Thunder Runs Out Of Gas In Late Loss To Warriors

Kevin Durant didn&#39;t get enough help down the stretch in Wednesday night&#39;s tight loss at Golden State.&nbsp; <br />

Thursday, January 24th 2013, 1:23 am

By: News 9


The Thunder had it. But Golden State took it.

Oklahoma City squandered an eight-point fourth-quarter lead Wednesday night, falling to a young, exciting Warriors team 104-99.

The Thunder (33-10) trailed by one after the first quarter but got it going in the second, outscoring Golden State 31-25 in the second to hold a 57-52 halftime lead. To nobody's surprise, Kevin Durant led the way for OKC in the first half. KD scored 18 points on 6-8 shooting and dished out eight assists. Kevin Martin added nine off the Thunder bench while Kendrick Perkins chipped in 8 on 4-4 shooting.

Perkins' surprising contribution helped to make up for Russell Westbrook's lack of production. Westbrook shot 1-6 in the first half and scored just four points. OKC shot 4-7 from 3-point range in the half but was hurt by its 10 turnovers.

Klay Thompson's 15 points led the way for the Warriors (26-15) in the first half, while Stephen Curry scored 12 and David Lee added 10 and six boards. Golden State also shot the ball well from deep, hitting on five of its 10 attempts.

The back-and-forth affair continued deep into the second half. Curry's free throw with 5:07 in the third gave Golden State a 72-68 advantage, but the Thunder battled right back to take a 79-76 lead into the game's final stanza.

OKC used a Martin 3-ball and back-to-back Durant jumpers to open up an 88-80 lead with eight minutes remaining, but Golden State had no quit.

Led by the forward tandem of Lee and Carl Landry, the Warriors put together a 17-6 run to take a 97-94 lead with just over two minutes to play.

Two Durant free throws brought OKC back within 99-98 with 1:31 to play, but Lee answered with a layup on the other end. Durant responded by drawing a foul with 35 seconds left, but made just one of two free throws and the Thunder trailed by two.

Golden State had a chance to put it away, but Curry's wide-open three from the top of the key didn't fall, and Oklahoma City had one last chance.

It didn't matter. Durant's pass to the streaking Serge Ibaka was intercepted by Curry, and the Warriors earned a huge win over the NBA's top team.

Durant finished with 33 points and nine assists. He shot 10-17 from the field and 11-12 from the line.

Westbrook's awful night ended with a 3-16 shooting total and six turnovers. He scored just 10 points. Martin finished with 16 points on 6-9 shooting while Ibaka and Perkins each added 12.

Curry finished the game with 31 points on 11-27 shooting, while Lee totaled 22 points and 12 boards. Landry scored 20 off the Warriors bench while Thompson rode his huge first half to a 19-point night. Golden State pulled it out despite shooting just 1-13 from downtown in the second half.

The Thunder continues its west-coast road trip against the Sacramento Kings Friday night at 9:00 p.m.

 

logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

January 24th, 2013

March 22nd, 2024

March 14th, 2024

February 9th, 2024

Top Headlines

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 27th, 2024