Kevin Durant powers the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 110-105 O.T. win over the Philadelphia 76ers
Kevin Durant powers the Oklahoma City Thunder to come from behind and defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 110-105 in the overtime. Durant made 34 points and had 16 rebounds to rope in another double-double. The game took place at Wells
Fargo Centre, Philadelphia on Wednesday evening. A cluster of 19,283 fans gathered to watch Durant and this crucial game as Sixers tried to add one more in their play-off inspired game count.
The Thunder were slow to begin. The Sixers on the other hand, tipped off strongly and grabbed the lead right away with a 12-2 run. Thunder though quickly pulled themselves back in the game and finished the first quarter six points
behind the Sixers 28-34.
With second section, began the real battle for the supremacy. Scores were tied on four occasions and lead was changed thrice. Sixers’ Lou Williams dunked one in the last second and levelled the scores 55-55 before going to the
locker for the half.
The third quarter was even better and the match swung wildly from one end of the court to the other. However, the Thunder finally came out as in-charge when Durant hit a smashing three pointer with 0:17 to go in the period to hand
his team the final lead of the segment at 82-80.
Sixers came down hard on the Thunder in the fourth quarter and snatched the lead 83-84 in the very first minute. But, they failed to stretch and the Thunder always remained within the striking range. Trailing by five points with
2:16 minutes remaining, the Thunder fixed their defence and for the next 1:76 minutes both teams failed to put any points on board 96-101. Then, Durant made the charge and hit a jumper to make it 98-101. Then with six minutes left he brought his team into
the game with a game-extending trey that levelled the scores at 101-101 and the teams headed into overtime.
It seemed as Durant’s last three-pointer damaged the Sixers spirit because they failed to give Thunder a tough time in the overtime. On the other hand, Thunder used the previous momentum to pull away for good. First they clinched
the lead 104-103 in 3:40 from the Sixers, and then went on stretching it. Thunder eventually finished the game with a 110-105 decision.
After the game Durant told about his last three-pointer in the fourth frame, he said: “Fifty percent of the game is mental, so I thought the shot was going in before I took it and luckily it went in"
Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said, "You need some help or some good fortune, We got it."
Besides Durant, Westbrook also played an important role in Thunder’s victory; he added 27 points and provided 12 assists.
From the Sixers, Jrue Holiday and Lou Williams contributed 22 points each, Holiday also had four rebounds, eight assists and steal three.
Tags: