Durant shines as Thunder beat Bucks

Oklahoma City : The Oklahoma City Thunder eased to a 108-90 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, Kevin Durant leading the way for the much-improved franchise with 33 points and 12 rebounds.

The 21-year-old forward made 10-of-21 shots and drained 12 free throws as the Thunder (9-7) notched their ninth victory around two months earlier than last season, when they finished a lowly 23-59.

"[Durant] can score at so many different spots," Thunder coach Scott Brooks told reporters. "All I want him to do is make plays, whether he is scoring or setting up his teammates."

In an intriguing matchup of two prospects, Durant came out on top as Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings struggled on 3-for-11 shooting for 12 points in 30 minutes.

Strong effort

Milwaukee trailed by just one point at halftime but went scoreless for more than six minutes at the start of the third to fall well behind and eventually drop their third straight game.

The victory was the second in a row for Oklahoma City, who also got 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds from guard Russell Westbrook. Coming off an impressive 104-94 road victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, the Thunder delivered another strong effort in the start of a five-game homestand.

Nestled among the NBA leaders in scoring, Durant scored 13 first-quarter points to spark his team to an early lead and Oklahoma City broke things open in the fourth. After Milwaukee pulled within 10 points with 9:08 left the Thunder put the game away with a 16-2 run.

Jeff Green added 17 points for Oklahoma City, one of the youngest teams in the NBA, and rookie James Harden made three 3-pointers and finished with 15 points. Carlos Delfino and Hakim Warrick tied for a team-high 15 points for the Bucks who shot just 37 per cent from the field and have slumped after a fast start to the year.

RESULTS

CHARLOTTE 94 Cleveland 87

Washington 94 MIAMI 84

Atlanta 100 PHILI 86

BOSTON 116 Toronto 103

LA Clippers 104 DETROIT 96

Dallas 113 INDIANA 92

OKLAHOMA 108 Milwaukee 90

San Antonio 92 HOUSTON 84

DENVER 128 NY Knicks 125

Phoenix 120 MINNESOTA 95

Memphis 106 PORTLAND 96

SACRA'TO 109 New Jersey 96

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