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Bench, sans Harden, rally Thunder in fourth

Apr 25, 2012 - 6:04 AM Oklahoma City, OK (Sports Network) - Kevin Durant poured in a team-high 32 points, including 15-of-16 from the free throw line, and grabbed nine rebounds in just three quarters of action as the Oklahoma City Thunder topped the Sacramento Kings, 118-110, on Tuesday at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Daequan Cook added 19 points and five rebounds, Russell Westbrook finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists, Thabo Sefolosha and Derek Fisher added 11 points apiece and Kendrick Perkins netted 10 for the Thunder, who bounced back from a double-overtime loss to the Lakers on Sunday.

"Those guys did a great job of building us a lead and playing defense," Durant said about his team's bench. "It was good for our second group to get their confidence."

Thunder guard/forward James Harden missed the game after getting elbowed in the side of the head by Metta World Peace in Sunday's loss. World Peace was suspended seven games by the NBA for his actions.

DeMarcus Cousins netted 32 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Jason Thompson added 22 points and six boards and Travis Outlaw donated 20 points in the loss for the Kings, their third in four tries.

With the contest tied at 102 and all five Thunder starters on the bench with 3:42 to play, Royal Ivey buried a 19-foot jumper to give Oklahoma City a 104-102 advantage.

A pair of free throws by Isaiah Thomas a little later pulled the Kings within one, 106-105, but Fisher was fouled shooting a three on the next Thunder possession and made all three from the line to make it 109-105.

Cousins put in a layup, which was answered at the other end by a Fisher layup to make it 111-107 with 1:08 to play.

After a Cousins miss, Cook put the dagger in the hearts of the Kings with a three-pointer from the right corner to put OKC up 114-107 with 44.9 seconds to go, and they held on for the win.

The opening 12 minutes were tightly contested, as the quarter featured seven ties and three lead changes. The last tie of the frame came when Durant buried an 11-foot jumper with two minutes left to knot the game at 31. The Kings held a 40-35 advantage after one.

Cousins put home a layup to give the Kings a 13-point edge early in the second quarter, but then the Thunder stormed back.

Oklahoma City countered with a 12-0 run to cut the deficit to 52-51 on a driving layup by Serge Ibaka with 4:21 to play before halftime and the Kings held a slim 59-57 edge at the break.

Leading by one with under a minute gone in the third quarter, the Kings used a 16-3 burst to extend the lead to 13, 77-64, with 5:46 to play in the quarter.

Oklahoma City fought back and a Durant jumper with under a minute left in the frame cut the deficit to 84-82. Sacramento led 86-82 heading into the fourth.

Game Notes

Sacramento fell to 6-27 away from California's capital and has lost three of four matchups with the Thunder this season. Oklahoma City has won 12 of the past 14 meetings between the teams and all seven contests at home...The Thunder shot 47 percent from the floor and 9-of-20 from three-point range, while Sacramento shot 52 percent from the field and 4-of-16 from beyond the arc.