Kevin Durant dribbled the ball 377 times in Game 3, about 240 more dribbles than he averaged per game for the season, according to data from SportVU.

Durant played the first game since his rookie season without Russell Westbrook on Saturday.

Durant touched the ball 111 times in the game, almost double his season average.

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced that Russell Westbrook underwent successful surgery on Saturday to repair a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee.

Westbrook will miss the remainder of the 2013 NBA playoffs.

“Although we are of course disappointed that Russell will be unable to return to the floor with his teammates this season, the opportunity to repair the meniscus as opposed to remove it was the best possible scenario for Russell's long term health as a player and person,” Sam Presti said in a statement. “Russell's health and well being are obviously our number one priority through this process and today's procedure helped solidify our belief that Russell will have many productive years of basketball in his future.”

Westbrook suffered the right knee injury in Game 2 of the Thunder's first-round series against the Houston Rockets, when Patrick Beverley collided with him as he tried to call a timeout.

Rehab will begin immediately for Westbrook and a timetable for his return will be determined during the offseason.

Patrick Beverley is sorry that Russell Westbrook suffered a torn meniscus while going for a steal before a timeout, but he doesn't apologize for being aggressive.

"I want to go against Russell Westbrook again and battle him again," Beverley told Yahoo! Sports by phone on Friday evening. "I didn't try to hurt him, but that play was something I've tried in the past, a play that worked against the Suns earlier in the season – and it's a play that I'm going to continue to try again."

Beverley abruptly left Arkansas before the start of his junior season to play in Ukraine after he confessed to turning in a paper he didn't write.

Beverley became a second round pick in 2009 and was the final cut by the Miami Heat one year later.

Beverley came to the Houston Rockets from Russia in the middle of the 12-13 season.

Russell Westbrook will undergo surgery on his right knee for a lateral meniscus tear.

No timetable for his return has been announced, but it is considered a minimal tear.

Westbrook suffered the injury in the second quarter of Game 2.

Westbrook had never missed a game in his NBA career.

"Maybe," said one source to Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski when asked if Westbrook could return in the playoffs.

Westbrook is "irate," with Beverley, a league source told Wojnarowski.

The Thunder and Westbrook don't want to risk any long-term issues with his knee.

Dwight Howard supported Serge Ibaka for Defensive Player of the Year.

“I think Serge Ibaka, with all the stuff he did this year, I think he should have been the guy to win it this year and last year,” Howard said.

“The stuff he’s done on the defensive end, I thought he was the clear-cut winner, but people saw it other ways.

“He led the league in blocks. That’s what defense is all about.”

Ibaka led the league in blocks per game (3.3) and finished third in block percentage (7.4), behind JaVale McGee (8.4) and Larry Sanders (7.6).

In a quote on the cover of Sports Illustrated, Kevin Durant lamented his runner-up status that he believes has plagued him throughout his basketball career.

"I've been second my whole life," said Durant. "I was the second-best player in high school. I was the second pick in the draft. I've been second in the MVP voting three times. I came in second in The Finals. I'm tired of being second.

"I'm done with it."

Durant presumably will come in second in MVP voting behind LeBron James again this season despite a historical season for himself by all accounts.

Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder also enter the playoffs as one of the favorites to win the Western Conference, but are considered by most to be underdogs should they again face the Miami Heat.

The Oklahoma City Thunder spoke to the Toronto Raptors about a trade centered on James Harden for Jonas Valanciunas.

The Raptors 'quickly rebuffed' the interest from Sam Presti in the trade.

The Thunder eventually traded Harden to the Rockets while also acquiring the Raptors' lottery guaranteed pick.

Valanciunas averaged 8.9 points and 6.0 rebounds in 23.9 minutes per game during his rookie season.

Kevin Durant will finish second in per game scoring to Carmelo Anthony unless he scores 70 points in the Oklahoma City Thunder's regular season finale on Wednesday.

“He has no shot,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said, half-jokingly, of Durant. “I guarantee you he won't get it.”

Durant and the rest of the Thunder regulars “are going to play very limited minutes.”

“I give Kevin a lot of credit,” Brooks said, “because maybe 10 games ago, if he was really focused on trying to get it four years in a row, he could have got it easily.”

Durant was attempting to win the scoring title for the fourth straight season, which would allow him to join Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan as the only players to accomplish the feat.

Kevin Durant was fined $25,000 by the NBA for making a "menacing gesture" in the Oklahoma City Thunder's blowout win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.

Durant also has 12 technical fouls this season, tied for third-most in the league.

According to Elias Sports, the 2012-13 NBA season is the first in which five different teams have enjoyed win streaks of at least twelve games.

The New York Knicks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, extending their current run to 12 straight wins.

The Miami Heat, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers and Thunder also had streaks of at least 12 wins this season.