Westbrook's Late Basket Lifts Thunder Past Nets

<p>Russell Westbrook made a go-ahead layup with 3.3 seconds left to help the Oklahoma City Thunder rally from a 15-point second-half deficit and beat the Brooklyn Nets 109-108 on Tuesday night.&nbsp;</p>

Tuesday, January 23rd 2018, 11:06 pm

By: News 9


Russell Westbrook made a go-ahead layup with 3.3 seconds left to help the Oklahoma City Thunder rally from a 15-point second-half deficit and beat the Brooklyn Nets 109-108 on Tuesday night.

The lead changed hands six times in the final 2:23. Brooklyn went ahead 108-107 on a driving layup by Spencer Dinwiddie with 7.8 seconds left, but Westbrook answered with his own. After three timeouts, Dinwiddie missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer, with the Thunder's Andre Roberson guarding him closely.

Westbrook had 32 points and Paul George had 28 with nine rebounds. George was left off the NBA All-Star roster earlier in the day.

Oklahoma City extended its winning streak to five games and split its two-game season series with Brooklyn.

Joe Harris led the Nets with 19 points while Dinwiddie and DeMarre Carroll had 13 each. The Nets ended a two-game winning streak, matching their longest of the season.

Oklahoma City rallied with stellar 3-point shooting in the fourth quarter, going 5 of 8 after making only 2 of 17 attempts from behind the arc.

Brooklyn went 10 of 18 from 3-point range in the first half and outscored the Thunder 21-10 over the final seven minutes of the half to lead 59-47 at the break. The Nets led 68-53 after two free throws by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson with 8:20 left in the third quarter.

Westbrook scored eight points during a 12-0 run that cut the margin to 68-65, but 3-pointers by Harris and D'Angelo Russell helped the Nets rebuild their lead to 83-68 with 1:28 left in the quarter. They were up 85-74 going into the fourth.

The Thunder's five fourth-quarter 3-pointers -- including two each by backups Raymond Felton and Patrick Patterson -- quickly closed that gap. Westbrook's 16-foot jumper with 6:13 left put Oklahoma City up 97-96 -- its first lead since the second quarter.

TIP-INS

Nets: Brooklyn has had 22 games decided by six points or fewer, the highest total in the NBA. ... The Nets haven't swept the season series from the Thunder since 2014-15. ... The Nets are 5-7 in January. ... Dinwiddie, who hit a floater from 14 feet with 0.9 seconds left to give the Nets a 101-100 win at Detroit on Sunday, has made six baskets to tie or take the lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime this season, tied for the NBA lead.

Thunder: Oklahoma City is 6-4 at home this season vs. Eastern Conference foes. ... The Thunder outrebounded Brooklyn 50-45, but that snapped a streak of three straight games in which Oklahoma City had 20 rebounds more than its opponent. ... Carmelo Anthony scored 10 points and now is 30 away from becoming the 21st player to reach 25,000 career points.

NEXT UP

Thunder: Host Washington -- and former Thunder coach Scott Brooks -- on Thursday night.

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