Thunder 91, Celtics 79: Kevin Durant scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Russell Westbrook chipped in 15 points as host Oklahoma City stretched its winning streak to five games.
Kevin Martin contributed 12 points off the bench for the Thunder, who also have won five straight at home and eight of nine overall. Durant went 11-for-11 at the foul line as Oklahoma City made 27 of 33 free throws.
Paul Pierce scored 20 points and Avery Bradley added 12 for Boston, which had its five-game winning streak snapped. Kevin Garnett had 10 points and 11 rebounds but missed his final 13 field-goal attempts and didn't score after the 10:51 mark of the second quarter.
The Celtics were within 50-45 at halftime despite committing 13 first-half turnovers and sending the Thunder to the line 21 times. Boston cut it to 68-65 heading to the fourth quarter, but Oklahoma City opened the final period with an 11-2 run and didn't let the lead slip below eight the rest of the way.
Boston missed 16 of its first 18 shots to start the fourth, and Durant's jumper pushed it to 87-73 with 3:13 left. Boston's Jason Terry hit back-to-back 3-pointers to trim it to 87-79, but the Celtics didn't score in the final 2:11.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Garnett (24,184) needs nine points to pass Jerry West for 15th on the NBA's all-time list. … Oklahoma City improved to 9-2 in the first game of back-to-back sets. The Thunder play at San Antonio on Monday. … The Thunder improved to 28-4 at home and salvaged a split of the season series with Boston.
Boston | Oklahoma City | |
Paul Pierce 20 | Scoring | Kevin Durant 23 |
Paul Pierce 6 | Assists | Kendrick Perkins 5 |
Brandon Bass 13 | Rebounds | Kevin Durant 11 |
Paul Pierce 6 | Free Throws Made | Kevin Durant 11 |
Brandon Bass 1 | Steals | Thabo Sefolosha 3 |
Brandon Bass 2 | Blocks | Serge Ibaka 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Boston | 79 | 37.7 | 7-20 | 14-20 | 17 | 44 | 5 | 5 | 19 |
Oklahoma City | 91 | 44.1 | 4-16 | 27-33 | 21 | 41 | 6 | 9 | 15 |