Oklahoma City Thunder Takes Down Clippers

Originally Published: Nov 11, 2009 10:52 PM CDT

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- Kevin Durant stepped back and hit the go-ahead jumper from the left corner with 38 seconds remaining for two of his 30 points, giving Oklahoma City an 83-79 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.

Jeff Green added 13 points, and Nenad Krstic had 10 to help the Thunder end a two-game road losing skid. Durant also had 10 rebounds.

Chris Kaman led the Clippers with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Baron Davis added 17 points and nine assists, and Al Thornton scored 15 points.

Thornton was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 1:28 remaining and made all three free throws to tie it at 79. Rasual Butler missed a 3 before Durant got the ball in the corner opposite the Clippers' bench for the winning basket.

After a timeout, Kaman was trapped on the baseline and sent a bad pass into the hands of Oklahoma City's Kevin Ollie with 27 seconds left. Ollie missed a 3 from nearly the same spot where Durant connected, but was fouled by Marcus Camby with a second to go.

The Thunder led 78-71, with Green scoring seven of their first 12 points of the fourth. Davis hit a 3-pointer and Kaman scored to bring Los Angeles within three before Thornton's free throws tied it up.

The Clippers fell to 0-2 without both rookie Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon in the lineup. Griffin is out for up to six weeks with a broken left kneecap, while Gordon will miss up to 10 days with a sore left groin muscle that he injured Saturday.

The Thunder outscored Los Angeles 23-21 in the third, but the Clippers took a 69-66 lead going into the fourth.

Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City's second-leading scorer, went down with 4:09 remaining in the third, when Camby appeared to step on his left foot. Westbrook left the court and returned to start the fourth, but finished with 2 points.

The Clippers led 48-43 at halftime, using a 17-9 run to overcome a three-point deficit early in the second quarter. Kaman scored six points and Thornton added five. Durant was held to seven points in the period.