Kevin Durant scored 32 points and Russell Westbrook added 15 as the Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the fourth quarter en route to a 99-81 victory over the host Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday.
Jeff Green chipped in 12 points and Serge Ibaka had 10 and nine rebounds for the Thunder, who have won six of their last seven.
It looked like the Bobcats were going to make a game of it as they held a 69-68 lead going into the fourth quarter. But James Harden gave the Thunder the lead right away with a 3-pointer at the top of the frame.
That shot sparked a 23-3 burst over the first nine minutes of the period, giving the Thunder a 91-72 lead and putting away the game. Green scored nine points during the spurt, Westbrook tacked on five and Harden capped it with another 3-pointer before Oklahoma City emptied the bench.
Stephen Jackson scored 20 points and Boris Diaw added 13 for Charlotte, which played without injured second-leading scorer Gerald Wallace and has dropped four in a row.
Oklahoma City | Charlotte | |
Kevin Durant 32 | Scoring | Stephen Jackson 20 |
Jeff Green 5 | Assists | Boris Diaw 8 |
Nick Collison 10 | Rebounds | Boris Diaw 7 |
Kevin Durant 14 | Free Throws Made | Stephen Jackson 6 |
Nick Collison 3 | Steals | Derrick Brown 2 |
Serge Ibaka 2 | Blocks | Nazr Mohammed 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Oklahoma City | 99 | 43.7 | 7-16 | 30-36 | 17 | 44 | 3 | 9 | 14 |
Charlotte | 81 | 40.0 | 4-14 | 17-26 | 18 | 32 | 10 | 6 | 15 |