Late Run Overcomes Thunder Again

Originally Published: Feb 24, 2010 10:37 PM CDT

Vitals | Recap

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Oklahoma City Thunder surrendered another late lead and Kevin Durant’s record-setting run came to an end in a 95-87 loss to the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday.

For the second night in a row, the Thunder (33-23) held a lead with time winding down but could not close the door. OKC led with less than six minutes remaining, but the Spurs (32-23) went on a 14-4 run to finish the game and secure the win.

The night before, Oklahoma City allowed the Phoenix Suns to go on a 7-0 run at the end of the contest and earn a two-point win. The losses to both Phoenix and San Antonio caused significant changes to the Thunder’s playoff positioning.

The Thunder and Spurs stayed close from start to finish. The Spurs took a six-point lead into halftime and stretched that to nine on the first possession of the second half, but that was the largest lead either team had all night.

Injuries kept Nick Collison and Serge Ibaka out of the lineup, which forced Nenad Krstic and Thabo Sefolosha to play more minutes. Both players responded. Krstic finished with eight points and eight rebounds, while Sefolosha scored 12 points and pulled down 13 rebounds for his first double-double since November.

Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 21 points, but it was the first time since Dec. 19 that he failed to score 25 points or more. His streak ended at 29 games, the second-longest in NBA history and 11 shy of Michael Jordan’s record.

Jeff Green scored 19 points, and Russell Westbrook turned things on in the fourth quarter to finish with 17. Westbrook did not score a point in the first half after going 0-of-5 from the field and 0-of-4 from the free-throw line.

OKC has now lost two in a row after winning the previous nine. The Thunder will now return to Oklahoma City for a three-game home stand starting at 7 p.m. Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.