Kevin Durant finished with 28 points and Jeff Green added 16 and nine rebounds as the Oklahoma City Thunder held off the Dallas Mavericks 99-95 on Thursday.
Russell Westbrook chipped in 15 points and eight assists for the Thunder, who avoided a three-game losing streak.

The Mavericks jumped out to a 30-23 lead after the first quarter as Shawn Marion did his best Dirk Nowitzki impression with 12 points in the frame. Oklahoma City cut it to 55-51 at the half and made its move in the third, using a 9-0 burst starting at the 10:00 mark to take the lead.

Dallas drew back within 73-71 at the beginning of the fourth quarter before the Thunder made another run, getting four points from Serge Ibaka and a 3-pointer from Durant during a 10-2 burst the pushed the lead to double digits. Green’s layup and a tip from Collison with 1:17 left pushed the lead to 97-86 and Oklahoma City was able to hold on.

Marion finished with 25 and Jason Terry added 19 for the Mavericks, who were playing their sixth straight without Nowitzki due to a knee injury.