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Thunder top Celtics for 11th straight home win

Feb 23, 2012 - 5:56 AM Oklahoma City, OK (Sports Network) - Russell Westbrook scored 31 points, dished out six assists and pulled down five rebounds, as the Oklahoma City Thunder held off the Boston Celtics, 119-104.

Kevin Durant added 28 points, nine boards, six assists and four steals for the Thunder, who have recorded 11 straight wins at home for the first time since a 12-game streak from February 22-April 2, 1998, when the team was known as the Seattle SuperSonics.

James Harden and Daequan Cook tallied 17 points apiece for Oklahoma City, which has won four in a row overall.

The Thunder became the first team to score 100 points against Boston in 30 games.

"I thought in the first half we moved the ball extremely well," Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. "In the second half, we got the big lead and got a little sloppy."

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce ended with 23 points apiece for the Celtics, who head into the All-Star break on a five-game losing streak. Garnett also had 13 rebounds in his return to the lineup after missing two games due to personal reasons.

Ray Allen donated 21 points and seven assists for Boston, which also went 30 straight games without allowing a 30-point scorer.

Trailing by nine, 23-14, with 4:54 left in the first quarter, the Thunder ended the frame with an impressive 21-2 run. Cook tallied six points during the burst, which Harden capped with a three-pointer for a 35-25 lead.

Oklahoma City then scored the first seven points of the second period. Cook's three-pointer, Royal Ivey's layup and Harden's layup made it 42-25.

The Thunder, whose margin reached 23 in the stanza, had four players in double figures at the break en route to a 72-49 lead.

"That stretch just killed us because if you get down to this team the likelihood of you making a comeback without someone making a shot is almost impossible," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said.

The Celtics started to make things interesting in the third quarter by outscoring the home team, 31-22, to make it a 94-80 contest heading to the fourth.

Trailing 106-91 with 6:11 to play, Boston went on an 11-2 run to make it a six-point contest. Allen tallied seven points during the burst, which Pierce capped with a free throw to make it 108-102 with 3:31 left.

But the Thunder ended the game on an 11-2 spurt to claim victory.

Game Notes

The Thunder took both games from Boston this season and beat the Celtics in Oklahoma City for the first time (1-3)...Boston turned the ball over 18 times, leading to 24 Oklahoma City points...The Thunder were without forward Nick Collison (bruised left quadriceps)...Boston guard Rajon Rondo served the second of a two-game suspension. He was added to the 2012 East All-Star team for this weekend's game in Orlando...The Celtics were without Jermaine O'Neal (sprained wrist), Chris Wilcox (strained abductor) and Brandon Bass (sore knee)...Durant has been added to the 3-point contest for this weekend's All- Star Game festivities in Orlando. Durant will take the spot of Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson, who will miss All-Star weekend because of tendinitis in his left knee.