Dec

9

Durant’s 41 Not Enough, Warriors Hold Off Thunder 112-102

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under NBA Game Recap 

You have to give it to the Golden State Warriors.  Despite losing some key players recently (Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette) to injury, they continue to soldier on even with the lack of offensive firepower.  In Monday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant had to be drooling at the prospect at playing against one of the league’s worst defensive teams; I don’t know if he actually drooled, but he did score a season-high 41 points – which still was not enough – as Golden State held off Oklahoma City at Ford Center 112-102.

Four minutes into the game, the Warriors held an eight-point lead and built their lead to 27-17 with the help of 5 points from Brandan Wright as Golden State shot 72% in the quarter.  It didn’t get any better for the Thunder as the Warriors outscored them 18-5 in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the period to pad their lead to 47-28.  Andris Biedrins was a big factor in the run as he tipped in a miss and added a basket, extending Golden State’s lead to 21 and settling for a 19-point cushion at halftime.

The Warriors led by 18 after three quarters and went into the final period leading by 21 early on before Durant led the Thunder back; he scored 19 in the quarter, including a 3-pointer which made it 104-99 woith 39 ticks left on the clock.  Another 3 by Oklahoma City six seconds later put them to within 105-102, but free throws by Anthony Morrow sealed the win for Golden State.

Golden State’s high scorer was Jamal Crawford with 19 points, a rebound, 6 assists and 3 steals while Biedrins added 17 with 21 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots; Wright and Morrow pitched in by scoring 15 each – with Wright grabbing 5 rebounds along with a steal while Morrow grabbed 5 boards, dished out an assist along with 3 steals. 

Oklahoma City was led by Durant with 41 points (including 6 three-pointers), 10 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and 3 blocked shots while Nick Collison from off the bench added 15 with 10 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 2 blocked shots.  Golden State (6-15) plays again on Wednesday when they host the Milwaukee Bucks while Oklahoma City (2-20) hosts the Memphis Grizzlies – also on Wednesday.


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