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Thunder ease past Raptors

Jan 6, 2013 - 9:21 PM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Russell Westbrook paced five Thunder players in double figures with 23 points and seven assists as Oklahoma City thumped the Toronto Raptors, 104-92, on Sunday at Air Canada Centre.

Kevin Durant netted 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go with seven rebounds and seven assists, while Serge Ibaka added 19 points and eight boards for the Thunder, who have won two straight since a loss to Brooklyn on Wednesday and five of six overall.

Kevin Martin scored 16 points and Nick Collison donated 10 and eight rebounds in the triumph.

"I thought we were focused defensively," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "That's how we win, we score off our defense. We did a really nice job today."

Alan Anderson posted 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting, while Amir Johnson added 19 and nine boards in the setback for Toronto, which has lost two straight since a three-game winning streak.

DeMar DeRozan and Jose Calderon gave 11 and 10 points, respectively, in a losing cause.

Holding a slim 52-50 lead at halftime, the Thunder created some space for themselves in the third quarter.

Calderon drained a trey with 7:37 left in the frame to bring the Raptors within 60-59, but the Thunder then reeled off nine straight points, capped by a pair of free throws by Durant, to expand the lead to 69-59 with 4:28 to play.

Calderon scored on a layup to stop the run, but the Thunder led by as many as 15 in the quarter and carried a 78-67 lead into the fourth.

Landry Fields cut the deficit to nine with 11:24 to play courtesy of a nice reverse layup, but the Thunder led by double digits the rest of the way en route to the victory.

"This is one of the most talented, well coached teams in the league," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said of Oklahoma City. "I told our guys I was proud of how hard they played today. We have to bring that effort every night."

Toronto stayed close early on, as a running slam by Johnson pulled the hosts within 9-8, but Oklahoma City then ripped off 10 straight points to build a comfortable lead.

Durant and Martin drained 3-pointers during the surge, which gave the Thunder a 19-8 lead with 4:41 to play in the opening quarter.

Ibaka hit a hook shot to make it 23-12 with 3:10 left, but the Raptors closed the session with the final six points to pull within 23-18 after one quarter.

Durant floated in a jumper early in the second stanza to make it 36-30, but the home side responded with a 12-1 surge, capped by a Kyle Lowry trey, to give the Raptors a 42-37 edge.

The Thunder were unfazed by Toronto's surge, and answered right back with the next eight points to move back in front, 45-42, with 3:29 to play and the team took the lead into the break.

Game Notes

Oklahoma City leads the all-time series, 21-12 ... Oklahoma City shot 49.4 percent from the field and 22-of-24 from the free throw line ... Sunday marked the first time in the past seven games that Toronto's bench scored less than 49 points ... The Raptors shot 44.7 percent from the floor, including 8-of-23 from 3-point range.