Surprising Thunder climb back above .500
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)—Kevin Durant(notes) scored 30 points, Russell Westbrook(notes) had 22 andthe Oklahoma City Thunder held off the Charlotte Bobcats 98-91 on Saturdaynight.
Nenad Krstic(notes) added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the surprising Thunder, whoimproved to 15-14. They didn’t earn their 15th win last season until the 60thgame, on March 2.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ru… AP – Dec 26, 10:59 pm EST ![]()
Oklahoma City Thunder forward … AP – Dec 26, 10:58 pm EST ![]()
Charlotte Bobcats center Nazr … AP – Dec 26, 9:06 pm EST ![]()
Charlotte Bobcats guard Raymon… AP – Dec 26, 9:05 pm EST YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index = 3; YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_lazy_images = [http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20091227/capt.1220681d19f6435c92cf4e3cceba5cca.bobcats_thunder_basketball_okbs103.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=1&yc=1&wc=349&hc=388&q=70&sig=9PKjvNe0UWmv80lSlz111g--,http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20091227/capt.6a256a84581341ddb9c3ccfe2322c7c6.bobcats_thunder_basketball_okbs101.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=1&yc=1&wc=253&hc=281&q=70&sig=DJ0toKMeKAR2ZPZ6taWnBA--,http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20091227/capt.fa4f2cd7001043ea8df74391ab55f2b8.bobcats_thunder_basketball_okbs102.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=8&yc=1&wc=368&hc=409&q=70&sig=a0PnI_h_uELeoVjTA.HMdQ--]; YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(window,load,YAHOO.Sports.articleLazyLoadCarousel.init); 1 of 4 Cha-OKC Gallery function prev_photo() { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index > 0) { goto_photo(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index – 1); } else { goto_photo(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index); }}function next_photo() { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index 0) { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_prev, prev); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_prev, prev_disabled); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_prev, prev_disabled); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_prev, prev); } if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index < YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index) { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_next, next); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_next, next_disabled); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_next, next_disabled); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_next, next); }*/}function goto_photo(p) { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos) { for(i = 0; i < YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos.length; i++) { if (i == p) { YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos[i], display, ); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos[i], display, none); } } if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page) { YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page.innerHTML =(p + 1); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index = p; } } update_buttons();}YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_init = function () { YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(article_carousel_prev, click, prev_photo); YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(article_carousel_next, click, next_photo); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index = 0; YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page = YAHOO.util.Dom.get(carousel_page); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos = YAHOO.util.Dom.getElementsByClassName(item, div, leadphoto); if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos) { goto_photo(0); }}YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_init();
A near-capacity crowd of 17,961 showed up at the 18,203-seat Ford Center,two nights after the biggest snowstorm (14 inches) in Oklahoma City history.
Stephen Jackson(notes) had 24 points for the Bobcats, who dropped to 1-13 on theroad.
Early in the second half Oklahoma City led by as many as 12 points, 62-50,after a 12-0 run. But Charlotte didn’t go away, twice closing within four in thefinal 2 minutes.
Beginning late in the first quarter, the Thunder built a 37-27 lead on thestrength of a 17-0 run.
Reserve guard Eric Maynor(notes), playing in his first home game since beingacquired by the Thunder, led the scoring spree. He had seven of the final 10points during that span, scoring after a steal, on a driving layup and with a3-pointer.
After Oklahoma City went ahead 39-29, Charlotte answered with a 12-0 run.But the Thunder led 53-50 at halftime.
NOTES: The Thunder are 12-1 when they score 100 points or more. The loneloss was 111-108 on Dec. 22 at the Los Angeles Lakers. … Oklahoma City’sprevious eight games were against teams with a composite winning percentage of.626. Now, including Charlotte, the Thunder’s next nine opponents have a .379winning percentage. … The Bobcats were 3-6 when they acquired Jackson lastmonth. They are 8-11 since. … Charlotte forward Gerald Wallace(notes) came inaveraging 41 minutes per game, tops in the NBA. He played 45.
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