2015 NBA scores: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will not let the Thunder lose

The NBA’s best duo in takeover mode, the unstoppable Spurs and everything else from NBA Monday.

Dec 22, 2015, 1:00 PM UTC

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Clippers were looking for a signature win, but Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook wanted one of their own. The Oklahoma City Thunder stars took turns taking over down the stretch and Kevin Durant gave the Thunder a one-point lead before making a game-winning block as the Thunder beat the Clippers 100-99 on Monday.

It was a hectic final minute of play with five lead changes and clutch defensive plays. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin did their best, but Durant made the biggest plays in the final 10 seconds -- and the Clippers are searching for a big win now that they're 0-4 against the Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors.

Russell Westbrook had 33 points, seven assists and five rebounds and Durant had 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. The Thunder had no problem letting their two stars take over. They played off one another, letting the game come to them. It was a perfect give and take from both players, and it showed in the final minute. When both Westbrook and Durant are on like that, even a great effort might not be enough. Especially when Durant is in takeover mode like he was on his game winner:

The Clippers know, Paul was fantastic with 32 points and 10 assists. Griffin had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists and was great down the stretch -- he had six of the Clippers’ final eight points. It wasn’t enough, though. The Clippers lost another close one that they could have won.

The Clippers outplayed the Thunder in the first half, but only led 50-48 at the break. Neither team could hit a shot to start the second half, but then things got fun. Paul and Griffin caught fire and Durant and Westbrook did their best to keep up -- not that they were able to. The Clippers built up an eight-point lead and it seemed like the they were going to pull away, but the Thunder never folded. The Clippers clung to a 77-72 lead heading into the fourth.

The Thunder were serious about this game, both Westbrook and Durant were in the game early in the fourth -- one of them usually rests in that time. The Thunder climbed back and tied it at 89 with five minutes left, and the teams traded buckets, tying at 91 and 93.

Griffin gave the Clippers a 95-93. Westbrook took over down the stretch, hitting a three to give the Thunder the lead with less than a minute to go. Then after a Blake Griffin dunk with 37 seconds to play, he hit a toilet bowl runner in the lane to take it back with 29 seconds left. That’s when things got crazy.

The Thunder stole the ball from J.J. Redick, but Paul stole the ensuing inbound pass and hit a tough layup to give the Clippers the lead.

Durant hit the shot to give the Thunder the lead and then made the game-winning block:

It was a huge win for the Thunder. They did beat the Spurs in the first game of the season, but haven’t faced a contender recently.

If they play like they did against the Clippers, the Thunder are certainly going to contend against the NBA’s best.

4 other things we learned

The Spurs express shows no signs of slowing.

The Indiana Pacers stuck around for a while, but the San Antonio Spurs run was inevitable. Despite a 1-of-8 shooting performance in the first half from Paul George -- he did have five rebounds and four assists -- the Pacers were down only two at the half, and they stuck around for most of the third. Then Kawhi Leonard took over. They built up a nine-point lead by the end of the quarter and thanks to Leonard, kept building on it, pulling away for a 106-92 win. Leonard had 24 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Plus, he held Paul George to a 1-of-14 shooting night and George had six turnovers. The Spurs are undefeated at home this season, and they’re winning by a huge margin every night.

Spurs at home this season: +14, +8, +19, +37, +21, +3, +25, +20, +5, +14, +10, +11, +13, +9, +20, +27.
— Quixem Ramirez (@quixem) December 22, 2015

They are unrelenting in their attack and eventually wear you down. The Warriors are the gold standard this season, but the Spurs are very close.

The Bulls are turning into a circus.

The Chicago Bulls lost to the Brooklyn Nets. They've reached a new low. Jimmy Butler has expressed his concerns that new coach Fred Hoiberg was too "laid back," but nothing changed in this one -- the Bulls were lackadaisical. Butler had 24 points and Pau Gasol had 20, but the Bulls lost their third straight to a team that had lost five in a row. Hoiberg tried making a change to the starting lineup by placing Nikola Mirotic into the starting role, but it didn't make much of a difference. Mirotic has struggled all season. Hoiberg can continue to tweak the lineup, but it appears Butler may be right, the Bulls need to play harder.

The Orlando Magic are a complete team.

The New York Knicks had won four in a row and even with Kristaps Porzingis on the bench they were pulled to within one with five minutes to play after trailing the entire game against the Magic. The night before, the Magic had struggled down the stretch against the Atlanta Hawks. But that wasn't going to be the case against the Knicks. Victor Oladipo hit a runner and then two free throws. Nikola Vucevic had a big bucket. Then Evan Fournier hit a jumper and a three, and the game was essentially over. The Magic pulled away down the stretch to win 107-99. Vucevic led the Magic with 26 points and nine rebounds as Tobias Harris and Fournier added 20 and 16, respectively. The Magic have a great big man, slashers and shooters -- and when they're clicking they're a very dangerous team. At 16-12, they currently have only the ninth-best record in the East. But at 10-4 in their last 14, they're climbing the ranks.

John Wall is doing his best to turn the Washington Wizards around.

Wall had a career-high 19 assists in the Wizards' 113-99 win over the Sacramento Kings. After struggling early this season, Wall has come into his own. In 12 games in December, he's averaging 23.6 points and 11.5 assists per game -- a huge jump from his season averages of 19.6 points and 9.4 assists per game. The Wizards are 6-6 in December and 12-14 overall, so it's not like Wall's jump in production is saving the season. There's still work to be done in Washington.

Marcin Gortat could help. He had a huge night, too, with 27 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks, completely outplaying DeMarcus Cousins, who had 22 points and eight rebounds. Gortat has upped his game in December, as well. If the Wizards are going to turn this around, they're going to need more than Gortat and Wall to step up.