Thunder Make It "3" Straight

By Randy Renner

The Oklahoma City Thunder used a barrage of 3-balls late and dominating performances from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to beat back a challenge from Brooklyn and win their third straight game Wednesday night.

But dont let the final 110-99 margin fool you, this game was way too close for any comfort until about halfway through the fourth quarter.

The used used a burst of long range bombs to pull away from an 85-85 tie with 8:24 left in the game to lead 94-85 with 6:23 to go and then 102-89 at the 4:48 mark.

In a three minute span Durant nailed three 3s and Dion Waiters dropped in two from beyond the arc to rev up the Chesapeake Energy Arena crowd and take any hope away from Brooklyn.

"I just need a little bit of space," Durant said of his 3-point spurt in the fourth. "I've been working a lot on my shot, trying to make it quicker. My teammates do a great job of screening for me and it's up to me to knock 'em down."

Durant finished with 30 points on 11-for-18 shooting overall and 5-for-8 on threes. He also had six rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots. Westbrook was right behind with 27 points, 13 assists, six rebounds and a whopping five steals.

To go along with 16 points Waiters also was very aggressive on the defensive end.

It was a pretty solid all-around game for the Thunder and could have been a blowout if they'd care of the basketball a bit better. 19 OKC turnovers led to 24 points for the Nets. Brooklyn also pulled down 11 offensive rebounds so they ended up with way too many extra possessions.

"We're working and growing to get better and they're staying the course," said head coach Billy Donovan. "Overall the areas and the things we're trying to work on our guys are concentrating and trying to get better."

The Thunder are taking Thanksgiving off and then will host former teammate Reggie Jackson and his Detroit Pistons on Friday night.