Oklahoma City Thunder Lose Rollercoaster Ride

Originally Published: Nov 15, 2009 9:18 PM CDT

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Oklahoma Sports Staff & AP Wire reports

OKLAHOMA CITY -- There was no magic the second time around for the Oklahoma City Thunder as the Los Angeles Clippers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 101-93 victory. Kevin Durant scored a season-high 40 points and had eight rebounds for the Oklahoma City but it did not get the Thunder over the hump. Oklahoma City defeated the Clippers 83-79 last Wednesday.

Baron Davis scored 24 points, including a key 3-pointer in the final minute, to help on Sunday night.

In a game that had 25 lead changes and 18 ties, Chris Kaman put the Clippers ahead for good at 94-93, taking a pass from Davis and scoring with 1:46 left. After the teams traded turnovers, Russell Westbrook missed an 18-footer for Oklahoma City, and Davis followed with the 3-pointer to give Los Angeles a 97-93 lead.

"I thought we fought," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "We just didn't fight hard enough. We didn't start the game and we didn't sustain."

Jeff Green missed a 3-point attempt for Oklahoma City, and Al Thornton scored on a breakaway dunk for the Clippers with 29.2 seconds left to seal the win.

Westbrook had 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Oklahoma City, which shot 33.8 percent from the field and went 3 of 20 from 3-point range.

"This was a bad loss for us but we're going to learn from it," Durant said.

Rasual Butler's 3-pointer in the final minute of the first quarter put the Clippers ahead 25-23 and they didn't relinquish the lead for the rest of the half. Los Angeles twice built its lead to 10 points and was up 49-41 at halftime.

The Clippers led 58-46 after Thornton's dunk a little more than two minutes into the third quarter, but Oklahoma City went on a 15-2 run, highlighted by seven points from Westbrook, to go up 61-60. The Thunder led 76-75 entering the fourth quarter but never could stretch their lead beyond three points.

Thornton scored 20 points for Los Angeles, which shot 48.1 percent from the field against a team that ranked fifth in the NBA in scoring defense.

Former Oklahoma star Blake Griffin, drafted No. 1 overall by the Clippers, didn't make the trip Oklahoma City for Los Angeles' only trip to his hometown this season. Griffin is undergoing treatment for a broken kneecap.