Philling It Up: Durant Pours In 32 To Lead Thunder Past Sixers

Kevin Durant is playing out of this world right now. <br />

Saturday, January 25th 2014, 10:02 pm

By: News 9


The Oklahoma City Thunder (35-10) cruised to another win on Saturday, sweeping its four-game in five-night stretch. 

Kevin Durant was his usual unguardable self, recording a triple double as OKC took down the  76ers 103-91 in Philadelphia.  

Durant scored 32 points to go with 14 rebounds and 10 assists.  It's the second time this season an NBA player has recoreded a game of at least 30-10-10, and Durant has both of them. Durant shot 12-17 from the floor and 7-7 from the foul line. 

"I thought Kevin was fantastic all the way around," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "Defensively, offensively, moving the basketball, rebounding the ball, and he did a great job of finding Serge."

Speaking of...Serge Ibaka was also on his A game, scoring 25 points on 12-16 shooting, grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking five shots.  All five of Ibaka's blocks came in the first half as Philly looked hesitant to test him in the second. 

"Serge did a great job of getting open," Brooks said. "There were some areas on the floor where we knew he had a chance to get open looks and he was able to step into those spots and fill it up."

Kendrick Perkins, who finished with three points and seven boards in 21 minutes, credited Ibaka's early shotblocking as a game-changing performance.

"It was huge, Perkins said. "I thought they (Philly) was looking over their shoulder all night."

Nick Collison gave OKC a nice lift off the bench, scoring all 12 of his points in the second half.  That helped to make up for Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb's subpar performances.  The two rising stars combined for just 3-18 shooting and 10 points.  

Former Oklahoma State Cowboy James Anderson led the Sixers in with 19 points and five rebounds. Standout rookie Michael Carter-Williams was held to just eight points on 4-13 shooting, while Thaddeus Young added 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Prior to tipoff, Durant was listed as a game-time decision as he continued to nurse his sore shoulder.  Brooks spoke more about Durant's toughness and performance through adversity.  

"He loves the game. He's always gonna find enough energy to put us in position to win the game," Brooks said.  "I thought, tonight, his all-around game was fantastic. Having a triple double after he came back with a sore shoulder is remarkable on his part."   

The Thunder has won seven games in a row, and Durant has scored 30+ points in 10 straight games.  OKC is back home on Monday night to face the Atlanta Hawks.  Tip is set for 7 p.m. from Chesapeake Energy Arena.

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