Thunder Comes Up Short In Boston

Oklahoma City's bench completely disappeared as the Thunder lost for just the second time in 10 games, falling in Boston 108-100.

Friday, November 23rd 2012, 10:55 pm

By: News 9


The Thunder made multiple runs at the Boston Celtics on Friday night but the Celtics seemed to always have an answer for Oklahoma City.

The final answer came on a dagger 3-pointer by Jason Terry. The Thunder had cut a 14-point Celtic lead to three with 1:14 left in regulation but Kevin Durant missed a potential game-tying 3 before the Thunder fouled Kevin Garnett, who sank both free throws. After a pair of Thunder misses on the ensuing possession, Terry buried a 3 to help propel Boston to a 108-100 victory over the Thunder at TD Garden.

The Thunder held a 28-21 lead after the first quarter but Durant picked up his third foul with five minutes remaining in the half and Boston charged back to take a two-point lead into the locker room. Boston extended its lead to 11 by the end of the third, due in large part to a completely ineffective performance by the OKC bench.

At the end of the third, OKC's bench had been outscored 35-7. For the game, the Boston bench outscored the Thunder's 35-13.

It was the worst outing yet for Kevin Martin as a member of the Thunder, as he connected on just 1-for-7 shooting and went 0-for-2 from 3 and just 1-for-2 from the foul line. Overall, the Thunder bench shot just 4-of-17 with six turnovers and six fouls.

Durant scored a game-high 29 points on 9-of-20 shooting, including 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Russell Westbrook joined his fellow All-Star with a solid outing, scoring 26 points on 10-for-21 shooting with seven rebounds and eight assists, but turned the ball over five times.

Serge Ibaka secured a double-double with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting with 13 rebounds and two blocks.

The Thunder starters tried to make a game of it late but the bench had dug the team into too big a hole. It was just the team's second loss in the past 10 games.

Paul Pierce led Boston with 27 points, while Kevin Garnett had 18 and former Oklahoma City standout Jeff Green finished with 17 points. Terry chipped in 16 and none bigger than his game-clinching 3 in the final seconds. Rajon Rondo was limited to six points but the star guard carved the Thunder defense with 16 assists.

This was the first game of a back-to-back for OKC, as it heads to Philadelphia for a 6 p.m. tip against the 76ers on Saturday.

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