NBA-best Thunder beat Blazers 111-107 in OT

[February 07, 2012]  PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Kevin Durant had 33 points, including a dunk with 2.9 seconds left in overtime, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 111-107 on Monday night.

Russell Westbrook added 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder, who upped their NBA-best record to 19-5.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 39 points for Portland, who led 103-101 with 6 seconds left in regulation before a goaltending call that drew the ire of the Rose Garden crowd and seemed to take the energy out of the Blazers.

With the game knotted at 103 to force overtime, Westbrook hit a jumper and James Harden added a fast-break dunk to give the Thunder a 107-103 lead. Jamal Crawford's pull-up jumper narrowed it to 109-107 for the Blazers, but Durant dunked with 2.9 seconds left to put it away.

It was just the second loss for the Blazers (13-11) at the Rose Garden.

The Blazers trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half, but Nicolas Batum hit a 3-pointer that tied it at 63 with 6:52 left. Aldridge added a jumper to put Portland ahead.

Durant's pull-up jumper tied it again, but Aldridge got two straight baskets, including a turnaround jumper with 3:37 to go, to make it 99-95 for the Blazers.

After Aldridge hit a pair of free throws, Durant made a 3-pointer to close to 101-98. Westbrook made free throws to tie it for Oklahoma City, and then Crawford's jumper with 55.9 seconds left pulled the Blazers back ahead.

In a scramble over the final minute, Westbrook took a jumper from the top of the key that rimmed out, and a goaltending call against Aldridge that tied it at 103.

Batum went for a layup on Portland's final possession and felt he should have gotten the foul, but instead the game went to overtime and the Rose Garden crowd jeered the officials.

The Thunder were coming off a 107-96 loss at San Antonio on Saturday, which kicked off a five-game road trip. Durant had 22 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double.

Portland was without starting guard Raymond Felton, who strained his left foot in the Blazers' 117-97 victory over Denver on Saturday night. An MRI was negative, but Felton is day-to-day with the injury.

Crawford, a former NBA Sixth Man award winner with Atlanta who was acquired by the Blazers as a free agent before the season opened, started for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

Crawford, who finished with 17 points, hit a 3-pointer that put Portland ahead 26-21 in the first quarter.

The Blazers led by as many as eight, but Oklahoma City pulled in front 46-41 in the second quarter on Serge Ibaka's dunk.

Durant and Ibaka had back-to-back dunks and the Thunder went on to lead 60-52 at the half.

Ibaka made a 15-foot jumper to extended Oklahoma City's lead to 64-52, but Portland took off on a 13-0 run to take a 65-64 lead capped by Gerald Wallace's layup.

It didn't last long, however, and the Thunder responded with a run of their own to go up 80-69 after Westbrook's dunk. Portland narrowed it to 87-83 to start the fourth quarter, and Batum hit a layup and a free throw to narrow it to 89-88, but Durant answered with a dunk to stop the Blazers' momentum.

NOTES: There was a cluster of fans behind the Thunder bench that wore SuperSonics gear and held banners in memory of the team that left Seattle in 2008. ... Batum had a career-high 33 points and a franchise-record nine 3-pointers in the victory over Denver. He finished with 13 against the Thunder.

[Associated Press; By ANNE M. PETERSON]

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