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Nuggets crush Thunder

Jan 10, 2014 - 7:59 AM Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Denver's recent eight-game skid is suddenly a distant memory, as the Nuggets cruised to their fourth straight win Thursday with a 101-88 dismantling of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Ty Lawson posted his fifth consecutive double-double with 16 points and 14 assists while Randy Foye made six of Denver's 14 3-pointers during his 24- point effort.

Evan Fournier made a career-high four triples for 19 points off the Nuggets' bench, which outscored Oklahoma City's reserves by a 39-27 margin.

"The whole team is on the same page and we all want to get better and move forward and get a good spot for the playoffs," Fournier said.

Kevin Durant scored a game-high 30 points for Oklahoma City, which shot just 35.3 percent from the floor and fell to 4-4 without injured guard Russell Westbrook.

The Nuggets led, 27-26, at the end of the first quarter despite 16 points from Durant, then ended the half on a 10-4 run to head into the break with a 60-51 cushion.

The third quarter was all Denver, which came out of the locker room and scored 10 of the first 12 points to extend the lead to 14 points.

The Nuggets wound up hitting six 3-pointers during the quarter, including three in a row in one sequence -- two from Foye and another from Fournier -- and brought an 89-66 advantage into the fourth.

No one other than Reggie Jackson or Durant scored for the Thunder in the third, and both were on the bench in the final stanza with the outcome no longer in doubt.

"I thought our third quarter, offensively, we took too many bad shots," OKC head coach Scott Brooks admitted. "Shots that were not generated from a pass and when we rely on that, it's hard to make those shots consistently."

Game Notes

The Nuggets have made double-digit 3-pointers in three straight games ... The Thunder missed their first 10 shots from long range and finished 6-of-24 from the perimeter ... Serge Ibaka, who missed Oklahoma City's previous game with flu-like symptoms, posted eight points and 10 rebounds in his return ... Oklahoma City still leads the season series, 2-1 ... Denver played without forward Wilson Chandler due to a strained left groin.