Portland, United States: NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant poured in 36 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder grabbed a dramatic last-second 98-95 triumph at Portland on Tuesday to boost their Northwest division lead.
Durant, who connected on 15-of-28 shots from the court, also registered 10 rebounds, while Jeremy Lamb came off the bench to score 19 points and Reggie Jackson netted 17 for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City improved to 42-12 and moved five games in front of the Trail Blazers, 36-16, in the division.
The Thunder own the best record in the Western Conference but needed the victory to split the four-game regular-season series with Portland this season.
Frenchman Nicolas Batum led the Trail Blazers with 18 points while Robin Lopez added 17 points and 14 rebounds and Damian Lillard added 16 points.
LaMarcus Aldridge made only 5-of-22 shots from the court, struggling to 12 points while also grabbing 12 rebounds for Portland.
The Trail Blazers lost reserve centre Joel Freeland after only two minutes of play to a knee injury late in the first quarter.
Jackson sank a driving off-balance layup to equalise for the Thunder at 93-93.
Lopez answered with a tip-in to put Portland back in front but Lamb answered with a 3-pointer from the left corner to give Oklahoma City a 96-95 edge.
Lillard lost the ball out of bounds while driving to the basket but Durant, pressured by Batum, made the same mistake to give the Trail Blazers another chance.
Aldridge missed and the Thunder grabbed the rebound, setting up two Jackson free throws that created the final margin with only 0.6 of a second remaining.
Lillard missed a desperation 3-point try from the right corner at the buzzer and the Thunder just had the victory.
