Thunder winning streak reaches 9
BY MURRAY EVANS Associated Press
Thursday, December 13, 2012
12/13/12 at 5:18 AM
OKLAHOMA CITY - Kevin Durant scored 35 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder extended their winning streak to nine games with a 92-88 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night.
The Thunder rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit and matched their longest streak since the franchise moved from Seattle.
At 18-4, the Thunder matched the second-best start in franchise history. Seattle started 20-2 in the 1993-94 season and the Thunder started 18-4 last season.
It was the Thunder's third win over the Hornets in the past four weeks and seventh straight in the series.
Brian Roberts scored 16 points to lead New Orleans, which lost its fifth straight game.
Greivis Vasquez missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds that would have given New Orleans the lead. Thabo Sefolosha corralled the rebound and made the clinching free throws for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City, the league's highest-scoring team, entered with a 106-point average, but had its run of 12 straight triple-digit games end as it had to fight back simply to win against the worst team in the Western Conference.
The Hornets, who fell 77-70 on Tuesday to Washington, figured their best chance to stay with the Thunder was to keep the game low-scoring and that strategy worked for most of three quarters. The Hornets led 62-51 after a basket by Austin Rivers with 2:01 left in the third quarter.
Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks then went with a small lineup, inserting seldom-used guard Reggie Jackson alongside backup point guard Eric Maynor, Kevin Martin and Durant, and closed the quarter on a 7-0 run. A 9-2 run, capped by a dunk by Durant, put the Thunder ahead 67-64.
The Hornets regained the lead twice after that, but a 3-pointer by Martin put the Thunder ahead for good at 73-72 with 6:20 left, but Oklahoma City never could pull away.
A three-point play by Durant with 1:12 left pushed the Thunder's lead to 89-84, but Anthony Davis made 1 of 2 free throws with 18.5 seconds left and New Orleans grabbed the rebound on the miss. Roberts made a 3-pointer with nine seconds left to pull the Hornets within 89-88.
Durant made 1 of 2 free throws with 8.1 seconds left. The Thunder scored 34 points in the fourth quarter, two fewer than they did in the first half.
With help from 12 points by Ryan Anderson, New Orleans led most of the way in the first half and was up 44-36 at halftime. Oklahoma City, which entered the game second in the NBA in field-goal shooting at 49.1 percent, shot 30.6 percent from the field, including 0-of-3 from 3-point range.
Anderson finished with 14 points for the Hornets. Martin scored 17 for Oklahoma City while Russell Westbrook added 14.
Original Print Headline: Thunder winning streak is now at 9
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Associated Images:
Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts after a dunk against New Orleans during Wednesday's game. Oklahoma City won 92-88. SUE OGROCKI / AP
Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts after a dunk against New Orleans during Wednesday's game. Oklahoma City won 92-88. SUE OGROCKI / AP
New Orleans guard Austin Rivers shoots in front of Oklahoma City forward Serge Ibaka during Wednesday's game in Oklahoma City. SUE OGROCKI / Associated Press
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