The Nets knew they would have their hands full with Kevin Durant but they still couldn’t stop him.
Durant — who scored 32 points on 9-of-16 shooting and hit all 12 of his free throws — led the Thurder to a 117-111 victory over the Nets last night at Barclays Center. When the Nets (11-6) cut the Thunder lead to two points with under five minutes to go, Oklahoma City’s superstar put the load on his shoulders.
“I want to be a go-to guy in the fourth,” Durant said. “That’s what I live for. But that said, I wasn’t only looking to score, I was looking to get my guys good shots.”
In the end, it was Durant who hit the key shots late in the fourth. After the Nets cut the Thunder lead to 104-102, he hit a pair of free throws followed by a jumper to extend their lead to 108-104. He later scored on a shot which didn’t go in, but counted as Kris Humphries was called for goaltending with 1:52 remaining. The play was reviewed and upheld, giving the Thunder a 110-106 lead.
Durant also had an impressive second quarter with 14 points. His rim-rocking dunk put the Thunder (15-4) up 59-46 with 1:17 to go in the first half. On the Thunder’s next possession, Durant went up for another dunk, which bounced off the rim, and was fouled hard by Andre Blatche, who received a technical on the play. Durant made both of his free throws, and said he was thankful he wasn’t hurt on the play.
“I had no more left in the tank. I wanted to finish [the dunk] so bad,” he said. “I know [Blatche] from him playing in D.C. That’s where I’m from so I would talk a little trash to him after that one but I’m glad I got to the free-throw line and got two shots. And I also fell down so I’m glad I didn’t get hurt on that play as well. I think that ignited my team just a little bit.”
Every time the Nets came close, Durant responded. His running mate, Russell Westbrook (25 points), was forced to sit out during parts of the third and fourth quarters with foul trouble. But Durant and his teammates picked him up, and their 30-for-34 performance from the free-throw line was a help.
“We work on them every single day and we have some great shooters on this team,” Durant said. “It’s all about focus at the line. Guys love points here so just got to finish it off. … But it’s a great job of us getting to the rim, getting fouled and putting pressure on the defense.”
Westbrook said he was happy to escape with the win.
“That is a good team, especially at home,” he said of the Nets. “It’s a good win, a good test for us. We were up and we should have done a better job of playing with a lead, but they are a good team.”