And not just any ordinary teams.

On Wednesday night, the Thunder completed the feat by edging the 2008 NBA champion Boston Celtics 109-104. Just five days earlier they beat the other, the Los Angeles Lakers—last season’s champions.

“We’ve grown up,” said Kevin Durant, who scored 37 points and hit all 15 of his free throws against Boston. “It means a lot for us. It gives us confidence.”

Durant and Jeff Green, who hit two big 3-pointers in the last two minutes, were rookies in the last season in Seattle. Point guard Russell Westbrook, who had 21 points and 10 assists, joined them last season, and guard James Harden, who is averaging 9.9 points per game, is contributing as a rookie.

And now they’ve beaten the last two champs in a six-day span.

“Going into the week that was our battle cry,” coach Scott Brooks said, “and both in the same week.”

Boston is among the NBA’s oldest teams. The Celtics’ starting five has an average age of 29.6, while the average for Oklahoma City’s starters is 23.2.

The Thunder won their 46th game, doubling their total from last season, and remained in sixth place in the Western Conference.

Boston was led by Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace with 18 points each and fell out of a third-place tie in the East with the Atlanta Hawks, who beat the Lakers 109-92.

Both teams played very well offensively, and Garnett said the free-throw discrepancy may have been the difference. The Thunder outscored the Celtics 28-13 at the line, even though Boston was whistled for just four more fouls than Oklahoma City.

Garnett was particularly concerned about Durant’s 15 free throws.

“I thought we were playing Michael (expletive) Jordan the way he was getting the whistle,” Garnett said. “Durant damn near shot more free throws than our whole team.”

Boston went 13 for 17 from the line.

“I missed three last night in Philly” in a 111-93 Thunder win over the Philadelphia 76ers, Durant said. “I was a little upset with myself.”

Green, whose draft rights were traded by the Celtics when they picked up Ray Allen(notes) from Seattle after the 2006-07 season, gave the Thunder a 105-101 lead with a 3-pointer with 1:56 to go. Then he connected again with 1:22 left for a 108-104 advantage to finish with 17 points.

“It’s just me staying with my rhythm,” Green said. “Nenad (Krstic) set some great screens on (Garnett).”

The Celtics were having one of their best shooting nights of the season and Wallace had made both his 3-point attempts. But then he missed with 1:11 to play, keeping the Thunder’s lead at 108-104. Four more misses followed—a jumper by Durant, a layup by Boston’s Paul Pierce, a 3-pointer by Westbrook, and a jumper by Allen with 9.1 seconds to play.

Thabo Sefolosha finished the scoring with a free throw with 6.9 seconds remaining.

Krstic was hurt after tipping in a missed shot by Russell Westbrook(notes) in the final minute of the third quarter Wednesday night and then limped to the locker room when the period was over. He was not expected to return.

He had 12 points and six rebounds before leaving.

Krstic missed the Thunder’s game Sunday night because of a sore left Achilles’ tendon.

Byron Mullens? two free throws remaining with 5:05 left gave the Thunder (0-2) a 79-75 lead. But Paul, who came in with 3:45 remaining after sitting out much of the fourth quarter, scored five points down the stretch to give the Hornets their first win of the preseason.

Devin Brown added 13 points and was the only other Hornets player in double figures. Jeff Green scored 15 points and Nenad Krstic 14 for the Thunder. Serge Ibaka added 12 points.

Kevin Durant had 11 points but struggled from the field, making 2 of 11 attempts.

Mason’s agent, Roger Montgomery, confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday night that talks between the nine-year NBA veteran and the Thunder had broken down and the two sides wouldn’t be agreeing on a new contract.

Mason was one of the Thunder’s most popular players after playing in college at Oklahoma State and later returning to Oklahoma City when the New Orleans Hornets spent most of two seasons in the city after Hurricane Katrina. He had expressed his desire to remain in Oklahoma City after a hyper extended right knee forced him to miss the second half of last season.

Montgomery said the two sides weren’t able to agree on a role for Mason, who still wants to make significant contributions.

“Desmond is not ready to be relegated to a cheerleader and relegated to a mentor for the younger players,” Montgomery said. “Desmond’s got a lot left in the tank.”

