Westbrook leads Thunder in zap of Nuggets
December 27, 2015 | 9:07pm
OKLAHOMA CITY – Russell Westbrook had 30 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from an 11-point, second-half deficit to beat the Denver Nuggets 122-112 on Sunday night (Monday in Manila).
Kevin Durant recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 26 points and 10 assists for the Thunder, who have won 10 of their last 12 games but were coming off a Christmas Day loss at home to the Chicago Bulls.
Oklahoma City shot a season-best 57.8 percent from the field. The Thunder trailed as late as the 8:13 mark of the fourth quarter before taking control with an 11-2 run that included seven of Enes Kanter's 21 points.
Dion Waters then capped a 6-0 spurt with a steal and dunk that put the Thunder ahead 117-108 with 2:07 left.
Kenneth Faried had 25 points and 11 points for the Nuggets, who have lost five of their last six games. Denver has lost six straight trips to Oklahoma City.
The Thunder started slowly for the second straight game, falling behind 8-2. Oklahoma City eventually pulled ahead, but by no more than two points in the first half. Denver closed the half on a 13-7 run and led 61-51 before a layup by Westbrook at the buzzer.
Kostas Papanikolaou's 3-pointer to start the second half extended Denver's lead to 11 points, but Westbrook and Durant fueled a 20-9 run that pulled Oklahoma City even at 73-all with 5:07 left in the third quarter.
Durant fed rookie Cameron Payne for a corner 3-pointer in the final minute of the quarter and the Thunder led 91-90 heading into the fourth.
Randy Foye gave the Nuggets their last lead at 97-96 with 8:13 left. Kanter answered by tipping in a missed jumper by Serge Ibaka, then dunked after taking a feed from Westbrook and made the ensuing free throw, giving Oklahoma City its biggest lead to that point at 101-97. Consecutive dunks by Westbrook and Ibaka, who had 19 points, made it 107-99 with 5:09 left.
Will Barton scored 19 points and Joffrey Lauvergne added 18 for Denver.
TIP-INS:
Nuggets: Coach Michael Malone said Danilo Gallinari and Emmanuel Mudiay, both out with ankle sprains, probably won't return to action until at least January 2 . After the Nuggets' loss in San Antonio, Malone met former Denver coach Doug Moe for the first time and offered him an ''open invitation'' to visit the team in Denver. Moe coached the Nuggets from 1980-90 and took them to the Western Conference finals in 1985 . Will Barton was called for a technical foul with 1:53 left and Denver trailing by nine points . Foye and Jameer Nelson each are only four shy of reaching 1,000 3-pointers for their careers.
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). Official Bill Kennedy called offensive goaltending on a second-quarter alley-oop from Westbrook to Steven Adams, then appeared to acknowledge that he blew the call . As has become their habit this season for Sunday games, the Thunder wore their alternate orange jerseys.
UP NEXT:
Nuggets take on the Cavaliers at home while the Thunder host the Bucks. Both games on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).
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