Thunder 103, Pistons 87
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kevin Durant scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 103-87 victory over the Detroit Pistons Friday at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Durant shot 10 of 22 from the field and was 4 of 9 from 3-point range. Forward Serge Ibaka,
center Enes Kanter and guard Russell Westbrook each scored 14 points as the Thunder improved to 11-6 with their fourth straight win.
Forward Marcus Morris paced the Pistons with 17 points on 5 of 13 shooting. Guard Reggie
Jackson finished with 15 points and four assists as Detroit fell to 8-8.
What had been a close game got out of hand quick in the fourth quarter and it was the Thunder
bench that turned the tide. Led by Kanter, they continued to beat up the Pistons on the boards and
turn rebounds into points.
By the time Durant and Westbrook checked back in, Oklahoma City had a double-digit lead. Back to back 3-pointers from Durant and Westbrook pushed the lead to 99-85 before Jackson made a layup to cut the lead down to 12.
Westbrook fouled out with 4:17 left in the game. But the Pistons were unable to take advantage.
Waiters and Ibaka hit a pair of jumpers to push the lead to 103-87 to put the game away.
The Thunder dominated on the boards with a 58-38 advantage. They held Andre Drummond to seven boards, which is 10 below his average.
With Jackson returning to Oklahoma City for the first time since being traded last season, both
teams tried to play down the animosity between the teams. However, it was evident from the outset.
Each time Jackson touched the ball, he received a steady stream of boos from the crowd. And after Durant scored on a layup, he headed straight for the Pistons bench to share a few words before being pushed away by Detroit forward Marcus Morris.
Despite the emotions the Thunder played with early, the Pistons stayed in the game using a
balanced attack. At halftime, eight p[layers had scored at least five points. That included Jackson, who played only six minutes due to foul trouble.
The one first-half positive for Oklahoma City was its ability to keep Detroit center Andre Drummond off the boards. The NBA's leading rebounder had only three rebounds at halftime.
The Pistons did a good job of slowing down Durant in the second period as they held him scoreless. But he exploded in the third quarter for 16 points to help Oklahoma City regain a five-point advantage.
NOTES: Oklahoma City F Kevin Durant is living by the motto of forgive but not forget when talking about Detroit G Reggie Jackson and the way he left the Thunder last season. "It was tough," Durant said. "I didn't like some of the stuff (Jackson) said in the media and how he went about it, but at the end of the day you've got to respect a guy who wants that opportunity and I can appreciate a guy who wants that opportunity." ... Even though Detroit C Andre Drummond leads the NBA in rebounding at 17.8 per game, the Pistons are fourth in rebound differential at 4.8. Oklahoma City leads in that department at 7.0. "We know we need five guys on the boards," Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy said. "You got a guy that's getting 18 a game. That's taking a couple from other people."