Durant and Westbrook carry Oklahoma City Thunder to 119-109 win over the Golden State Warriors: NBA Recap
Kevin Durant scored the first triple double of his career with 25 points 13 rebounds and 10 assists while Russell Westbrook gathered a night high 30 points to go along with 7 assists as the two young guns led Oklahoma City Thunder
to a 119-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Thunder coach Scott Brooks was all praise for the KD.
"Some guys can just pass, some guys can just score, some guys can just rebound. Kevin can do it all, he can make plays. He's an MVP calibre player and that's what MVP players do."
Thunder did not miss their former sixth man, James Harden, even for a bit as his replacement Kevin Martin had another big night with 23 points - he scored 27 points in his previous game. Serge Ibaka also chipped in with 16 points
and grabbed 8 rebounds for the night.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 22 points and 6 assists while David Lee had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Thunder, feeding from the energy of the home crowd, wasted no time as they went up 7-2 when Westbrook knocked down a three pointer. An Ibaka jumper pushed their lead to 15-8 later in the period. Thunder started building a decent
advantage and were up 20-13 after a Westbrook layup, but the Warriors came back strong later in the period and reduced the deficit to 26-25 by the end of the period.
A Draymond Green three pointer early in the second period had the Warriors trailing by 30-31. OKC started pulling ahead after that though, a Durant triple putting them up by 44-36. Later on, a Martin jump shot for the Thunder had
them leading 52-40. Oklahoma City finished off the quarter with a 6-2 run to cement their authority at 59-46 by halftime.
Thabo Sefolosha opened up the proceedings in the second half with a three pointer as the Thunder went up 62-46. A Stephen Curry jumper for the Warriors cut the deficit down to 65-76 at one stage before the Thunder sprinted to a
10-2 run to jump up 86-67. They kept piling pressure on the Warriors as they closed the period with a 6-0 run to head into the final period leading 94-73.
Thunder got a bit complacent in the final quarter but it did not cost them much. Martin sank in a three pointer early in the period as the Thunder went up 101-85. The Warriors started closing the gap and a Curry shot from downtown
reduced the deficit down to 98-105. It was the closest the Warriors got this period as OKC soon applied brakes on Curry and company. The Thunder were up 117-105 with one minute on the regulation, and they went on to win 119-109.
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