Tulsa World: Oklahoma City fends off Washington

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Oklahoma City fends off Washington

Washington Wizards forward Caron Butler (3) shoots as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha (2) defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. AP PHOTO

By JEFF LATZKE Associated Press
Published: 11/21/2009 2:30 AM
Last Modified: 11/21/2009 7:26 AM

OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant scored 35 points, Russell Westbrook added 26 and the Oklahoma City Thunder had their highest-scoring output of the season in a 127-108 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

Rookie James Harden followed his 24-point performance by hitting his first three 3-pointers and finishing with 25 points to set another career best. Jeff Green had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Thabo Sefolosha added 16 points.

The game marked a full season since Scott Brooks took over as Thunder coach, and he reached the 82-game mark with a 29-53 record. Oklahoma City started 2-17 under Brooks following the firing of P.J. Carlesimo, but has since gone 27-36 — including 7-6 to begin this season.

After watching Washington answer every Thunder run for the better part of three quarters, Brooks changed the game when he went with a three-guard lineup. Oklahoma City immediately went on a 9-0 run to stretch its lead to 91-81 on Durant's three-point play.

Then Brooks went even smaller, going without a center and leaving the 6-foot-9 Green as his tallest player on the court. The move worked, as Oklahoma City continued to pull away.

Caron Butler scored 24 for the Wizards, who have lost seven of eight.

THUNDER 127, WIZARDS 108

Washington 29 26 31 22 — 108
Oklahoma City 32 30 33 32 — 127

Washington: Butler 8-16 4-5 24, Jamison 9-17 3-7 22, Haywood 7-11 0-0 14, Arenas 7-20 8-10 23, Miller 2-4 0-0 5, Stevenson 0-0 2-2 2, Blatche 3-7 0-0 6, Boykins 5-7 1-1 11, Foye 0-2 1-2 1, Young 0-1 0-0 0, McGuire 0-0 0-0 0, McGee 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 41-86 19-27 108.

OKC: Durant 12-22 10-13 35, Green 8-15 2-2 19, Krstic 3-4 0-0 6, Westbrook 6-12 11-12 26, Sefolosha 7-15 0-0 16, Thomas 0-2 0-0 0, Harden 8-11 5-6 25, Ollie 0-2 0-0 0, Collison 0-0 0-0 0, Weaver 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 44-83 28-33 127.

3-pointers: Washington 7-15 (Butler 4-6, Miller 1-1, Jamison 1-2, Arenas 1-4, Young 0-1, Boykins 0-1), OKC 11-21 (Harden 4-6, Westbrook 3-6, Sefolosha 2-3, Green 1-2, Durant 1-4). Rebounds: Washington 48 (Haywood 16), OKC 49 (Green 14). Assists: Washington 19 (Arenas 8), OKC 18 (Westbrook 7). Total fouls: Washington 22, OKC 23. Technicals: OKC defensive 3-second 2. A: 18,203 (18,203).

By JEFF LATZKE Associated Press

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Some reader comments for this story were copied from "Thunder holds off Wizards, 127-108," which was published on 11/20/2009.

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