Kevin Durant carries Oklahoma City Thunder to a 113-103 win over Sacramento Kings: NBA Recap
Oklahoma City Thunder continued their winning streak and survived a late surge by the Sacramento Kings to win 113-103 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on Friday night.
The coach took both Kevin Durant and his guard Russell Westbrook off the court when the Thunder were up by as much as 24 at one stage but the Kings had other plans as they rallied back to cut the gap significantly. The starters
had to be brought back in the fourth period to hold off the inspired Kings team.
Kevin Durant led all scorers tonight with 31 points, Russell Westbrook had a double-double with 13 points and the same number of assists, Serge Ibaka also posted a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder, in
their 10th straight win, their longest streak since 1996 when they used to be called the Seattle Supersonics.
"It's good. We're 19-4 and we just want to look at the bigger picture instead of winning streaks, We're a pretty talented team, so we're just taking baby steps and getting better every day." said Kevin Martin who came off the bench
to add 18 points for Thunder.
Isaiah Thomas led the Kings with 26 points; Tyreke Evans added 21 points while Jason Thompson chipped in with 15 points.
The first quarter was quite close with no one piling up a major advantage. Score was tied on 8 early in the period but moments later Thabo Sefolosha nailed a three pointer to put the Thunder up by 5. The Kings were close by though
and an Aaron Brooks’ free throw after a Kendrick Perkings technical foul tied the score on 19. The Kings were trailing 26-29 by the end of the period.
The second period was all Thunder as they outscored the Kings 32-16. A 9-0 run put them up by 43-32 and both Kevin’s scored from downtown one after the other to push their lead to 56-36 later in the period, which ended with OKC
up by 19.
Sacramento Kings looked much improved in the second half as they started slashing the deficit. Evans made a layup to make it 60-72 for the Kings deep in the third period but the Thunder maintained a double digit lead throughout
the quarter and were leading 82-68 by the end of it.
The Kings kept coming though and cut the deficit at break neck speed in the fourth period.
"It was just a little frustration that they came back because I thought we were playing so well," Durant said. "You have tough stretches like that. I was just more frustrated that we gave up the lead."
They pulled the Thunder within 98-103 before Durant and company rushed onto the court to put break on their charge, and the Thunder hung on to a 113-103 win in the end.
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