Thunder Ride Explosive Fourth Quarter to Big Win

Originally Published: Feb 9, 2010 11:56 PM CDT

Vitals | Recap

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

PORTLAND, Oregon -- After trudging through three quarters of mediocre offense, the Oklahoma City Thunder came alive in the fourth on the way to an 89-77 victory over the Portland Trailblazers.

The Thunder entered the third quarter trailing 61-59, but rookie James Harden – after going scoreless in the first three quarters – exploded for 13 consecutive points to spark a 15-2 run. After the original scoring onslaught, the Trailblazers collapsed.

After committing 13 turnovers in the first three quarters combined, Portland gave the ball away nine times in the fourth. The Blazers also shot just 6-of-18 in the fourth quarter, dropping them to 40 percent shooting on the night. They scored 16 points in the quarter, and six of those came in garbage time when the game was already decided.

Meanwhile, the Thunder’s offense could do no wrong. Oklahoma City shot 10-of-19 from the field in the fourth quarter and committed only one turnover. It scored 30 points, by far the most productive quarter for either team all night.

The Thunder also started the game hot, going on a 15-2 run to begin the night. OKC carried a big lead through most of the first half, but Portland tied the game at 41 going into halftime. The Blazers then took their first lead of the game 53-51 in the third quarter. The teams stayed close for the rest of the quarter, setting up the Thunder’s fourth-quarter dominance.

Kevin Durant continued his recent hot streak, finishing with 33 points and 11 rebounds to give him more than 5,000 points in his three-year career. He has now scored 25 or more points in 25 consecutive games and is two games away from tying the second-longest such streak in NBA history.

Jeff Green scored 17 points and swiped four steals, and Serge Ibaka finished with four blocked shots.

With Brandon Roy out because of a hamstring injury, Andre Miller led the Blazers with 22 points. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 15, and Dante Cunningham added 14 off the bench.

The Thunder has now won six consecutive games, the franchise’s longest winning since moving to Oklahoma City. It enters the All-Star break with 30 wins, seven more than OKC had all of last season. It will resume play next Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Dallas at the Ford Center.