|
 On Monday, Durant added another highlight reel to a star-studded
career.
Durant scored 40 points and tied a career high with seven made
3-pointers, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 124-114 win over
the reeling Denver Nuggets.
Guard Russell Westbrook had 26 points and nine assists, and rookie
forward Mitch McGary had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma
City, which won for the fourth time in five games.
Durant finished well below his career best of 54 points, but his 14
points in a two-minute stretch in the second quarter impressed
Brooks.
"I've seen them all, and he's an amazing player," Brooks said. "He's
everything you want from your star, he's all about team, he's all
about winning games."
Durant's big night helped his team win for the second time in as
many days. The Thunder (27-25) are trending toward the playoffs
while the Nuggets (19-33) are becoming the sure win on every
opponent's schedule. Denver lost its sixth in a row and fell for the
13th time in 14 games to become lottery contenders for the last half
of the season.
Home court used to be a safe haven for the Nuggets, but they lost
their sixth straight at Pepsi Center despite several attempted
rallies Monday.
"When I talk about the kind of losses I can live with, this is one
of them," Denver coach Brian Shaw said. "If it wasn't for that first
quarter and the flurry at the end of the second quarter, it's
anybody's game."
Forward Wilson Chandler led the Nuggets with 23 points. Denver
forward Kenneth Faried had 22 points and 10 rebounds, guard Ty
Lawson had 22 points and nine assists, and center Jusuf Nurkic
contributed 16 points and 14 boards.
Oklahoma City took advantage of the struggling Nuggets by taking a
38-18 lead after the first quarter. Denver chipped away and got
within 57-49 with an 8-0 run late in the second quarter.
That is when Durant took over. Following a timeout, he hit three
3-pointers to push the lead to 14. After a Westbrook fastbreak dunk,
Durant was fouled on a 3-pointer and hit two free throws. He hit a
fourth 3-pointer with 35 seconds left to give the Thunder a 73-59
lead at halftime.
"If I hit one shot, I feel like I'm hot," said Durant, who made 13
of 19 field-goal attempts overall. "That's not always the case, but
I have confidence in myself, and I feel like I've got it going. My
teammates were looking for me, I shot some bad shots, but luckily
they went in."
Denver defenders were helpless as Durant hit from all over the
floor.
[to top of second column] |
"It's tough when he gets hot like that," Lawson said. "We thought we
were going into the half playing well, but he did that. It was kind
of heartbreaking."
The Nuggets scored the first nine points of the third quarter, but
the Thunder responded with a 13-3 run, capped by Durant's fifth
3-pointer of the night that pushed the lead to 86-71. He and guard
Andre Roberson hit two more threes to make it 94-75 midway through
the third.
Durant's seventh 3-pointer made it 106-85 with 2:03 left in the
third.
"Kevin was on fire," Brooks said. "He had a lot of heat-check
moments. Everything was falling for him from the 3-point line. It's
good to see. He's one of the best players on the planet, and he had
a game going."
Denver went on an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 10 early in the fourth
and scored 10 straight midway through the last period to get within
115-106. Durant hit a floater in the lane and Westbrook sank a bank
shot to make it 122-109 with 3:16 left.
"When they cut it to seven, Russ hit some big shots, got to the rim,
got some free throws," Durant said. "That's what good teams do."
NOTES: Thunder C Steven Adams had surgery on his broken right hand,
and he will miss three weeks. Adams was injured in the second
quarter of Sunday's win over the Los Angeles Clippers. ... Denver G
Jameer Nelson missed his third consecutive game with a left Achilles
strain, and C JaVale McGee was dressed but available only if needed
because of illness and conditioning. ... Oklahoma City G Anthony
Morrow was back after missing Sunday's game due to right shoulder
soreness. ... Nuggets C Jusuf Nurkic was selected to the World Team
for the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday as part of All-Star
weekend. Nurkic replaces Adams.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
