Thunder snaps skid by topping T-Wolves
BY JEFF LATZKE Associated Press
Saturday, February 23, 2013
2/23/13 at 5:52 AM
For more OKC Thunder stories.Original Print Headline: Thunder snaps skid by beating T'Wolves
OKLAHOMA CITY - Russell Westbrook scored 37 points, Kevin Durant added 27 and the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-111 on Friday night.
The Thunder avoided losing four in a row for the first time since April 2009, near the end of their first season in Oklahoma City, but made little progress in getting their defense back in order.
They had allowed 113.7 points per game during the losing streak and were just a basket better against Minnesota, instead relying on an offense that regained the NBA lead in scoring average.
Alexey Shved led Minnesota with 17 points, and Andrei Kirilenko and Dante Cunningham had 15 points apiece. The Timberwolves shot 53 percent in the first half but couldn't keep up that pace and wound up hitting on 43 percent after halftime.
Oklahoma City, which hit all 22 of its free throws, doubled its lead by scoring the first six points of the second half and then used a couple more bursts during the third quarter to start opening the gap.
Kevin Martin had 19 points off the bench for the Thunder, who went 9-for-14 from 3-point range.
J.J. Barea scored 12 of his 14 in the first half, Greg Stiemsma and Ricky Rubio had 13 apiece and Ridnour 10 as Minnesota put seven players in double figures even without leading scorer Nikola Pekovic getting there.
Thunder coach Scott Brooks had no doubt what's gone wrong with Oklahoma City during a midseason swoon that came on suddenly after a run of four straight wins by at least 20 points that matched a franchise record.
"It's pretty easy to pinpoint. It's defense," Brooks said before the game. "If you take the last three games and you throw it into all the league stats, we're probably last in every category."
The Thunder led by as many as 13 midway through the second quarter, but the Timberwolves trimmed the deficit to 57-54 after making 10-of-11 attempts from the field. In the first half, Minnesota's reserves were a combined 16-for-18 from the field and the team overall was 23-for-43 (53 percent).
