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Love, Timberwolves rout OKC

Nov 2, 2013 - 4:23 AM Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Love had 24 points and 12 rebounds and the Minnesota Timberwolves held Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder under 35 percent shooting in a 100-81 win on Friday night.

The Timberwolves beat the Thunder for only the third time in their last 17 meetings. They led by as many as 34 and improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2006.

"We're just trying to establish something," Minnesota head coach Rick Adelman said. "We got the first two at home, now we just have to build off it when we go on the road."

Nikola Pekovic had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Ricky Rubio scored 14 with 10 assists.

Durant, after scoring 42 in Wednesday's season-opening win over the Utah Jazz, had just 13 points in this one on 4-of-11 shooting. Jeremy Lamb led Oklahoma City with 16 points, nine of them coming in the fourth quarter with the game well out of hand already.

Pekovic was the only starter on either team to see minutes in the fourth quarter.

Durant failed to score at least 15 points for the first time in 144 games -- 175 if the playoffs are included.

How bad were things for the team?

The Thunder shot 34.9 percent from the field, including 22.6 percent (7-of-31) on 3-pointers, and committed 21 turnovers.

Coach Scott Brooks lamented his team's attitude on defense. He must have rolled his eyes at one play in the third quarter.

Rubio, after Love's pick set him free up top, drove uncontested on the left side for a layup that made it 73-49 with five minutes left in the third quarter.

Kendrick Perkins and Durant both had their backs turned, allowing Rubio to score easily on a play that was turned into an animated GIF by the blog DailyThunder.com during the game.

"They didn't surprise us. We knew they were a good team," said Brooks. "We didn't have a defensive disposition tonight and that's unacceptable. But it's early. It's the second game of the year."

Love, who had 31 points and 17 rebounds in a win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, made just one of his five shots in the first quarter but hit five free throws for seven points. Corey Brewer also scored seven points and the Timberwolves had a 34-19 lead going into the second.

They led by as many as 22 in the second quarter on the way to a 59-39 halftime advantage and were up 88-60 going into the fourth.

J.J. Barea's layup gave Minnesota its biggest lead at 34 points, 99-65.

Game Notes

The Timberwolves will go on the road for the first time this season for games at New York on Sunday and Cleveland on Monday ... The Thunder will play Phoenix on Sunday in their home opener.