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February 18, 2010

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Durant shines as Thunder rattle Mavs

KEVIN Durant extended his impressive scoring streak with another 25-point haul as the Oklahoma City Thunder won for the seventh time in a row, a 99-86 triumph over the revamped Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.

Fresh from participating in his first All-Star game, Durant racked up 25 points for a 26th straight game, the longest such run since Allen Iverson completed the feat for 27 successive games in the 2000-01 season.

The third-year forward topped all scorers despite shooting a mediocre 9-for-28 from the field, but also contributed a game-high 14 rebounds.

"My teammates did a great job of picking me up when my shots weren't falling," Durant told reporters. "The important thing is we got the win."

Elsewhere in the National Basketball Association, it was; Nets 103, Bobcats 94; Heat 105, 76ers 78; Bulls 116, Knicks 85; Pistons 108, Timberwolves 85; Suns 109, Grizzlies 95; Jazz 104, Rockets 95; Celtics 95, Kings 92; Trail Blazers 109, Clippers 87; and Lakers 104, Warriors 94.

In Oklahoma City, The Thunder spoiled the debut of Dallas's new acquisitions after the team traded for high-scoring forward Caron Butler, center Brendan Haywood and reserve DeShawn Stevenson during the All-Star weekend.

However, the reinforcements could not prevent the Mavericks (32-21) from suffering a sixth loss in their last eight games.

Never in contention

Butler made just 4-of-16 shots and had 13 points while Dirk Nowitzki paced Dallas with 24. As a team, the Mavericks shot a season-low 32 percent and were never in contention once they fell behind in the second half.

"We didn't make shots," Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd said. "I think we started pressing. It just didn't work out."

Oklahoma surged ahead in the third quarter by scoring 14 straight points to pull ahead 73-59, a lead that swelled to 17 early in the fourth.

Point guard Russell Westbrook recorded 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds to go with 17 each from forward Jeff Green and reserve James Harden.

The Thunder started slowly and were 10 points adrift after the first quarter but erupted for 40 points in the second to take a 56-54 halftime advantage.

After under-achieving for several years, the youthful squad is in the thick of the Western Conference playoff mix while extending their longest win streak since 2004, when the franchise was in Seattle.


 

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