PHILADELPHIA — Kevin Durant had 26
points and 10 rebounds, Jeff Green added 16 points and the Oklahoma
City Thunder cruised to a 111-93 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on
Tuesday.
Nenad Krstic added 14 points and
Russell Westbrook had 10 points and 14 assists for the Thunder (45-28).
James Harden also had 12 points and
Serge Ibaka 10 for Oklahoma City, which is nearing its first playoff
appearance since 2004-05 as the Seattle SuperSonics.
Elton Brand scored 22 points, Andre
Iguodala added 21 and Jrue Holiday had 11 for the Sixers, who had their
two-game winning streak snapped.
Philadelphia still has not won at
least three in a row since a five-game streak between Jan. 31-Feb. 9.
Marreese Speights and Rodney Carney
added 10 points each.
As usual, Durant provided the big
plays for the Thunder.
Durant, the league's second-leading
scorer (29.6) behind only LeBron James' 29.8, sparked the Thunder with
six points in the final 2:07 of the third quarter. After the Sixers got
within 77-70, Durant drove by three Philadelphia defenders and threw
down a one-handed dunk.
Durant, who has 22 double-doubles this
season, then added a tough runner in the lane and two free throws with
0.9 seconds remaining.
Oklahoma City also received balanced
scoring and extended its lead early in the fourth.
The Thunder went on a 17-4 run to
open the quarter with reserves scoring all the points. Eric Maynor had
six and Harden five as the Thunder increased their lead to 101-78 with
5:55 left.
Oklahoma City shot 41 percent from
the field, but committed only four turnovers in the first half. As a
result, the Thunder held a 56-45 advantage at halftime.
Notes
The Sixers played without
guard Lou Williams (sore lower back) and forward Thaddeus Young (right
thumb fracture). … Philadelphia University men's basketball coach Herb
Magee was honored at halftime. Magee recently earned his 903rd career
victory, passing Bobby Knight for the most wins in NCAA history. … There
was about a 10-minute delay before the start of the fourth quarter
because of a loose wire on the shot clock above one of the baskets.