Oklahoma City Thunder defeat Denver Nuggets, secure fifth consecutive win
Deadly duo, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, both with their double-doubles secured a fifth straight win for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder defeated Denver Nuggets 110-104, even though they struggled from beyond the arc.
Durant finished with 30 points and 12 rebounds to lead Thunder, followed by Westbrook’s 27 points and 12 assists. Former Jazz player Enes Kanter scored 25 points and was 2 rebounds shy of a double-double. Kanter also got a thumbs up from Billy Donovan, Thunder Coach, who said “He was really active on the glass, he got a lot of offensive rebounds, he kept possessions alive, he scored, he did a lot of really good things.
On the other side, it wasn’t a very bad game for the Nuggets as Danilo Gallinari scored 27 points and Kenneth Faried bagged a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds. The Nuggets led by as many as 12 in the first half, but the second half was dominated by the deadly duo and Kanter.
Denver cut it to four in the final minute and had a chance to make it a one-possession game, but Westbrook had other ideas as he stole a pass, and Kanter scored two free throws on the other end. And this is what Kanter had to say after the win – “My job is just going out there and helping my teammates, get them open shots and fight for offensive rebounds.”
Nuggets coach felt that allowing Kanter do what he did cost them the game. He said, “We know KD and Westbrook will have their game, but allowing a third player to get going, makes it impossible to beat that team.”
The Nuggets announced before the game they had signed general manager Tim Connelly and assistant general manager Arturas Karnisovas to multi-year contract extensions. Connelly also revealed that his goal was to be a scout rather than a General Manager. So he chose to be a paid scout, works well with the Nuggets apparently.