Mason burst onto the scene as a rookie by winning the 2001 slam dunk contest as a member of the Seattle SuperSonics. He’s also had two separate stints with the Milwaukee Bucks and has averaged 12.2 points over the course of his career.

He played 39 games with Oklahoma City last season, breaking into the starting lineup in mid-December and staying there until his injury in late January. He started the last 18 games he played for Oklahoma City.

“We value and appreciate Desmond’s contributions to the Thunder. However, at this time it is important for us to retain flexibility with our roster as we move into training camp,” general manager Sam Presti said. “This was a difficult decision, certainly not the last one we will be faced with, but at this point in time we wanted to make sure we communicated with Desmond on our thought process so he could focus on other opportunities.”

The Oklahoman first reported the Mason impasse, citing an anonymous team source.

Montgomery disputed the report that negotiations failed when he requested at least a two-year contract in the neighborhood of Mason’s $5.3 million salary from last season, while the Thunder would offer nothing longer than a one-year deal.

“We never discussed money,” Montgomery said, adding: “It wasn’t going to be a dollars decision because his heart was in Oklahoma.”

Montgomery suggested Mason fell victim to a youth movement in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder have also cut ties with veterans Earl Watson, Damien Wilkins and Chucky Atkins this offseason while building around Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook —three players in their first two years who were staples in the starting lineup last season.

At 31, Mason would have been the oldest player on the Thunder—by about six months over new acquisition Etan Thomas(notes), who came over in the trade that sent Wilkins and Atkins to Minnesota.

“He’s 31,” Montgomery said. “Desmond’s still got a lot to do in this league.”

Based on draft projections, the Thunder will likely choose between UConn center Hasheen Thabeet and Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio. Memphis has the No. 2 pick. Early reports, however, say Rubio’s camp has no interest in playing for a small-market team like Memphis or OKC.

The Thunder’s front office isn’t worried about such talk just yet. The team goes into the draft dealing from a position of strength with multiple picks and plenty of cap room.

“Having the third pick for us is a lot better than having the fourth,” general manager Sam Presti said. “And when you have No. 3 you wish you had No. 2, but this is definitely a great position for us to be in.

“I think we’ll definitely get some phone calls and we’ll have some options. We also like the group of players that will be there, so I’m excited.”

More so than selecting on need or using the “best-available player” chestnut, Presti is looking for a certain type of makeup in whomever the Thunder pick.

“Does he fit the culture we’re trying to create and have established? Does he fit the way we want to play? Those are the things that we’ll be dialed into,” Presti said. “All we can do is pick the best player that we think will help us and fit our team.”

Season Highlight: Kevin Durant was easily the star of the early portion of All-Star weekend. The sensational sophomore scored 46 in the Rookie Challenge game and won the league’s first H-O-R-S-E competition. For those who doubted Durant’s star potential, this was his time to shine.

Turning Point: The 1-12 start cost P.J. Carlesimo his job and morphed into a 3-29 record that had many wondering if the Thunder would post the worst record in NBA history. Oklahoma City then followed with a 6-3 stretch and stayed relatively competitive the rest of the season.

Roster Report

Most Valuable Player: Kevin Durant. The second-year small forward turned in a spectacular season, even if few noticed, to firmly cement himself as the franchise player. Durant finished sixth in the league in scoring at more than 25 points per game. He also grabbed 6.5 boards and dished out nearly three assists a night.

Most Disappointing Player: Robert Swift. The injury-plagued center was never able to get on track, despite given every opportunity to earn a spot in the rotation. The former lottery pick played in just 26 games, averaging only 13 minutes. He heads into free agency looking for a new team.

Free Agent Focus: Malik Rose, Desmond Mason and Robert Swift are free agents. The team likely doesn’t have any interest in Rose or Swift, though either may be used in a sign-and-trade scenario. Mason, an Oklahoma State product, could be a possibility if he’s healthy. With so much room for improvement, the team is looking for veteran depth at all positions on the affordable side.

The Thunder won despite playing without Kevin Durant, the league’s fourth-leading scorer with a 26.0 average, who suffered a right ankle sprain in Friday night’s 110-108 overtime loss to Dallas. Durant is listed as day-to-day.

