Durant’s 41 points lift Thunder over Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) is fouled by New York Knicks guard Raymond Felton (2) as he drives between Felton and guard J.R. Smith (8) in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014, in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City won 112-100. AP
OKLAHOMA CITY – Kevin Durant’s torrid scoring pace continued Sunday as the Oklahoma City forward poured in 41 points to lead the Thunder to a 112-100 NBA win over the New York Knicks.
Durant just missed out on a triple-double, adding 10 rebounds and nine assists and also blocking two shots before Thunder coach Scott Brooks took him out of the game with less than two minutes remaining.
Durant has scored 20 or more points in 26 consecutive games for the Thunder, who rebounded from a 103-102 loss at the final buzzer against the Orlando Magic on Friday.
Reggie Jackson added 19 points and six assists for the Thunder who have won nine straight at home. Serge Ibaka contributed 16 points and nine rebounds.
Carmelo Anthony, second in scoring in the NBA behind Durant, finished with 15 points on 5-of-19 shooting.
With the duel between the league’s leading scorers falling a little flat, Amare Stoudemire and Raymond Felton scored 16 points apiece for the Knicks, who have lost four of their last five games.
The Thunder led 61-60 with 9:39 remaining in the third quarter when Thabo Sefolosha drained back-to-back three-pointers to spark a 10-0 Thunder scoring run.
Oklahoma City stretched their lead to as many as 12 points and took an 86-78 cushion into the final quarter.
New York whittled the gap to six points, but Durant rebuilt the advantage with a three-pointer with 8:11 to play and the Knicks couldn’t get the gap under eight points the rest of the way.
