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Thunder beat Wizards in OT

Nov 11, 2013 - 3:51 AM Oklahoma City, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - The Oklahoma City Thunder took the Washington Wizards' best shot and rallied to win in overtime Sunday, 106-105.

The Thunder trailed by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter and came back to win despite the loss of Russell Westbrook, who was ejected with 3:19 left in regulation after picking up his second technical.

Kevin Durant had 33 points, 13 rebounds and six assists and hit the tying and go-ahead free throws in the final minute of overtime to send Oklahoma City to its fourth straight win.

The Wizards wasted a terrific effort from Bradley Beal, whose six 3-pointers and career-high 34 points went for naught. John Wall was limited to 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting and missed a potential go-ahead layup at the overtime buzzer.

Serge Ibaka followed Durant with 25 points and 12 rebounds, but the rest of the Thunder shot a pedestrian 35 percent (18-of-51) from the floor.

Westbrook was one of those who struggled, hitting just four of his 16 shots for 13 points, and he showed his frustration when he and Nene exchanged shoves after the star guard was whistled for a charge late in regulation. They were each handed technical fouls for the second time and subsequently ejected.

The Thunder trailed 92-82 at the time and rallied behind their role players. Buckets from Reggie Jackson and Ibaka pulled the hosts within six, Jeremy Lamb drilled a 3-pointer and Durant fed Ibaka for a dunk to cap a 9-0 run with 1:10 remaining.

The teams traded baskets, and Beal drove in for an uncontested layup to put the Wizards on top, 96-93, with 18.8 seconds left.

After Durant tied it with a 3-pointer from the top of the key coming out of a timeout, Beal controlled the ball on the final possession of regulation and couldn't get his runner to fall over the taller Ibaka.

"I probably should have shot a jumper rather than try to shoot a floater," Beal said. "It's a learning experience."

Beal's sixth 3-pointer gave Washington a 103-102 lead with under two minutes left in overtime, and Marcin Gortat spun past Ibaka for two more the next time down.

Ibaka put back a Jackson miss, cutting the Thunder's deficit to one, and Durant added the deciding free throws after coming up with a big block of Trevor Ariza.

Washington got the ball back with 4.0 seconds left and drew up a perfect give- and-go between Gortat and Wall. Wall, however, hesitated going to the hoop, and Jackson's challenge at the rim forced Wall to miss everything as the buzzer sounded.

"That was a lot of fun," Lamb said. "We had a great crowd, as always. They were loud, they energized us."

Both sides came in averaging over 100 points per game but couldn't get going until after the break. Wall beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer to end a string of seven straight points that gave Washington a 42-37 lead.

The Thunder scored just 10 points in the second quarter and went the final 4:58 without making a field goal. They shot much better in the third, but Beal erupted for 11 points in the frame -- nine coming from behind the arc -- to help the Wizards stay in front and take a 73-65 lead into the fourth.

Game Notes

The Wizards have never won in five trips to Oklahoma City ... Washington had won two in a row since starting off the season 0-3 ... Ariza and Nene scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, for the Wizards, who were outrebounded by a 58-41 margin.