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Nuggets hold off Thunder in OT

Jan 21, 2013 - 6:39 AM Denver, CO (Sports Network) - Corey Brewer led the Nuggets with 26 points and Denver held on in overtime to take a 121-118 decision over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday at Pepsi Center.

Kenneth Faried scored 16 points to go with 10 rebounds and his hook shot late in the extra session gave Denver the lead for good. The victory gave Denver head coach George Karl his 1,099th career win, passing Larry Brown for sixth- most all-time.

"Corey Brewer shot the leather off the ball," Faried said of his teammate. "I think we need a new ball after that night."

Danilo Gallinari scored 18, Wilson Chandler followed with 12 and Ty Lawson and Andre Miller each netted 11 for the Nuggets, who bounced back after a disappointing loss to the woeful Wizards on Friday.

Kevin Durant finished with 37 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, but missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the end of overtime.

"When I miss, sometimes it is defense, most of the time it is me," Durant said. "I just need to focus a little better on my shots and they will start falling."

Russell Westbrook sent the Thunder to an extra session with a long triple near the end of regulation. He tallied 36 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for Oklahoma City, which saw its six-game winning streak come to an end.

After a closely contested three quarters, the Nuggets held a slight 81-79 advantage heading into the fourth.

Brewer, who scored 15 in the fourth, knocked down his third triple of the period to give Denver an eight-point lead before the Nuggets created their largest separation of the contest at 101-90 following Lawson's layup with 6:37 to go in the stanza.

Oklahoma City shot 52 percent through the first three quarters, but connected on just two of their first 12 shots in the fourth, falling behind by 103-93 on Brewer's layup.

However, the Thunder got hot from long distance late in the period, hitting 4- of-5 from 3-point range in the final four-plus minutes of the fourth, with Westbrook's triple tying the game at 109-109 with 22.9 seconds left.

The Nuggets had a chance to win it in regulation as they held for the final shot, but Lawson's short jumper hit off the back rim and the game went to overtime.

After the teams traded baskets to start the extra session, Faried put in a short hook for Denver to give them a 117-116 edge with under a minute remaining.

Nick Collison was then called for an illegal screen on the inbounds pass, giving the ball back to Denver. Miller then sank a pair of free throws to give the Nuggets a 119-116 edge with just 5.4 seconds remaining.

Durant answered with two of his own from the line on the Thunder's next possession, but after Chandler sank a pair for the Nuggets at the other end, Oklahoma City had just one more chance to extend the game.

With a chance to tie it, Durant got a good look from the corner, but his 3- point attempt fell short and the Nuggets held on for the win.

Game Notes

The Nuggets held a 51-50 edge at the halfway point ... The game featured 20 ties and 12 lead changes ... Kosta Koufos totaled 10 points and 11 rebounds for Denver ... Kevin Martin scored 18 off the bench for Oklahoma City ... The Thunder lost their first overtime game of the season. They came in 4-0 in extra session contests ... The Nuggets have won their last eight overtime games at Pepsi Center.