Thabo Sefolosha, playing only his fourth game for Oklahoma City after a trade from Chicago, recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds, season-highs in both categories. Nenad Krstic also scored 10 points.

Rudy Gay scored 20 points to lead Memphis, which lost its seventh straight. O.J. Mayo finished with 18 points, while Mike Conley had 17.

Oklahoma City led by 12 with 7:25 left before Memphis cut into the advantage, eventually getting within 95-92 when Mayo hit one of two free throws with 18.1 second left. But Memphis couldn?t overtake the Thunder.

Memphis didn’t help its situation with trouble from the free-throw line, shooting 63 percent (19-of-30).

Both teams shot well from the field early. Memphis was hitting at a 60 percent clip, but the Thunder hit nine of their first 10 shots for an early 13-point lead.

Sixteen of the Thunder?s 29 first-quarter points were in the paint.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies failed to reach 20 points in the opening stanza for the 21st time this season. Memphis has only won once when it doesn?t score at least 20 to in the first quarter.

And if the scoring wasn?t bad enough, Memphis was throwing the ball all over the place with wild passes, even after good plays. The 10 turnovers led to 15 first-half points for Oklahoma City.

Memphis improved its shooting, but still couldn’t overtake the Thunder, who took a 56-45 lead into halftime. Westbrook had 15 for the Thunder, while Green collected 13. Mayo and Darrell Arthur had 11 apiece for Memphis.

The Thunder continued to maintain a double-digit lead through the early minutes of the third quarter, the advantage eventually reaching 15. Memphis would chip away, cutting it to 64-58 when Conley stole the ball and scored on a layup.

But Oklahoma City scored 10 straight to get the lead back to double digits before carrying a 77-61 lead into the final period.

Notes

Gay left the court limping after hitting the floor hard on a drive to the basket with 9:19 left in the third. Trainers retaped his ankle and he returned at the start of the fourth quarter. … In an interesting comparison, the No. 5 Memphis Tigers drew 18,454 for the afternoon part of the doubleheader where the Tigers defeated Southern Mississippi 58-42. Between the two games, a couple of inches of snow fell in the Memphis area, and a Grizzlies game that probably wasn?t going to draw a big crowd anyway was affected even more. The announced attendance was 10,074, and that seemed a bit generous. … Because of the weather, the Grizzlies announced that those who missed Saturday?s game could exchange their tickets for next Saturday?s game against the Philadelphia 76ers. … Durant had missed only one other game this season, on Nov. 12 with left ankle soreness. … Both teams entered the game without a win since the All-Star break. … Memphis G Marko Jaric entered the game 0-for-17 and had not hit a shot in February. He missed all four of his shots Saturday. It also has been noted that in the midst of the slump, he married supermodel Adriana Lima on Valentine’s Day. “I would like to see him do whatever he can to make a hoop,” Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. “Whether it is go to the basket, get a steal, go down, and make a layup. Something.” … The game featured two of the top three rookie scorers in the league. Mayo averages 19.2, while Westbrook is scoring at a 15.6 clip.

Here one day, gone the next. That’s how Thunder fans must have felt after hearing news that a “local” favorite, Tyson Chandler, was coming back to Oklahoma City—only to leave again after he failed his physical.

Dealt from New Orleans in exchange for Joe Smith, Chris Wilcox and the draft rights to DeVon Hardin, Chandler was expected to be the Thunder’s center of the future. Instead, a severe case of turf toe scuttled the deal.

“We were pleased to add Tyson to the Thunder roster,” OKC general manager Sam Presti said. “During the course of the physical examination and outside consultations some questions arose that gave us cause for concern. We felt that this course of action was the best for our organization.”

Chandler was part of the Hornets team that spent two years in OKC after relocating because of Hurricane Katrina. Presti said that losing what seemed to be such a perfect fit won’t force OKC to shortcut the building process.

“We’re always open-minded,” he said. “At the same time we’re not going to allow this situation to affect future decisions. We have to continue to be methodical as we go through the process of growing our team and growing our organization.”

Suns 140, Thunder 118: The Thunder tried to make a game of it in the second half at Phoenix, but the resurgent Suns had too much firepower even without injured All-Star Amare Stoudemire. Leandro Barbosa stepped into the starting lineup and scored a career-high 41 points Friday night, as Phoenix hit 140 for the third consecutive game.

