Oklahoma City, OK – Kevin Durant poured in a game-high 25 points to go with seven rebounds, as the Oklahoma City Thunder throttled the Golden State Warriors, 119-98, on Wednesday at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Russell Westbrook added 22 points and Kevin Martin donated 21 points off the bench for the Thunder, who have won back-to-back games for the first time since winning six straight from Jan. 9-18.
"We did a good job of getting our hands on loose balls on defense, forcing a lot of turnovers and we were looking for the open man on offense," Westbrook said. "It was a good win for us."
Serge Ibaka finished with 15 points, nine boards and six blocks to help Oklahoma City improve to 22-3 at home.
Harrison Barnes paced the Warriors with 19 points and Stephen Curry stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds in the team's second straight defeat.
"We were not sharp defensively," Golden State coach Mark Jackson admitted. "I thought we played well in spurts, but you give up 64 points in the paint and 29 points off turnovers, that's a recipe for disaster coming into this building against this team."
Curry kept the Warriors close in the early going, as his 3-pointer just past the midpoint of the first brought Golden State within 16-13, but the Thunder closed the quarter on an 18-9 swing to take a 34-22 cushion after 12 minutes.
Oklahoma City continued its surge in the second, as the Thunder scored the first eight points of the stanza to build a 20-point advantage less than two minutes in.
The Thunder maintained their double-digit edge throughout the second and never allowed the Warriors to get closer than 14 in the frame before taking a 67-49 advantage into the break.
Golden State outscored the Thunder, 30-23, in the third frame to pull within 90-79 heading in the fourth, but after the teams exchanged buckets to start the final frame, Oklahoma City put the game away with a 14-2 surge capped by Nick Collison's jumper to make it 106-83 with 7:33 remaining.
The margin never dipped below 19 the rest of the way as the Thunder cruised down the stretch.
Game Notes
Golden State dropped to 14-13 on the road this season and has dropped eight in a row as the guest in this series ... Collison finished with eight points and five rebounds for the Thunder ... Oklahoma City outscored the Warriors, 64-40, in the paint.
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