The only place Kevin Durant had never won in his career was the Amway Center.
He can finally cross that off on his to-do list.
The Thunder put an end to the long road drought — they hadn’t won in Orlando in eight years — by staging a big comeback behind Durant to win 105-102 and pushed their winning streak to seven games.
Russell Westbrook went off for 29 points and 10 assists, only his second double-digit assist effort this season.
Dwight Howard took control of the game in the third quarter by scoring 16 points on his way to a team high 33 points and nine rebounds. However, Durant took control of the game when it mattered the most: the fourth quarter.
From Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: “Kevin Durant tried his best to downplay the dominance he displayed here four days ago. His humble act worked right up until he went out and one-upped himself. Still fresh off his first ever All-Star Game MVP, Durant returned to Orlando and scored 18 of his game-high 38 points in the fourth quarter… Durant made 12 of 21 shots, including 5-of-8 3-pointers and was 9-for-9 from the free throw line. In the fourth quarter, Durant helped the Thunder erase an 11-point deficit by making five-of six shots and two of his three 3-point attempts. Fourteen of Durant’s points came in the final five minutes, every one of them critical in turning a three-point deficit into a three-point road win. “He wasn’t the All-Star MVP for nothing,” said Kendrick Perkins. “He did what he does. That’s why he gets paid the big bucks.” Durant’s biggest basket of the night came when he drilled a one-legged 19-foot jumper from the top of the key as the shot clock expired. It gave the Thunder a 101-96 lead with 52.5 seconds left to play. The shot dropped despite Orlando forward Hedo Turkoglu draped all over Durant. “Finally,” said Durant, who has been missing the shot that’s become known as “The Dirk” in reference to Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki‘s signature move. “That was a prayer. I threw that one up. God was on my side on that one and I made a decent shot.” The two before that were just as cold-blooded. First, Durant squared up at the top of the key and caught a feed from Russell Westbrook before drilling a 3-pointer to put the Thunder ahead 93-89. Magic center Dwight Howard scored on a putback dunk, and the teams exchanged 3-pointers, with Magic guard Jameer Nelson answering Royal Ivey‘s bomb with one of his own to pull Orlando within two. On the next trip, Durant knocked down another 3, this time from the left wing off a feed from Westbrook, to push the Thunder’s lead back to five. Just like that, Durant had done it again in Orlando.”
Durant and Westbrook are quickly becoming an unstoppable scoring duo, and their efforts continued against the normally stingy defense of the Magic. The Magic hadn’t allowed 100 points for 10 straight games prior to this contest.
From Josh Robbins of Orlando Sentinel: “Our fourth-quarter defense was pathetic,” coach Stan Van Gundy said after his Magic allowed the Thunder to shoot 67 percent in the final period. “I give them credit for what they did, and they’re hard to stop. But it shouldn’t be every possession.”… The Magic still had a chance at the end after Daequan Cook missed a pair of free-throw attempts with 3.1 seconds remaining. But Jason Richardson’s desperation 3-point try from 27 feet as time expired was far off the mark… “Our defense coming down the stretch wasn’t where it needed to be, and on the offensive end, we didn’t execute,” Howard said. “But it was a good lesson for us to learn from.”… “There wasn’t anything we did in the fourth quarter that they had any trouble with,” Van Gundy said. “If we had one good defensive possession in the fourth quarter, I missed it.”… A key reason for the Thunder’s success: They get to the foul line. A lot. Their team began the night averaging 27.4 free-throw attempts per game, the second-highest average in the NBA. They didn’t attempt their first foul shot on Thursday until 6:10 remained in the second quarter, but they still finished the game 21 of 27 from the line… Before tipoff Thursday, Van Gundy and his assistant coaches set several priorities. They wanted their players to limit fastbreak points, limit layups and defend without fouling. They also wanted their players to push the pace. It all worked. Until the fourth quarter.”
On the day when Eric Spoelstra was named coach of the month, the best team in the East was ready to continue its own streak of dominance behind MVP candidate in LeBron James as the Heat took on the Blazers on the road. The results were all too familiar.
From Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald: “The second half of the season began just like the first half ended — another blowout for the Heat. Playing the best basketball in the NBA going into the All-Star break, Miami picked up where it left off on Thursday in Portland with a 107-93 victory against the Trail Blazers. The Heat (28-7) has won nine straight games, all by double-digits , and they did it at the Rose Garden without Chris Bosh, who missed the game to attend his grandmother’s funeral. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade more than picked up the slack, combining to score 71 points. Wade had 22 points in the first half, turning a close game into a bludgeoning in the blink of an eye. “We’re just playing basketball at an all-time high as far as us together,” James said. The outcome was never in doubt but the Heat’s streak of consecutive victories by at least 10 points hung in the balance for a few minutes in the fourth quarter. That’s the mark of a team on a ridiculous winning streak — the only drama to be had is that of margin of victory. Portland cut the Heat’s lead to 10 points with about five minutes to play but James answered with a three-pointer and the Trail Blazers never got any closer. After leading the Eastern Conference All-Stars in points on Sunday, James’ remarkable regular season continued. He finished with 38 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals. With Bosh out, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra evoked the name of Magic Johnson when addressing James before the game, asking the Heat’s versatile star to play multiple positions. James started the game at power forward offensively but played man-to-man defense against Trail Blazers center Marcus Camby. “I don’t know of another player who can handle that mentally,” Spoelstra said. “He was able to settle into his game and that settled us.”
Elsewhere…
- The ageless duo of Steve Nash and Grant Hill led the Suns to a home victory against the Timberwolves, 104-95. Nash had 13 points, eight rebounds and tied a season high with 17 assists while Grant Hill led the team with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Minnesota, playing for the third consecutive night on the road, lost for the second straight game. Kevin Love had 23 points and 10 rebounds but shot just 8-of-25 from the field.
- The Clippers coasted to an easy victory over the Kings on the road 108-100. The final score was closer than it actually was as most of the starters sat in the fourth quarter after building a 19 point lead. Chris Paul led the way with 22 points and nine assists, thoroughly outplaying rookie Isaiah Thomas who was named the rookie of the month earlier in the day. The Kings had a great day, however, as they announced their long term plans to keep the team in Sacramento.