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Durant Chalks Up 26, Kobe Commits Nine Turnovers, And The Thunder Win 91-75
Oklahoma City, OK (Sports Network) - Kevin Durant poured in 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds, as the Oklahoma City Thunder destroyed the Los Angeles Lakers, 91-75.
Russell Westbrook added 23 points and six assists for the Thunder, who have won two in a row following a two-game skid. Oklahoma City remained 1 1/2 games behind the Suns for fifth in the West.
Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic each donated 10 points. Krstic also had 10 rebounds for the victors.
Lamar Odom chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds for the West-leading Lakers, who had a seven-game winning streak snapped. Kobe Bryant was held to 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting in defeat, Los Angeles' first since a 96-94 setback at Orlando on March 7.
The Thunder never looked back after Krstic made a pair of free throws and Westbrook connected on a jumper to make it 4-0. The lead expanded to 19-7 on Westbrook’s layup near the midway point of the first quarter. Oklahoma City held a 27-15 margin after 12 minutes.
Ahead 29-19 early in the second, the Thunder ripped off seven straight points to make it 36-19 on James Harden's pair of free throws with less than nine minutes to go.
Oklahoma City closed the half out on an 11-4 spurt to take a 53-34 lead into the locker room.
The Thunder expanded their gap in the third by ending the period on a 10-0 surge. Durant had eight of those points to help make it 80-47 heading to the fourth, a stanza in which the home team cruised to victory.
The Lakers were in search of their third straight season sweep of the Oklahoma City franchise and had won 12 consecutive games over the franchise, dating back to its days in Seattle...Los Angeles won the season series with the Thunder, 3-1...The Thunder improved to 24-12 at the Ford Center this season, and will close out a four-game homestand on Sunday against Portland...Los Angeles’ all-time franchise low for points in a game is 70.
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