Brooklyn, NY – Kevin Durant finished with 32 points, six assists and five rebounds as the Oklahoma City Thunder held off the Brooklyn Nets, 117-111, at Barclays Center.
Russell Westbrook added 25 points and nine assists, while Serge Ibaka scored 18 points and Thabo Sefolosha contributed 14 for the Thunder, who have won six straight.
"We have a great group of guys here who are doing a great job," Durant said. "We're just playing together and playing defense. That's the key formula."
Deron Williams dropped in a season-high 33 points with seven assists to pace Brooklyn, which had its six-game home win streak snapped.
Andray Blatche and Kris Humphries each contributed a double-double in defeat, as Blatche finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds and Humphries scored 12 points to go along with 12 boards.
The Nets trailed, 61-48, entering the third quarter and remained behind by double digits until Williams netted six points during an 8-2 push that brought Brooklyn within 77-68 with six minutes left in the frame.
A pair of Durant free throws about a minute later gave the Thunder back a double-digit lead, but Gerald Wallace connected on four 3-pointers during an 18-9 Brooklyn run to make it a two-point game until Durant's driving layup in the closing seconds gave Oklahoma City a 90-86 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
The Thunder then opened the fourth with six straight points to retake a 10- point lead.
The Nets, however, rallied back again, answering with a 16-8 spurt to get within 104-102 on Humphries' 3-point play with 4:12 to play.
The teams would trade baskets from there, as Brooklyn could get no closer than two points until Sefolosha grabbed a missed Westbrook 3-pointer and converted a layup for a 112-106 Thunder advantage with 36.6 seconds left.
Oklahoma City was able to close out the game at the foul line from there to hold off the Nets.
"I give our guys credit because I challenged them at halftime and they came out with a little bit more energy and focus," Nets coach Avery Johnson said. "They battled on the defensive end and sometimes Oklahoma still made some shots, but we battled."
The Thunder carried a 31-28 edge into the second quarter after a tightly contested first that saw six lead changes, six ties and neither team take a lead larger than four points.
It remained a back-and-forth contest through the opening portion of the second quarter until Durant had a personal 7-2 run to spark a 16-4 push that put Oklahoma City ahead, 54-42, with less than three minutes remaining in the half.
Brooklyn could get no closer than 10 points down for the remainder of the second quarter and took a 61-48 deficit into the break.
Game Notes
Nets starting center Brook Lopez missed his third straight game with a foot injury, while reserve forward Reggie Evans also missed the game with the flu ... Oklahoma City has scored over 100 points in 10 straight games ... Brooklyn fell to 7-2 at home this season ... The Nets have dropped seven straight to the Thunder.
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