KD not in good mood ;READY TO PLAY;ANGER IS NOT SOMETHING SE

Kevin Durant wasn't himself Sunday afternoon. That makes twodays in a row. Durant certainly wasn't himself Saturday night.In Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, Durant made justseven of 22 shots in the Thunder's series-shifting loss tothe James Garners.Durant occasionally has games like that. And the next time yousee him, be it shootaround or ballgame or big screen, he's smilingand congenial. Resolved and determined, but still full of gee-whizcharm. Same old KD.Not Sunday at Thunder headquarters. Durant wassomber,pso2 RMT. Gloomy. Angry, almost. Check that. Angry, definitely.Mad at the media? Mad at himself? Mad at DeShawn Stevenson'sdefense, which is trying to go all Shane Battier and Tony Allen onthe NBA scoring champion?Head cold? Girl problems? Cable out at the new house inGaillardia?Whatever it is, Durant offered no clues."We just don't want to lose," Durant said. "Just ready to play,man."It all makes for an interesting Game 4 Monday night downtown.Win, and the Thunder has turned this into abest-of-3 series. Lose, and the home crowd likely has seen the lastof this lovable basketball team until sometime after this summer'sleague lockout.And to win, the Thunder needs the Durant of Games 1and 2, when he made 24 of 48 shots and averaged 32 points.Scotty Brooks expressed confidence that Durant will be fine inGame 4. Even said Durant, despite his public countenance, oftengets angry after a poor outing.Anger is not something we've seen out of Durant. Not sure thatwe want to. Who knows what a good mean streak would do toDurant?Could turn into him into the most unguardable monster the NBAever has seen. Or could upset the delicate balance of talent, skilland personality that has made Durant the poster boy for all that isgood about pro basketball.Mad or mean or much ado about nothing, Durant vows to be moreaggressive in Game 4.Can't blame Durant for feeling persecuted. Finally free of thoseMemphis ruffians, Durant had two excellent games in Dallas only toreturn home and find trouble from Stevenson, primarily, with helpfrom Shawn Marion and Jason Kidd."Plain and simple,arado rmt," Durant said. "I figured it out. Be moreaggressive. Be stronger with my catches and my drives."And his passes. Don't forget the passes. Dallas double-teamedmore than ever in Game 3. Double-teamed not just Durant, but JamesHarden, too. The Mavs trapped on the wing and tried to make the OKCscorers give up the ball."We missed some opportunities to hit the bigs rolling" to thebasket, Brooks said. "Held the ball a second too long. Double teamsare a gamble. We have to take advantage by moving the ball quickly.Kevin and Russell (Westbrook) and James have to move the ballquicker."The Mavericks limited Durant's space. Got in his grill. Evenwhen Durant had an occasional open look, he was off. You could tellon his first two shots his rhythm was off. Then Durant's third shotwas an air-ball from 25 feet.As Durant learned against Memphis, you've got to stand up tobullies."Be more aggressive," Durant said, using short, declarativesentences that are not his usual speech pattern. "It's simple. Bemore aggressive before and after I get the ball."We gotta be the first hitters. Gotta come out aggressive, nomatter what. And that starts with me."Durant has gone from 40 points on 13-of-25 shooting in Game 1,to 24 points on 11-of-23 shooting in Game 2, to the Game 3 fiasco.That's similar to the Dirk Nowitzki trek for Dallas: 48 points on12-of-15 shooting in Game 1, 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting in Game2, 18 points on 7-of-21 shooting in Game 3.If this trend holds, both Durant and Dirk might be deactivatedif there's a Game 7. "I think that's playoff basketball," Brookssaid of the wide variance in performance. "It's a physicalgame."But Dallas can survive Nowitzki off nights better than the Thunder can handle Durant offnights. The Mavs have more secondary scorers.The Thunder needs Durant to be his oldself, in production if not personality, else wave good-bye to theboys Monday night.Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or atbtramel@opubco.com He can be heard Monday through Friday from4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640and FM-98,DQ10 RMT.1. You can also view his personality page atnewsok.com/berrytramel.