Kevin Durant scored 35 for the Thunder, who have dropped four straight to fall to 13-42. OKC actually had six score in double figures in the run-and-gun affair. Russell Westbrook followed Durant with 19 points. Jeff Green (10 points) had a game-high 14 rebounds.

Jason Richardson added 34 points for the Suns and Shaquille O’Neal had 22. Phoenix is the first team in 18 years to score at least 140 in three consecutive games.

Notes, Quotes

• The Thunder added to their swingman depth with Thursday’s trade for Thabo Sefolosha. Oklahoma City also received cash considerations from Chicago in exchange for a 2009 first round pick.

“We are excited to add Thabo to our team,” GM Sam Presti said. “With this trade we add another defensive-minded perimeter player that we feel has the opportunity to grow with our organization.”

Sefolosha (6-7, 215), currently in his third season, owns career averages of 5.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 16.6 minutes in 183 NBA games (40 starts). He has appeared in 43 games (14 starts) this season with the Bulls, averaging 4.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 17.1 minutes.

OKC owns three first-round picks in the 2009 draft. The Thunder holds the rights to its own pick, the Denver pick acquired in the Johan Petro trade and the San Antonio pick received in the Kurt Thomas deal. Chicago will get the least favorable of the Denver and San Antonio picks.

• OKC added to the frontcourt stable Thursday by acquiring forward Malik Rose and cash considerations from New York in exchange for forward Chris Wilcox.

“We are pleased to add Malik to our roster,” Sam Presti said. “He brings a wealth of experience and veteran leadership to our team.”

Rose (6-7, 255), a two-time NBA champion currently in his 13th season, owns career averages of 6.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 16.5 minutes in 793 NBA games. He has appeared in 18 games this season with the Knicks, averaging 1.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 8.9 minutes.

Quote To Note: “We feel the right decision for us was to move in another direction. We’re disappointed it did not work out.”—Thunder general manager Sam Presti on rescinding the Tyson Chandler trade for medical reasons.

Roster Report

Rotation: Starters—Point guard Russell Westbrook, Shooting guard Kyle Weaver, Small forward Kevin Durant, Power forward Jeff Green, Center Nenad Krstic. Bench—Guard Earl Watson, Guard Chucky Atkins, Center Robert Swift, Center Nick Collison, Guard Damien Wilkins, Forward Joe Smith, Guard Thabo Sefolosha.

Player Notes: —C Nenad Krstic made his second start of the season Friday at Phoenix. He scored 16 and grabbed six rebounds, replacing Nick Collison in a move that was more than just a simple matchup against Shaquille O’Neal.

“We’re just going to change it up and give him an opportunity to start,” coach Scott Brooks said of Krstic. “It’s nothing against Nick. Nick’s been playing very well for us. It just gives us a different look. They both are going to play good minutes. We want them to both play well.”

• F Chris Wilcox was ultimately traded Thursday to New York because he didn’t fit in OKC’s long-range plans. There was speculation that the Thunder had to move Wilcox after he was originally part of the failed Tyson Chandler deal.

“We certainly didn’t make any decisions based on reaction to that situation,” GM Sam Presti said. “That’s something that we’ve tried to be thorough with in our process. We have to make the intelligent decisions for our organization, take the information that we have and do what we think is in the best interest of the team. We did not alter our process.”

• C Mo Sene was waived to make room for G Thabo Sefolosha on the 15-man roster. The 6-11 three-year vet from Senegal played in just five games this season and averaged less than five minutes.

Medical Watch:

• F D.J. White (jaw surgery) had a benign tumor removed Oct. 13. The second phase of the surgery involved mending the jaw with bone graft taken from his hip. He’s begun doing light workouts.

• G Desmond Mason (knee surgery) is missing the rest of the season. He is expected to make a full recovery.

The Thunder sent a first-round pick in this June’s draft to the Bulls for Sefolosha, who could fill a hole in Oklahoma City’s backcourt. Chris Wilcox, who was supposed to be included in a trade to the New Orleans Hornets for center Tyson Chandler, instead ended up going to New York in the Rose trade.

