Kevin Durant had 28 points and eight assists, another Thunder fan hit a half-court heave and Oklahoma City beat the Los Angeles Clippers 105-91 Thursday night, 21 November, (early Friday in Nigeria and Africa).
The Associated Press reports that for the second straight game, a Thunder rooter made a midcourt basket during a second-quarter promotion to win $20,000. High school business teacher Brad Brucker was congratulated by recording artists Beyonce and Jay-Z, who sat in courtside seats next to Durant’s family.
Serge Ibaka scored 17 points and blocked three shots and Russell Westbrook added 12 points for Oklahoma City, which has won its first five home games of the season for the first time since starting 2004-05 in Seattle.
Oklahoma City led all the way, taking a quick 10-point advantage and never leading by less than six points after that in the matchup of Western Conference powers.
Blake Griffin scored 27 points on 12-for-23 shooting and also had 10 rebounds for the Clippers. He’s had a 20-10 double in 10 of the last 12 games, and has posted an NBA-high 100 such games since the start of the 2010-11 season.
The Clippers’ Chris Paul also extended his NBA-record streak while finishing with 17 points and 12 assists. He has opened the season with 13 straight games in which he’s had at least 10 points and 10 assists. Magic Johnson held the previous record of 11 such games to open the 1990-91 season.
But the Thunder answered every rally by the Clippers and evened the season series between the teams after Los Angeles won at home 111-103 on 13 November.
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs seem rather methodical and downright boring to some, they are enjoying themselves this season and that is ruining the fun for others.
Tony Parker scored 19 points before sitting out the fourth quarter and the Spurs beat the Boston Celtics 104-93 Wednesday night, winning their eighth straight overall and remaining undefeated at home.