INQUIRER Sports

OKLAHOMA CITY ? Kevin Durant scored 31 points, but it was Nick Collison's free throws with 4.5 seconds left that sealed Oklahoma City's 87-86 NBA victory over Utah on Thursday.

Collison came up with the ball after Durant missed a jump shot and was fouled by Paul Millsap.

Collison, who had missed three of his previous four free throws, made both as the Thunder notched their first five-game winning streak in more than four years.

Ronnie Price missed a 3-pointer at the final buzzer for the Jazz, who got a final surge from Deron Williams to pull ahead before Collison's game-winning free throws.

Carlos Boozer scored 17 points, and Mehmet Okur had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Utah. Williams scored 10 of his 14 points in the last five minutes, including a three-point play in the final minute that gave the Jazz the lead.

Durant surpassed 30 points for the sixth straight game, tying a club record set by Spencer Haywood in January 1972.

The victory gave the Thunder an 18-14 record, the same as the Jazz. At this time last year, their New Year's Eve victory over Golden State was only their fourth of the season.

The Thunder franchise, which relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City before last season, hadn't won five in a row since March 18-25, 2005.