Thunder 127, Wizards 108: Think Durant was up for that one?
By: Craig Stouffer
Examiner Staff Writer
11/20/09 11:04 PM EST
When you have D.C. natives Kevin Durant and Jeff Green together on one team that's not Washington, it's automatically a rivarly, at least for them. Durant (35 points) and Green (19 points, 14 rebounds) were clearly up for facing the Wizards (3-8) tonight in a run-and-gun 127-108 (full box score here) win for the youth-laden Thunder (7-6). Durant and Green lifted their teammates, who shot a stunning 53 percent from the field, which actually wasn't as impressive as the 52.4 percent they shot from three.
Washington's big three each had at least 22 points, too, but only Caron Butler (24 points) shot 50 percent. Gilbert Arenas had 23 points on 20 shots, and Antawn Jamison had 22 on 17 shots. Brendan Haywood again was huge in the middle, with 14 points and 16 rebounds.
The Wizards had chances, too, cutting the Oklahoma City lead to one point twice in the third quarter. Chance No. 1: Arenas hit a 3-pointer to make it 66-65, but on successive possessions, Butler grabbed Durant on an inbound, then Butler traveled, then Arenas turned the ball over. Seven-point margin restored, 72-65.
Chance No. 2: Arenas converts his 3-point play to cut the lead to 82-81. But on successive possessions, Butler got picked by Durant, Arenas bricked a 3-pointer, Andray Blatche took a poor shot, DeShawn Stevenson fouled Russell Westbrook (26 points), and then Stevenson turned the ball over, too. Ten-point margin restored, 91-81.
The last quarter was equal parts tease to keep Wizards fans interested and dunk show by Durant, although his multiple monster jams were matched by James Harden (25 points), whose steal, save, and finish to make it 111-94 was ridiculous. Did I mention he hit 4 of 6 threes, too?
Washington simply couldn't match OKC's offensive explosiveness, but the 20 turnovers didn't help. Even Mike Miller coughed the ball up three times. Again limited by his shoulder, he took only four shots and finished with five points. Randy Foye was also a goat, with one point, one assist and two turnovers in 11 and a half minutes. He's still not sharp coming off the ankle injury. But Miller is the bigger concern. Until he plays a game without looking like a one-armed man, it's time to start questioning whether he should be playing at all.
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