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Thunder pound Nets; Durant's streak comes to an end

Feb 1, 2014 - 5:17 AM Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Durant's streak of 30-plus points finally came to an end at 12 games, but he, Serge Ibaka and the Oklahoma City Thunder still left Barclays Center with a 120-95 rout of the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.

Durant scored 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting in the first half but put up just three shots the rest of the way, sitting the entire fourth quarter with the game well in hand. He finished with 26 points and seven assists, completing January as the first player since Michael Jordan in March of 1987 to record at least 550 points and 90 assists in a month.

"I guess you can say that in the last 12 or 13 games, I'm the only one who can stop him from scoring 30," joked OKC head coach Scott Brooks.

Ibaka, meanwhile, shot 12-of-12 from the floor for 25 points, falling just two shots shy of Gary Payton's Thunder/SuperSonics franchise record of 14 shots without a miss set on Jan. 5, 2005.

Reggie Jackson and Thabo Sefolosha added 14 points apiece in Oklahoma City's 10th straight triumph. The Thunder shot a sizzling 63.6 percent from the floor and outrebounded Brooklyn 41-17.

The Nets' 17 rebounds set an NBA record for fewest in a single game.

"We have to look at what we can do to get better for tomorrow," said Nets coach Jason Kidd.

Shaun Livingston had 16 points to pace Brooklyn, while Deron Williams netted 14 off the bench.

The Nets never had a chance in this one. Durant made sure of it.

After Livingston stripped the MVP candidate at mid-court and coasted in for a dunk to cut the Thunder's lead to 17-16 just past the midway mark of the opening frame, Durant and Ibaka combined to score the final 13 points of the period. Brooklyn was held without a point over the final 4:57 of the first.

"We got confidence early on from our defense," said Durant. "Everybody chipped in."

Durant checked back in after a short rest early in the second, hit a technical free throw and set up Perry Jones III for a triple that extended the margin to 44-21.

After Ibaka followed a Durant three with a one-handed slam with 3:07 left in the first half, Oklahoma City had doubled Brooklyn's score at 56-28. The lead grew to 31 points on another Durant trey late in the period, and the Thunder owned a commanding 63-38 halftime advantage.

Brooklyn did everything it could to stop Durant from reaching the 30-point plateau, doubling him on every touch in the third quarter. He managed just three shots in the frame, a pair of alley-oops which he converted and a missed jumper.

Jeremy Lamb made all four shots he took in the fourth, scoring 10 of his 12 points over the final 12 minutes as the Thunder coasted to the finish line.

Game Notes

Durant only failed to score 30 points three times in January, but twice against Brooklyn ... The last player with 14 games of 30-plus points in a month was Kobe Bryant in February of 2003 ... The Thunder outscored Brooklyn 58-30 in the paint and held the Nets without a second chance point ... Brooklyn forward Andrei Kirilenko missed the contest with a sore right calf.