Thunder 124, Nuggets 114
Kevin Durant matched a career high with seven 3-pointers en route to 40 points as Oklahoma City outlasted host Denver.
Russell Westbrook collected 26 points, nine assists and five rebounds for the Thunder, who matched their season best by moving two games above .500 (27-25). Mitch McGary posted his second straight double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Andre Roberson scored a career-high 12 points for Oklahoma City.
Wilson Chandler scored 23 points and Kenneth Faried added 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Nuggets suffered their sixth straight loss. Ty Lawson contributed 22 points and nine assists while rookie Jusuf Nurkic matched a season high with 16 points and grabbed a season-best 14 rebounds for Denver, which has dropped 13 of 14.
Durant’s basket gave the Thunder a 15-4 lead less than five minutes into the game and Westbrook converted a pair of three-point plays in a 12-2 run that ended the first quarter and put Oklahoma City in front 38-18. The lead reached 22 points early in the second quarter before the Nuggets began to find a rhythm, but Durant matched them shot-for-shot and buried four 3-pointers in the final 2:34 to keep the Thunder ahead 73-59 at the break.
Denver cut the deficit to six points early in the third but back-to-back 3-pointers from Durant and Roberson midway through the quarter stretched it back to 94-75 and Oklahoma City carried a 14-point cushion into the fourth. Lawson’s jumper brought the Nuggets within 115-106 with 5:28 to play but Westbrook delivered five points and a pair of assists over the next 2 1/2 minutes as the Thunder closed it out.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Thunder’s 106 points through three quarters marked the most since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City. … McGary has 36 points and 20 rebounds in the last two games – the third and fourth of his NBA career. … Lawson went 5-of-7 from 3-point range while the rest of the Nuggets struggled to 4-of-21.