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Durant's double-double helps Thunder best Blazers

Mar 25, 2013 - 3:03 AM Oklahoma City, OK (Sports Network) - Kevin Durant recorded a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds, as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, 103-83, on Sunday.

Russell Westbrook scored 21 points and dished out nine assists for the Thunder, who were coming off a 97-89 win at Orlando on Friday. Serge Ibaka tallied 16 points and five blocks, while Kevin Martin and Nick Collison added 11 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench, as the Thunder moved within 1 1/2 games of San Antonio for the top spot in the Western Conference.

"That's a good team win, everybody did their jobs tonight and made winning plays," said Thunder head coach Scott Brooks. "The defense really picked it up in the second half. We didn't give up anything easy."

Damian Lillard had a team-high 19 points while Nicolas Batum registered 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Trail Blazers, who had won two straight. LaMarcus Aldridge recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

"I thought it was a good effort against arguably the best team in The West," said Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. "It was our fifth game in seven nights and we just didn't have it at the end. I don't think the final score is indicative of how the game went, but my hat's off to them."

Portland had a 47-45 edge at halftime.

The third quarter was competitive, as the two teams tied six times in the period. However, with 3:58 left, Ibaka made a 17-footer to give Oklahoma City a 63-61 lead.

The Thunder had a 10-3 run over the final 1:32 of the frame and entered the fourth quarter with a 75-68 lead.

In the fourth, the Blazers struggled, scoring just 15 points and never made a trip to the foul line. Lillard scored eight points but it was not enough for Portland.

Meanwhile, the Thunder scored 28 points on 66.7 percent shooting from the field and prevented the Blazers from scoring in the final six minutes of the game.

Aldridge's jumper had the visitors within 88-83 with six minutes left, but OKC's defense held firm from that point. Durant responded by draining a 3- pointer to start a game-ending 15-0 spurt.

After the first quarter, Oklahoma City led 24-19.

In the second, Portland shot 63.2 percent from the field but didn't take the lead until the buzzer, when Hickson made an 18-foot bank shot.

Game Notes

Eric Maynor, in his first game in Oklahoma City since being traded from the Thunder on Feb. 21, scored 10 points ... Ibaka scored 10 points in the third quarter ... Oklahoma City has won six in a row against Portland, including three meetings this season ... There is one more game between these two teams, in Portland on Apr. 12.