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Thunder win, clinch Northwest Division

Apr 7, 2011 - 6:44 AM Oklahoma City, OK (Sports Network) - Kevin Durant dropped 29 points and seven rebounds, as the Oklahoma City Thunder edged the Los Angeles Clippers, 112-108, to capture the Northwest Division title.

Russell Westbrook poured in 26 points, seven assists and seven rebounds for the Thunder, who have won two straight and seven of the last nine. Serge Ibaka added 15 points and eight rebounds in the win.

"Everyone chipped in on the defensive end and we got a good win," Durant said.

Blake Griffin had a game-high 35 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who had a two-game win streak snapped. Eric Gordon and Mo Williams each had 16 points, while Williams pitched in nine assists in the loss.

The Thunder had the lead for most of the final three quarters, but the Clippers made it interesting during the final minute of the game.

Down by 10, 105-95, with 3 1/2 minute left, LA scored five straight points highlighted by a Griffin dunk. Following an Ibaka layup, Williams drained a three-pointer with 54.3 seconds left to make it 107-103.

During the Clippers' next possession with 23.1 seconds, Williams fed Griffin for a booming alley-oop dunk to pull within two. But Durant hit a free throw to make it 108-105.

The Clippers would cut it twice more during the final 14 seconds, but Westbrook's breakaway dunk with 4.5 seconds left iced the game and clinched the first division title for the Thunder.

The Clippers grabbed as big as a 10-point lead in the first and carried a 31-26 edge into the second quarter.

However, the Thunder took the lead with eight minutes left in the half on Daequan Cook's three-point shot and a 7-0 run to finish out the half gave the Thunder a 58-53 at the break.

"I didn't think we played very well the first half," Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro said.

Williams' three just 1 1/2 minutes into the third drew the Clippers within one, but that's the closest they got the rest of the way.

The Thunder's lead grew to double digits, though, with 4:13 left to play in the third after Thabo Sefolosha's layup. They took a 87-77 lead into the fourth.

Game Notes

The teams split the season series...LA dropped to 9-30 on the road this season and are out of postseason play for the 13th time in 14 seasons...Chris Kaman had 12 points and eight rebounds in the loss, while DeAndre Jordan and Craig Smith each chipped in 10 points.