grabbing three of five victories during the West Conference road trip will help those injuries not hurt as much.