Bosh-less Raptors blown out in Oklahoma City
Written by on February 28th, 2010 in Latest News.
Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, right, dribbles past Toronto’s Sonny Weems during Sunday’s game. (Layne Murdoch/Getty Images)
Kevin Durant scored 29 points, Nenad Krstic had a rare three-pointer and added 16 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat Toronto 119-99 on Sunday night to send the Raptors to their third straight loss without all-star Chris Bosh.
Oklahoma City took control with an early 12-0 run and never got much of a challenge in the second half from the Raptors without their leading scorer and rebounder. The Thunder led by at least nine throughout the second half and were up by 28 at one point.
Jeff Green had 20 points and matched his career high with four steals, Russell Westbrook added 14 points, 10 assists and four steals, and rookie Serge Ibaka had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder.
Andrea Bargnani and Sonny Weems each had 14 points to lead Toronto, which has lost three or more consecutive games for only the third time this season.
Westbrook had the first seven points — five of them from the free-throw line — in an 11-2 run that place the game away for the Thunder late in the third quarter. James Harden’s layup completed the spurt and made it 87-66.
Durant’s two-handed jam off an alley-oop from Green made it 107-81 midway through the fourth quarter and Thunder coach Scott Brooks called timeout on Oklahoma City’s next possession to pull his starters.
The Thunder improved to 25-3 when scoring 100 or more this season.
Toronto had won its first two games after Bosh sprained his left ankle, albeit against lowly New Jersey and a Washington team without Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison. But the Raptors couldn’t match their level of play from two nights earlier, when they pushed Cleveland to overtime in a loss.
Oklahoma City shot 52 per cent and outscored Toronto 21-10 on quick breaks.
Krstic had a three-point play and a layup underneath during a string of 12 straight points for Oklahoma City in the first quarter, and Durant made it 27-13 with his right-handed dunk with 3:58 left in the period.
Toronto pulled to 42-36 after back-to-back baskets by Rasho Nesterovic and Jose Calderon midway through the second quarter, but the Thunder responded immediately as Ibaka had a two-handed jam off a behind-the-back pass from Westbrook for Oklahoma City’s first of six points in a row.
Krstic, the Thunder’s seven-foot centre, hit his second career three-pointer to place Oklahoma City up 61-47 at halftime.
