• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Raptors take down Durant-less Thunder

Dec 4, 2010 - 3:14 AM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - The Raptors accomplished what three other teams this season couldn't -- they beat an Oklahoma City team playing without Kevin Durant.

Andrea Bargnani scored 26 points, including 15 in the second half, and Toronto rallied for a 111-99 victory over the Thunder on Friday.

Leandro Barbosa added 22 points off the bench and Sonny Weems scored six of his 10 during a key run in the third quarter for the Raptors, who won for the sixth time in their last eight games.

The Thunder played their second game this week without Durant, the reigning NBA scoring champ who was sidelined again with a sprained left knee.

But unlike Wednesday's triple-overtime win against New Jersey, they had no heroes in this one. Russell Westbrook and James Harden both scored 20 points and Oklahoma City lost for only the third time in 11 games.

"We got beat by a good team tonight," said Thunder head coach Scott Brooks. "We struggled defensively and got worn out."

The Thunder fell to 3-1 this season without Durant, having previously beaten Boston, Milwaukee and New Jersey without him.

For the most part, Westbrook had played the role of hero in his absence. He scored all 13 points in the third overtime at New Jersey, lifting the Thunder to a thrilling 123-120 win, and averaged 29 points in the first three games Durant missed.

But Oklahoma City hit a wall after the first half in Toronto, snapping a seven-game road winning streak against Eastern Conference teams.

"Of course we're a better team with Kevin Durant in the lineup. But this is the NBA. You've got to step up and we didn't do that," said Brooks.

The Raptors opened the second half with a 17-4 run, highlighted by a pair of Weems dunks and capped by Bargnani's three-pointer at 8:04 for a 69-63 lead.

Toronto, after trailing by seven points at the half, went ahead by as many as 11 in the third quarter when Weems' fade-away jumper in the last minute made it 86-75.

Oklahoma City cut its deficit to nine points at 86-77 heading into the fourth, and later made a small rally after falling behind by 14. Royal Ivey hit a three-pointer to made it an eight-point game, 97-89, but the Thunder were never closer than that over the last five minutes.

Toronto shot 54.9 percent in the game, while the Thunder shot 43.7 percent.

"The game plan was good tonight," said Toronto guard Jose Calderon, who had 15 assists for the second consecutive Friday.

The Raptors had two six-point leads in the first quarter and finished it with a 28-25 edge behind 10 points from Bargnani. Barbosa scored 10 off the bench in the second quarter, but the Raptors trailed 59-52 at halftime.

The Thunder actually took a nine-point lead with 2.9 seconds left in the half on two Westbrook free throws, but Linas Kleiza hit a shot at the buzzer to get the Raptors within seven.

Game Notes

Bargnani also had a game-high 12 rebounds...Durant missed two games earlier this season because of a left ankle injury. "We'll have to see if he can play Sunday" against Golden State, Brooks said...Toronto extended its NBA record to 951 games with a three-pointer...The Thunder fell to 9-3 this season with a halftime lead, while Toronto improved to just 2-8 after trailing at the half.