The late show: Durant pulls Thunder past Clippers
Published: 1/23/2013 10:55 AM
Last Modified: 1/23/2013 10:57 AM
Kevin Durant scored 32 points against the Clippers Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
Quotable: "We've got 82 games and we want to play well every night," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said after the win. "We don't put more emphasis on any one game. We know the Clippers are one of the best teams, and with Chris Paul in or out, they've still got a great team."
Highlights: Los Angeles made a run to start the fourth quarter, with Grant Hill and Jamal Crawford combining to score seven in a row and close to 82-75. That was as close as the Clippers came in losing their second straight.
Durant keyed a 3-point barrage over the next 4 minutes, making three of them himself while Westbrook and Ibaka two to extend the Thunder's lead to 99-82 -- their largest of the game. Three of those 3s came after the Thunder grabbed offensive rebounds.
"I couldn't find a shot early on because they were playing some great defense. They were putting multiple guys on me when I was driving and on pick-and-rolls, so I just tried to take what the defense was giving me and be aggressive," Durant said about his early-game performance.
"My shots were falling and my teammates were getting offensive rebounds and kicking it out for 3s. We were getting guys open for 3s. When we're driving and kicking, we're pretty good."
No CP3: The Clippers were without All-Star Chris Paul, who missed his fourth game because of a bruised right kneecap. The Clippers play 10 of their next 11 on the road.
Up next: 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, tonight at Golden State. TV/RADIO: FSOK-27/KYAL fm97.1
One more time: The third and final meeting of the regular season between the two teams will be in Los Angeles on March 3. The game is currently scheduled as part of ABC's Sunday showcase.
Written by
Matt Clayton
Staff Writer