Oklahoma City also got cash in both swaps completed at the NBA’s trade deadline.

General manager Sam Presti wasn’t gun shy only one day after he had to pull out of a deal that had energized the team’s fan base.

“One thing that I don’t think we let happen was we certainly didn’t make any decisions based on reaction to that situation,” Presti said. “That’s something that we’ve been trying to be thorough with in our process.

“We have to make the intelligent decisions for our organization, take the information that we have and do what we think is in the best interests of the team. We did not alter our process.”

Sefolosha, a third-year player out of Switzerland, could make more of an immediate impact with the Thunder, who expect starting guard Desmond Mason to miss the rest of the season after having knee surgery. Rookie Kyle Weaver has been starting in Mason’s spot since his injury.

“Adding Thabo gives us another defensive-minded perimeter player, someone that can guard multiple positions,” Presti said. “He has excellent athleticism and we feel like he’s another player that we can add to the team that fits well with the group that we have now and we feel like he has a chance to grow as a player.”

Sefolosha has averaged five points and about three rebounds in three NBA seasons since being drafted in the first round in 2006. He lost his starting job in Chicago after a slow start to the season and has been playing mostly as a reserve behind Kirk Hinrich.

The Bulls also had a logjam on the wing after acquiring John Salmons from Sacramento in a six-player trade earlier in the week, even after dealing Larry Hughes to the Knicks in a separate trade Thursday.

To make room for Sefolosha, the Thunder waived center Mouhamed Sene, a former 10th overall pick who hadn’t played since November. The Thunder, then playing in Seattle with Rick Sund as the general manager, drafted him three spots ahead of Sefolosha in 2006.

Oklahoma City was to have three first-round picks in this year’s draft. The Bulls will get either San Antonio’s or Phoenix’s old selection, whichever one comes later.

Rose was a member of San Antonio’s NBA championship teams in 1999, 2003 and 2005 and rejoins Presti, who was part of the Spurs’ front office for the last two of those titles. However, he could face an uphill battle for playing time in Oklahoma City, just as he did in New York. He had played in only three games with the Knicks since late December.

Wilcox himself had been relegated to the bench since the Thunder signed restricted free agent Nenad Krstic in late December, playing in only one of the Thunder’s final five games before the All-Star break.

He then was included with Joe Smith and second-round pick DeVon Hardin in the trade with New Orleans that fell apart on Wednesday.

Kevin Durant, the reigning Rookie of the Year, said “it was kind of a shock” to find out Chandler wasn’t going to join the team after all.

“I’d never seen that before. That was something new to me,” Durant said. “I thought he’d be here today, but he wasn’t. That’s a part of this business. I know our organization made a good move for our team down the line.”

Presti said he didn’t feel any pressure to deal Wilcox despite his inclusion in the Chandler trade. After it was rescinded, it could have made for an awkward return to a situation where he already wasn’t getting his usual playing time.

“Obviously when you’re making deals, you’re looking at several different factors,” Presti said. “His opportunities here from a playing standpoint were limited. This deal surfaced, and obviously having Malik involved in it and the additional compensation, those were things that you weigh when you’re looking to make deals.

“But there wasn’t necessarily an urgency from our standpoint.”

Presti said he also hadn’t heard anything from Smith or his representatives related to a report that the 12-year NBA veteran would ask for a buyout of his contract in hopes of signing with the Boston Celtics for the stretch run.

“I think Joe brings great value to our team and he’s someone that has done a nice job for us this year,” Presti said. “We definitely have interest in him and continue to value him.”

The Thunder sent a first-round pick in this June’s draft to the Bulls for Sefolosha, who could fill a hole in Oklahoma City’s backcourt. The Thunder also get cash in the deal.

Sefolosha has averaged five points and about three rebounds over three NBA seasons since being drafted in the first round out of Switzerland. He lost his starting job in Chicago after a slow start.

To make room for Sefolosha, the Thunder waived center Mouhamed Sene, a former first-round pick who hadn’t played since November.

It was the signature move of New Orleans’ thrilling young inside-outside tandem, with the two teaming up for more than 100 alley-oops last season during the Hornets’ surprising run to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and a spot in the conference semifinals.

