On Thursday night, Kevin Durant was named to the Western Conference All-Star team as a reserve. It’s the first time a former Longhorn has been tabbed for that honor since superstar Slater Martin’s seven-year All-Star run from 1952 to 1959. Durant is averaging 29.3 points per game through Oklahoma City’s first 45 contests, along with 7.3 boards and three assists.

The Texas road win against Arkansas looks a little better after the Hogs knocked off Mississippi State in Fayetteville last night. Courtney Fortson dropped 35 points in the victory on 53% shooting from the field. Elsewhere, the Pitt Panthers needed a second-half surge to knock off visiting St. John’s, while Long Beach State edged out Cal State-Northridge. Unfortunately, that was the extent of the good news for the Longhorn strength of schedule, as Cal-Irvine, Western Carolina, USC, and Gardner-Webb all lost last night.

Texas tumbled to 7th in Luke Winn’s latest Power Rankings, but what interests us most in his column is the conversation with NBA scouts. Winn reports that the consensus is that Damion James is a mid- to late-first rounder, and that the scouts would prefer to see Avery Bradley stay in school for another year, even though he’d be selected early in this year’s draft. Can we get extra copies of that column sent to AB in April?

We squeezed in lots and lots of work on the photo galleries tonight. Our latest update includes albums from the UNC, Rice, and Kansas State games, with the ones for Arkansas and UConn likely coming your way this weekend. Click here to browse all of the photos currently available.

Last night

Daniel Gibson went absolutely nuts in the first half for Cleveland, scoring 11 points in his first five minutes on the court en route to a 96-79 victory over visiting Charlotte. D-Gib led all scorers in the game, dropping in 25 points including a hefty 4-of-6 line from behind the arc. On the other side of the court, rookie D.J. Augustin hit double-digits with 12 points for the Bobcats in his NBA debut. The little point guard picked up where he left off in college, working his way to the charity stripe for six attempts, all of which he made.

Tonight

If you aren’t escorting your little ghouls and goblins around the neighborhood or checking out Saw 37 at the megaplex, there’s a ton of NBA action on tap tonight. Costumes not included.

LaMarcus Aldridge and the Trail Blazers hope to bounce back from the thumping they received at the hands of the Lakers on opening night, but the road doesn’t get any easier when the Spurs visit the Rose Garden. Portland will be without big man Greg Oden, who played about 2.7 seconds on Tuesday night before his bones disintegrated into a pile of dust. Front office brass will not confirm the rumor that Abe Vigoda has been signed to replace him. (9:30 PM CDT, ESPN)

In action already underway, the 76ers lead the Knicks at halftime, but former Horn Royal Ivey has yet to see the court.

Last night

The Oklahoma City Stolen Team started its new season with a home loss to the Bucks, 98-87. Kevin Durant was 0-for-3 from long range in the game, but finished with 12 points and three boards in 33 minutes.

In his Indiana debut, T.J. Ford struggled a bit with foul trouble, limiting him to 30 minutes on the night. Ford still finished with ten points on 50% shooting, however, and added 5 assists in a 100-94 road loss to Pistons.

Maurice Evans led the Atlanta Hawks with 42 minutes, but finished with only eight points and eight rebounds in a 99-85 victory over the Orlando Magic. Despite eating up a lot of minutes for the Hawks, Mo had a bit of a shaky night, shooting 27% from the field and turning the ball over four times.

The L.A. Lakers absolutely destroyed the Clippers, giving Chris Mihm ample time to dominate his crosstown rivals in the fourth quarter. With the game out of reach, Mihm quickly piled up ten points and two rebounds in only nine minutes of action.

Royal Ivey was the only active 76er who didn’t see action in a 95-84 home loss to the Raptors.

Tonight

Texas backcourt stars D.J. Augustin and Daniel Gibson are opponents when Charlotte travels to Cleveland to take on the Cavs. It’s both the season opener for the Bobcats and the NBA debut for rookie Augustin, who will be backing up point guard Raymond Felton. (6 PM CDT, Sport South/FSN Ohio)

Last night

Portland hoped to debut a young, fearsome lineup this year with Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, Travis Outlaw and LaMarcus Aldridge. But an early injury to the 47-year old Oden scuttled plans and the stifling Lakers defense held the Blazers in check most of the night. Los Angeles cruised to a 96-76 victory, with former Horn Chris Mihm providing an easy bucket and a block in mop-up duty. Aldridge had a tough night in the loss, shooting only 33% from the field and finishing with eight points and four boards.

Cleveland gave the defending champs a run for their money in Boston, even taking a lead to the locker room at the half. But the Celtics turned it on in the final 24 and iced away the game with a last second dunk, winning 90-85 at TD Banknorth Garden. Daniel Gibson came off the bench for the Cavs, scoring six and dishing out three dimes in his 22 minutes of play. D-Gib only had two attempts from long range and missed both.

Tonight

Royal Ivey debuts in the City of Brotherly Love when the Philadelphia 76ers host Atlantic Division rival Toronto. (5 PM CDT)

Atlanta travels to the horribly-named Amway Arena to take on Orlando tonight, giving former Longhorn Maurice Evans a chance to enact a bit of revenge against his old team. (6 PM CDT)

The offseason saw T.J. Ford cross the border and join the Pacers, where the point guard will no longer have to jostle for playing time with Jose Calderon. Tonight he debuts with Indiana in a road game against the Detroit Pistons. (7 PM CDT)

Remember when David Stern thought it would be cool to steal a franchise away from a large market and move them to a “city” in a dust bowl solely to appease his good buddy? And then he let them choose a lame mascot and design uniforms better suited for Rainbow Brite? I’m thinking Kevin Durant might be a little pissed about that when the Oklahoma City Thunder host Milwaukee tonight. (7 PM CDT)

Chris Mihm and his 6 Million Dollar Ankle look for some PT when the Lakers “travel” to the other bench at Staples Center in a match-up against the cross-town Clips. (9:30 PM CDT, ESPN)

The long summer is over, and finally basketball has returned. With it comes the return of Horns in the League, your daily look at how Texas Exes are doing on the professional hardwood. We’ll be back with more features on Longhorn basketball as the final three weeks of the college offseason wind down, but for now let’s get right to the NBA action…

Tonight

Daniel Gibson and the Cavaliers open things up in Boston, where TD Banknorth will undoubtedly be electric as the Celtics raise yet another championship banner. (7 P.M. CDT, TNT)

The second half of TNT’s opening night doubleheader will feature two former Horns when the Blazers and LaMarcus Aldridge face off against Chris Mihm and the Lakers. (9:30 P.M. CDT, TNT)