The Thunder was only 5-5 in its first 10 games without Westbrook. But over the past 10 days, Durant has led his team to wins over Houston, Golden State, Portland and San Antonio, while putting it into first place in the West, as of Friday. On Wednesday in Miami, we'll have our first installment of the season of James vs. Durant, a battle between the only two players in the race for MVP. For many weeks it wasn't even a race, but lately Durant sure has made it one. ... On Sunday, before the Lakers and Knicks play at the Garden, the showcase game of the day features the Spurs returning to Miami for the first time since their crushing Finals defeats in Games 6 and 7. The Spurs lost Kawhi Leonard for upwards of a month with a broken finger, as he joined injured role players Danny Green and Tiago Splitter on the sidelines. "It's tough, we're dropping like flies right now," Tim Duncan said. Here's what else is wrong with the Spurs: They're 1-8 versus the best teams in the West (the Thunder, Blazers, Rockets and Clippers) and 0-1 against the Pacers. They're only win came against the Clippers, minus Chris Paul. This is their first game against the Heat, which expects to get Dwyane Wade back after he missed the last four games to rest his ailing knees. This season Miami is 7-6 without Wade … Danilo Gallinari went for a nontraditional form of knee surgery when he blew out his ACL last spring. But the ligament didn't heal properly and so the ex-Knick had the standard reconstructive surgery this past week, ending his season. "I am partly annoyed," the Nuggets forward said on his Facebook page. Just partly? He originally thought he'd be back by the end of November. ... When the Blazers lost in Houston, giving up 126 points, they blew a chance to become the first team to sweep the three games in Texas since Boston did it in 2008, the year the Celtics last won the title.