Best in the West & League battle
Thunder win it tonight 109-97
Kevin Durant scored 24 of his 32 points in the second half as visiting Oklahoma City took control after the break and outlasted short-handed Los Angeles.
Durant added seven rebounds and seven assists and Russell Westbrook scored 26 points for the Thunder, who have won seven of their last eight games.
Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 31 points and 11 rebounds while Jamal Crawford scored 14 off the bench. All-Star point guard Chris Paul sat out for the fourth time in six games due to a bruised right kneecap.
Oklahoma City took a 49-45 lead into the break and began to stretch things out in the third quarter as Durant got hot. He went 4-of-5 from the field in the period and converted a three-point play with 41 seconds left that sent the Thunder into the fourth quarter with an 82-68 edge.
Los Angeles scored the first seven points of the period to chop it to single digits but Durant stopped the bleeding with a 3-pointer and totaled three from beyond the arc in a 17-7 run that helped push it back to 99-82 with 5:22 left.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Paul, who struggled to four points on 1-of-7 shooting at Golden State on Monday, will undergo X-rays on Wednesday and is considered day-to-day. Eric Bledsoe started in his place and scored 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting. … The Clippers fell to 19-5 at home and have dropped back-to-back games for the second time this month. They went undefeated in December. … Oklahoma City went 15-of-27 from 3-point range, led by Durant’s 5-of-6 effort.
Stephen's Thoughts: Thunder's defense picked up in the second half. Thunder balanced the scoring with three ball.They set an okc record with 15 threes. It will be a fun game to watch tomorrow night against the suprising Golden state warriors and then the maybe future Seattle Supersonics Friday.No doubt in my mind okc will go 3-0 in the next three games and then back to their own beds.
Player of the Game: Kevin Durant with 37 point s shooting 5-6 from three and 12-19 and a Monster Dunk
