Thunder extend Northwest Division lead

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook had field days as Oklahoma City defeated Denver in the NBA on Tuesday.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant starred as Oklahoma City defeated Denver 110-104 in the NBA. (AAP)

euters - Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook each had double-doubles to lead the Thunder to a 110-104 win at Denver on Tuesday, stretching their lead in the NBA's Northwest Division to a dozen games.

Enes Kanter also scored a season-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds, as the Thunder held off a late revival by Denver.

"That guy (Kanter) gets 25 and eight (rebounds), four offensive rebounds and some key plays and he does it on 10 of 14 shooting," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.

"You know that Durant and Westbrook are going to get theirs, but when you allow a third scorer to get in the game, it makes it nearly impossible to beat that team."

Durant and Westbrook had double-doubles before the end of the third quarter. The Thunder (31-12) trailed by five midway through the period but led 84-79 entering the fourth.

The Thunder tried to pull away early in the fourth but Denver got within three and had a chance to cut the deficit to one but Kanter hit a fast-break dunk and a layup to make it 90-83.

Denver did close within three on two free throws by Will Barton but a free throw by Kanter, a three-point play from Durant and a layup by Kanter made it 96-97 with 5:08 left.

The Thunder improved to an impressive 31-12 while every other team in the lopsided division has more losses than wins.

Elsewhere, Milwaukee clamped down on a below-strength Miami to win 91-79 on the road.

Khris Middleton scored 22 points and Greg Monroe added 15 for the Bucks, who have won their past five against the Heat.

Chris Bosh scored 23 points for Miami, which went in without four injured players, including point guards Goran Dragic and Luol Deng, while Dwyane Wade played through shoulder pain and had only two points.

In Phoenix, Indiana held on against a fast-finishing home side to extend the Suns' dismal run to 14 defeats in 15 games.

Phoenix came from 20 points down in the third quarter to get within three of Indiana but ran out of time to overrun the Pacers.

New Orleans also overcame an early 17-point deficit to beat Minnesota 114-99, led by 35 points from Anthony Davis.


Share

3 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world