Thunder 131, Bucks 123
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined for 53 points and 15 assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 131-123 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Westbrook posted 27 points on 10 of 22 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists. Durant collected 26 points, six boards and eight assists. Durant has an active streak of 18 straight games of scoring 20 or more points in a game.
Center Enes Kanter came off the bench to post 23 points and eight rebounds. Guard Cameron Payne added 16 points to help Oklahoma City improve to 22-10.
Bucks guard Khris Middleton led all scorers with 36 points on 13 of 22 shooting. Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied 27 points and 10 rebounds. Guard Michael Carter-Williams scored 19 points as the Bucks dropped to 12-21.
With the Bucks making a surge, it was the Thunder bench that wrestled momentum back to the home team. Led by Payne, Oklahoma City opened up 14-point lead in the fourth quarter. The rookie has seemingly taken over the backup point guard duties from guard DJ Augustin and he showed why.
However, with 5:49 left in the game, Milwaukee only trailed by seven after a basket by forward John Henson.
Each time the Bucks tried to get the game closer, the Thunder had an answer. Either Kanter or Durant scored to push their lead back to 9.
With 2:44 on the clock, Middleton hit two free throws and the Bucks were back to within seven. But center Steven Adams dropped in a jumper in the middle of the lane. Antetokounmpo came down and threw down a put-back dunk to close the gap.
After Westbrook made a tough layup in traffic, Antetokounmpo made 3 of 4 from the free-throw line and the Bucks closed the gap to six with 1:24 left.
Another Westbrook layup gave Oklahoma City a 127-119 advantage. But Carter-Williams picked up a fastbreak dunk. Milwaukee got a stop and handed the ball to Middleton, who shot a 3-pointer that would have cut the lead down to two points. But it rimmed out and the Thunder got the rebound.
Durant was fouled and hit a pair of free throws to put the night away for Oklahoma City.
Milwaukee's backcourt of Middleton and Carter-Williams started the night attacking the Thunder. Durant especially had his hands full trying to keep Middleton away from the 3-point line.
However, after trailing by eight points, Oklahoma City regained control of the contest by constantly attacking the rim with hard drives and offensive put-backs. Both Westbrook and Durant put pressure on the Bucks defenders to keep them out of the lane. The duo combined to go 15 of 16 from the free-throw line in the first half.
Coming out of halftime, Milwaukee went down by 17 points and needed to find a way to slow down Oklahoma City before the game got out of control. Antetokounmpo and Middleton spearheaded a Bucks run to get within four points heading into the fourth quarter.
NOTES: Oklahoma City G Russell Westbrook ranked in the top two in the NBA in technical fouls twice in the past three seasons. With only four so far this season, he says that will not happen again. "I'm done with those days," Westbrook said. "I learned in the summertime, once they make a call, they ain't changing it. Took me a while, but I learned it." ... Milwaukee coach Joe Prunty likes what the team is getting from C Miles Plumlee as he has earned more minutes due to injuries. "Miles has done a really nice job," Prunty said. "The last several games he's had situations where he's been called upon and he's done a really nice job. At the end of the day we've always talked about next man up." ... After trying to recruit Bucks F Jabari Parker out of high school to Florida, Thunder coach Billy Donovan is really high on him. "He is one of those guys who will play wherever you need him to play," Donovan said. "There are different things he's experiencing right now as a young player in the NBA. I just think he has a lot of upside."