Wizards 102 - 109 Thunder
Final
  for this game

Durant, Thunder outlast Wizards

Jan 3, 2015 - 6:11 AM

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Oklahoma City, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Durant posted 34 points with eight rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder claimed a hard-fought 109-102 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday.

Russell Westbrook checked in with 22 points and six assists, while Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison added 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Oklahoma City has won two straight and four of five overall.

Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds and John Wall registered 14 points with 12 assists in the setback, Washington's second straight defeat on the heels of a three-game winning streak.

"Few mishaps on the offensive end, mishaps on the defensive end," said Beal. "If you look at the stat sheet we were neck and neck. They just made a couple more plays than we did down the stretch."

With the game tied at 95-95 and under five minutes to go, Durant buried a 3- pointer from the top of the arc. He then hit a stepback jumper two possessions later for a 100-95 led, prompting a Washington timeout with 3:23 left.

Out of the huddle, Nene hit a mid-range jumper prior to Westbrook slashing through the lane for a layup.

Durant really put the pressure on the visitors after each team exchanged misses, converting an alley-oop layup with Paul Pierce draped all over him at 1:42. He hit the ensuing free throw, then Washington responded with five straight points to cut it to three.

Westbrook stole an errant pass from Wall with 28.9 seconds left, missed the layup due to some trailing defense from Wall, but Ibaka was there to clean up the rebound. Westbrook then hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to secure the win.

"I was pleased with the win," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "As the game went along, we really locked in during that fourth quarter."

Washington led 29-28 after the first quarter and pushed the margin to 57-55 at the half.

Wall's runner gave the Wizards an 82-74 lead late in the third, but Durant knocked down a pair of treys to close the quarter as part of an 8-0 run.

Game Notes

The Thunder scored 16 points off 15 turnovers ... OKC shot 53 percent from the floor ... There were 16 ties and 13 lead changes, with each team taking a game-high eight point lead.






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