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Durant steers Thunder past Blazers
Tuesday, 07 February 2012 10:26
Kevin Durant had 33 points, including a dunk with 2.9 seconds left in overtime, and the Thunder defeated the Trail Blazers 111-107 on Monday night.
But the focus of the game fell on a goaltending call on Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge with 6 seconds left in regulation that tied the game at 103 and would send it into overtime.
The Rose Garden Crowd wailed when the replay was shown on the video scoreboard. Coach Nate McMillan rushed to the nearest official to complain. Aldridge, who finished with a season-high 39 points, just looked stunned.
"I said, 'Y'all should go look at it,'" Aldridge said. "And the ref said, 'Nope.'"
And that was that.
Russell Westbrook added 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder, who upped their NBA-best record to 19-5 (.792). Oklahoma City outscored the deflated Blazers 8-4 in overtime to clinch it.
Westbrook hit a jumper and James Harden added a fast-break dunk to give the Thunder a 107-103 lead. Jamal Crawford's pull-up jumper narrowed it to 109-107 for the Blazers, but Durant dunked with 2.9 seconds left to put it away.
"It was a tough game," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "It could have gone either way. I don't think one call is a difference-maker."
It was just the second loss for the Blazers (13-11) at the Rose Garden.
"It's tough. We definitely played well enough to win this game," Aldridge said. "We had some tough calls and then we had some bad bounces late in the game. We have to learn from it."
The Blazers trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half, but Nicolas Batum hit a 3-pointer that tied it at 63 with 6:52 left. Aldridge added a jumper to put Portland ahead.
Aldridge hit a turnaround jumper with 3:37 to go to make it 99-95 for the Blazers. After a pair of free throws, Durant made a 3-pointer to close to 101-98. Westbrook made free throws to tie it for Oklahoma City, and then Crawford's jumper with 55.9 seconds left pulled the Blazers back ahead.
Portland clung to the narrow lead when, with 6 seconds left, Aldridge was called for goaltending on Durant's layup.
"It didn't hit the glass. I put it on the glass, so I figured it was a clean block," Aldridge said. "The ref who called it was the furthest one from the basket, so that's pretty interesting."
Coach Nate McMillan was much more direct: "I thought it was a good block. That game should have been over."
Durant felt otherwise.
"I saw the lane to the rim and I tried to get it up there quick because LaMarcus Aldridge is a long, athletic defender," he said. "So I got it up there quick enough that it hit the glass first. It was a goaltend, so it was a good play for us."
Batum missed a layup for Portland's final possession and the game went to overtime and the Rose Garden crowd jeered the officials. The boos came again after the game when the refs quickly exited the floor.
The Thunder were coming off a 107-96 loss at San Antonio on Saturday, which kicked off a five-game road trip. Durant had 22 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double.
Portland was without starting guard Raymond Felton, who strained his left foot in the Blazers' 117-97 victory over Denver on Saturday night. An MRI was negative, but Felton is day-to-day with the injury.
Knicks 99, Jazz 88
At New York, Jeremy Lin scored a career-high 28 points in his first career start, Steve Novak added a season-best 19, and the Knicks overcame the absence of Amare Stoudemire and early loss of Carmelo Anthony to beat the Utah Jazz.
Stoudemire left the team to join his family in Florida after older brother Hazell was killed there earlier Monday in a car crash, then Anthony left after just six minutes with a strained right groin.
Clippers 107, Magic 102
At Orlando, Fla., Chris Paul scored 29 points, including 11 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame a 15-point first-half deficit and slipped by the Orlando Magic.
Blake Griffin and Chauncey Billups each added 18 points for the Clippers.
Wizards 111, Raptors 108, OT
At Washington, John Wall scored 31 points, Nick Young had a season-high 29 and Trevor Booker added a season-high 19 as the Wizards blew an 18-point third-quarter lead and then hung on to beat the Toronto Raptors 111-108 in overtime.
The Wizards outscored Toronto 6-3 in the overtime.
Suns 99, Hawks 90
At Atlanta, Steve Nash scored 24 points and the Phoenix Suns broke open a close game with a 24-6 run to close the third quarter and beat the Atlanta Hawks.
Nash, whose 38th birthday is Tuesday, had 11 assists and shot 9 of 12 — including each of his four 3-pointers. Channing Frye had 19 points, including a 3-pointer and another basket in the closing minutes to help the Suns stop Atlanta's final comeback attempt.
Bulls 108, Nets 87
At Newark, N.J., Carlos Boozer scored 24 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to an easy victory over the New Jersey Nets.
Luol Deng scored 19 points and C.J. Watson added 14 points and 10 assists in place of Derrick Rose. The reigning league MVP played less than 11 minutes in the first half and the Bulls said at halftime that he would not return because of back spasms.
Kings 100, Hornets 92
At New Orleans, DeMarcus Cousins had 28 points and 19 rebounds, and the Sacramento Kings erased an 18-point deficit en route to a victory over the slumping New Orleans Hornets.
Tyreke Evans scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, when Sacramento took its first lead on Marcus Thornton's free throw with 6:24 left. Isaiah Thomas scored 17, including a 31-foot 3-pointer with 2:15 to go that gave the Kings a 94-88 lead. Thornton added 12 points.
Spurs 89, Grizzlies 84
At Memphis, Tenn., Tony Parker scored 21 points, and Tim Duncan added 19 points and 17 rebounds to lead the San Antonio Spurs over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Duncan scored 13 of his points in the second half as the Spurs opened a nine-game road trip with a win.
Rockets 99, Nuggets 90
At Denver, Luis Scola scored 25 points and the Houston Rockets handed the injury-riddled Denver Nuggets their third straight loss.
The Nuggets not only lost for the fifth time in six games but they lost budding star forward Danilo Gallinari, who rolled his left ankle in the third quarter. X-rays revealed a chip fracture of the foot and he was scheduled for further tests Tuesday "for a definitive diagnosis," the team said.
