Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook help Oklahoma City Thunder defeat Sacramento Kings 120–112

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook help Oklahoma City Thunder defeat Sacramento Kings 120–112

Kevin Durant scored 32 points and Russell Westbrook added 30, as the Oklahoma City Thunder cruised past the Sacramento Kings 120–112 on Monday night. After trailing by six points at half time, the Thunder rallied to down the Kings and won their fifth-straight game.

Oklahoma City shot an impressive 57.3 percent from the field and got some big contributions from both their All-stars to offset a good team effort from the Sacramento Kings.

Durant had 32 point and eight rebounds, but also led the way with seven turnovers. Westbrook scored 30 points and handed out nine assists, while committing five turnovers. Serge Ibaka was his usual dominant self in the painted area with 14 points, eight rebounds and six rejections.

Nazr Mohammed was perfect from the field in the game; he added 10 points and five rebounds off the bench for the Thunder.

Sacramento held an early 12-11 lead in the first quarter, before Westbrook found his rhythm and scored five straight points for the Thunder to give them the advantage. Oklahoma led 24-20 at the end of the first period.

Jason Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins put Sacramento in front by two points with a 12–6 run to start the second quarter. Oklahoma City responded with Nazr Mohammed and Russell Westbrook scoring some points but Sacramento, powered by Thompson’s 14 points in the quarter, held on to take a 57–51 lead into the half time break.

The Thunder turned the ball over six times in the second quarter to help out the Kings, who capitalised on the opportunity. At the start of the third period things had not improved much for Oklahoma City, as their first two possessions were wasted by careless turnovers.

However, Oklahoma rallied and outscored the Kings 36-26 in the third quarter to regain control of the game, and secure a firm grip on the proceedings.

Eric Maynor’s layup with over 10 minutes to go on the clock in the fourth, gave the Thunder a 94–84 lead. Fransisco Garcia made a couple of three-pointers to try and even things out, but the Thunder stayed composed down the stretch and made 11-of-12 free throws to seal the win.

DeMarcus Cousins top-scored for the Kings with 30 points, while Beno Udrih and Marcus Thornton added 21 points apiece.