Thunder rally to beat Nuggets

Kevin Durant had 29 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Oklahoma City, and Russell Westbrook added 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

Trailing by 18 going into the fourth quarter, the Thunder put their best offensive unit on the floor with Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, centre Kanter and guard Anthony Morrow quickly closing the gap to 12 with 6:59 left in the game.

The Bulls will be eager to snap an ugly three-game losing streak after falling to the Nets by 105-102 on Monday. “From the mental standpoint, we just look like we’re fried”.

“I believe in the guys in this locker room, yeah”, Butler told ESPN when asked whether a shakeup was needed for players to get a message. Westbrook and Durant became the first teammates to record at least 25 points and 10 assists each in the same regulation game since Karl Malone and John Stockton did it for the Utah Jazz in 1996. He’s averaging just 13.5 points per game this season while shooting 37.2% from the field. “The slower we play the easier it is for teams to guard us”. From that point though, the Thunder went on a run for the next 10 minutes or so, finishing out the quarter with a slim 91-89 lead.

“We shared the basketball and moved the basketball”, Donovan said.

Kanter came off the bench to score 21 points, grab eight rebounds and totally frustrate the Nugget’s coaching staff. A pair of 3-pointers by Morrow cut Chicago’s lead to 97-89 with just under five minutes to play, but the Bulls hung on. He finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds…. J.J. Redick had 14 points, and DeAndre Jordan had nine points and 14 rebounds for the Clippers.

Before their holiday matchup tipped off in Oklahoma City-a city in which the Bulls had lost five straight-ESPN analyst Doug Collins opined on the telecast about the fragility of success.

According to oddsmakers from online sports book Mybookie.ag, the Thunder are now 9-point home favorites over the Bulls while the total now sits at 204.5 points, down from 205.5.

For his part, Butler had a tremendous game, scoring 23 points to go with six boards.

Despite the loss, the 20-10 Thunder remained on top of the Northwest Division and third overall in the Western Conference. Chicago got what it wanted inside, outscoring Oklahoma City 22-6 in the paint during the period.

Thunder: The Nuggets were on the second night of a road back-to-back and so will the Thunder’s next two opponents: Milwaukee on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) and Phoenix on Thursday (Friday in Manila). Former league MVP Kevin Durant is one of the players that hasn’t gotten the attention he deserves, but he reminded everyone on Friday that he’s still one of the best players in the world. Kawhi Leonard had 20 points to lead San Antonio.