The Woodward News

Sports

November 25, 2012

Durant, Westbrook lead Thunder over 76ers

Woodward, Okla. — PHILADELPHIA (AP) — No matter how many shots the Oklahoma City Thunder missed, they remained confident about the next one.

Kevin Durant scored 37 points, Russell Westbrook had 30 and the Thunder beat the Philadelphia 76ers 116-109 in overtime Saturday night.

Serge Ibaka added 18 points for the defending Western Conference champions, who've won nine of 11 to go to 10-4.

The Thunder missed their last seven shots in regulation, but got 3-pointers from four different players in OT.

"We weren't making shots at the end, but I like the fact guys continued to stick with each other and trust each other," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "Trust isn't a word we throw around loosely. You're not always going to make shots, but if a guy is open, you have to trust he'll make the next one."

Thad Young had a season-high 29 points and career-high 15 rebounds, and Evan Turner scored 26 points for Philadelphia, which has lost two in a row after winning three straight.

Trailing most of the game, the Sixers tied it at 94 on a dunk by Young off an underneath pass by Turner with 5:01 left.

The Thunder regained the lead on Westbrook's driving layup and Durant's 10-footer made it 98-94. A pair of free throws by Lavoy Allen cut it to 98-96. The teams combined for eight misses and three turnovers until Young's layup tied it at 98 with 1:36 to go.

Each team missed its next two shots and Turner deflected away an inbound pass with 3 seconds left to send it to overtime.

That's when the Thunder found their shooting touch from beyond the arc.

"We trust each other. We live and die with those shots. Make the right play and they came up big for us," Durant said. "It's part of the game. You've got to have trust if you want to be a good team. It doesn't matter what. These guys are in the NBA for a reason. They can play. I trust them 100 percent to go make that shot. I think it's going in every time."

Durant scored Oklahoma City's first five points on two free throws and a 3-pointer. Kevin Martin nailed a 3 to extend the lead to 106-100. Westbrook's 3 made it 109-102. Thabo Sefolosha then sent the fans scattering for the exits with another 3 for a 112-104 lead with under a minute left.

"I left my offense in Oklahoma City," said Martin, who was 3 for 16 against Boston and Philadelphia in consecutive games. "We all know what people are doing night in and night out. That's when the trust comes."

The Sixers learned before the game that All-Star center Andrew Bynum is now out indefinitely. General manager Tony DiLeo said Bynum has "bilateral bone bruises and a weakened cartilage state" in his knees. Bynum's target date for returning to basketball activities has been pushed back four times, so the team has to move on without him at least for the immediate future.

"We got the ball out of Kevin Durant's hands a couple of times at the end of (regulation), Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "We had a couple of shots to win the game and ours didn't go. We had some guys play great, great games, fought, competed, played great. Evan, Thad were terrific. Jrue (Holiday) I thought was very aggressive in the first half."

The Thunder led nearly the entire first half, going ahead by 10 on a few occasions. But after Ibaka hit a long jumper to make it 42-32, the Sixers outscored Oklahoma City 17-8 to get within a point at halftime. Jason Richardson started the run with a 3-pointer and made two more during the stretch.

Durant threw down a thunderous dunk to give Oklahoma City an 85-79 lead after three quarters.

Holiday had 10 of his 13 assists in the first half for Philadelphia.

"They made big shots down the stretch in overtime," Young said "When you give guys looks, a lot of open looks, they eventually start lining the ball up and knocking down shots and that's what they did."

Notes: Richardson left with a sprained ankle. ... The Thunder are 19-3 after a loss since the start of last season, including 4-0 this year. ... Julius "Dr. J" Erving presented the ball for the opening tip-off. Erving led the Sixers to their last NBA title in 1983. ... Holiday's 10 assists were a first-half record at the Wells Fargo Center, which opened in 1996. ... The Thunder are 5-0 in the second game of back-to-backs. ... None of Philadelphia's games has been decided by fewer than six points.

Text Only
Sports
  • Travelers win 2 more

    OKLAHOMA CITY – The Travelers are hitting a hot streak.

    June 15, 2013

  • Travelers win big in tourney opener

    Woodward continues play in the Justin Sullivan Tournamen on Friday.

    June 14, 2013

  • Sooners drop first game to LSU

    BATON ROUGE, La. — For seven innings, Jonathan Gray dominated a very potent LSU lineup. The Oklahoma pitcher racked up strike outs in bunches and hadn’t even allowed a base runner to get into scoring position.

    June 8, 2013

  • Another split for Travelers

    AWTON – Woodward's Majors wrapped up pool play in the Bragging Rights Tournament with a 2-2 record by splitting a pair of games here Friday.

    June 8, 2013

  • Traveler Majors split tournament games

    LAWTON - The Traveler Majors split a pair of games in the Bragging Rights Tournament Thursday, edging the Southwest Shockers Black team 3-2 and losing 3-1 to the Oklahoma City Ambassadors.

    June 7, 2013

  • Sooners facing tough challenge

    BATON ROUGE, La. — Just a few pitches before Oklahoma’s 2012 season ended, Sunny Golloway took a mental picture of the surroundings. Over 8,000 fans cheered on South Carolina as it was about to advance to its third straight College World Series.

    June 7, 2013

  • Sooners win national championship

    OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma had been in this position before. The Sooners took Game 1 of the 2012 Women’s College World Series championship before Alabama stormed back to win the next two and take the title.
    This time, it ended like it was supposed to for the nation’s No. 1 team.

    June 4, 2013

  • Sooners stun Tennessee in 12 innings

    OKLAHOMA CITY — The game seemed over. Tennessee finally broke the seal with Madison Shipman’s three-run home run in the 11th inning, and the Sooners were down to, literally, their last strike.
    That’s all they needed.

    June 4, 2013

  • West wins Classic Bowl thriller

    There was no shortage of excitement in Classic Bowl XXV.
    In a game that went down to the final minute, the West squad edged the East 22-17 at Boomer Stadium.

    June 2, 2013

  • High school rodeo finals return to Woodward

    For the third consecutive year, Woodward is hosting the Oklahoma High School Rodeo Finals.

    June 2, 2013

Business Marquee
AP Video
Raw: Baby White Rhino Debuts at Australian Zoo Time Lapse: Rebuilding Bridge Post-collapse Ohio Woman Accuses 3 of Holding Her Captive Hunt for Ex-Teamster Boss Hoffa's Remains Ends Aug. Trial Set for Ohio Man in Triple Kidnapping Car Crash in NYC's East Village Injures 8 Obama Renews Call for Nuclear Reductions Raw: Car Jumps Curb in NYC, Injures 8 Unusual Heat Wave Bakes Alaska Raw: German President Welcomes President Obama Raw: Arizona Wildfire Scorches 8 Square Miles Raw: Huge Fire Near Yosemite National Park Kid Couture: Spending Big Bucks on Babies
Parade
Magazine

Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.
Stocks