Now, the Hornets will have to find a new crowd-pleasing calling card.

Chandler was dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday in a trade that brings veterans Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox to the Hornets.

“I’m going to miss him big time. That was my big fella,” Paul said after the Hornets beat Oklahoma City 100-98 Tuesday night. “I feel like everyone always talked about how much better I made him, but he made me a much better player. Without him, I’m probably not the player that I am now. He instilled so much confidence in me.”

The move could give New Orleans some cap room next season heading into the first year of Paul’s new four-year, $68 million contract. Chandler is due to make about $12 million next season.

“I think it frustrates you to a certain extent. As a coach, you want to win no matter what. That’s the bottom line. Your job kind of depends on that obviously,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said.

“Deals that are made that are money-driven are always tough from a coach’s standpoint. I don’t think this was so much money-driven. I think obviously there’s a lot of owners in this league that don’t want to pay luxury tax and things like that. But I do think we got two guys in Chris and Joe that are very, very good quality basketball players.”

New Orleans also got the rights to DeVon Hardin, a second-round pick out of California in last year’s draft who never signed with Oklahoma City.

General manager Jeff Bower said the Hornets’ primary reason for making the trade was that the team wasn’t running the floor enough and needed better defensive rebounding to set up transition baskets. Chandler was New Orleans’ top rebounder and particularly strong on offensive rebounding, easily leading the team with 112 despite missing 18 games.

“There’s no question with this transaction we accomplished some other objectives as well and were able to put ourselves in a position to have greater flexibility down the road and to be in a situation where we have flexibility financially, but it was driven first by the decision that we need to get better, we need to improve. And then it takes you down to, how do you do it and what are your objectives?” Bower said.

Chandler’s numbers had dropped off even before he missed the Hornets’ last 12 games with a sprained left ankle. He’s averaging 8.8 points and 8.3 rebounds this season, after going for 11.8 points and 11.8 rebounds per game last season.

Still, it could be a tough move for Hornets fans to swallow since Chandler was a true starting center and 2008 Olympic alternate while Wilcox and Smith are more natural power forwards who were struggling to find playing time on a team that’s been searching for a franchise center for years.

Guard Rasual Butler had a hard time fathoming why the Hornets, who came into Tuesday in sixth place in the West, made the deal.

“It’s a little bit of a shock to me. Tyson was a great teammate, a great asset to our team,” Butler said. “This is nothing against Wilcox or Joe Smith, but we’ll definitely miss Tyson.”
This is a Sept. 29, 2008 file photo showing Joe Smith during Thunder NBA basketball media day in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma City Thunder have acquired center Tyson Chandler from New Orleans in a deal that sends veterans Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox to the Hornets.

Wilcox’s averages of 8.4 points and 5.3 rebounds fell off, along with his playing time, since the Thunder signed restricted free agent Nenad Krstic on Dec. 30. He had a season-high 23 points on New Year’s Eve, before Krstic got into the rotation, but saw his time on the court fall off to practically nothing within a week. He played in only one of Oklahoma City’s last five games.

Smith, the No. 1 pick in the 1995 draft, has been fighting through injury issues of his own. A balky left knee kept him out of the Thunder’s lineup for nearly a month before he returned to play in four of the last five games before the All-Star break. He has averaged 6.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in 36 games.

None of the players were at the Ford Center on Tuesday night, and neither team provided a timetable for when they might be ready to play with their new teams.

Chandler, who played one season in Oklahoma City during the Hornets’ temporary relocation after Hurricane Katrina, brings the franchise a proven talent inside after it tried for years to draft and develop a front-line center. The former Seattle SuperSonics used first-round picks on Robert Swift, Mouhamed Sene and Johan Petro in recent years and have another 7-footer developing overseas in last year’s 20th overall pick, Serge Ibaka.

“It’s never easy to find big guys, for sure,” Thunder general manager Sam Presti said.

Oklahoma City has been stockpiling draft picks to supplement a young core that includes Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook.

“I think this move is a strong statement from our ownership group as to their commitment to put an elite basketball operation together, and we’re grateful that we have that kind of support from the people that are in charge,” Presti said.

AP Sports Writer Brett Martel contributed from New Orleans.