National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Oklahoma City 115, Minnesota 111
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 4, 2014
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: #70 Brent Barnaky, #55 Bill Kennedy, #42 Eric Lewis
Attendance: 18065

Thunder 115, Timberwolves 111: Kevin Durant scored 23 of his season-high 48 points in the fourth quarter, including a step-back jumper for the lead with four seconds left as Oklahoma City rallied past Minnesota for its eighth straight road win.

Durant went 16-of-32 from the field and 12-of-13 from the line and contributed seven rebounds and seven assists for the Thunder, who avoided a third straight loss. Derek Fisher scored 13 points off the bench and Serge Ibaka added 12.

Nikola Pekovic tallied 31 points and 11 rebounds and Kevin Love added 30 points and 14 boards for the Timberwolves, who failed in their bid to move above .500 for the first time since dropping to 8-8 on Nov. 25. Love was fouled shooting a 3-pointer with Minnesota trailing 113-111 in the final seconds, but he missed the first two free throws and didn't draw iron when missing the third intentionally.

Minnesota held Oklahoma City to 39.1 percent shooting in the first half and got 17 points from Pekovic to build a 55-49 halftime lead. The Timberwolves maintained a comfortable margin throughout the third period and went up by 13 early in the fourth quarter before Durant heated up, scoring 10 points during an 11-0 spurt that brought the Thunder within 92-90 with less than nine minutes left.

Ibaka's bucket pulled the Thunder even at 100 with 4:45 left, but Love answered with a 3-pointer and the Timberwolves had the lead back up the four with less than three minutes to play. Jeremy Lamb's putback of Durant's miss gave Oklahoma City the lead and the teams went back and forth until Durant's 18-footer with four seconds left put the Thunder ahead for good.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Love recorded his 29th double-double in 32 games and Pekovic notched his sixth double-double in seven games and his 17th of season. … Ibaka has blocked at least one shot in 26 consecutive games, the longest current streak in the NBA. … Rookie C Steven Adams tallied 10 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma City before he headed to the locker room with an apparent right lower leg injury near the end of the third quarter.

Top Game Performances
 
Oklahoma City   Minnesota
Kevin Durant 48 Scoring Nikola Pekovic 31
Kevin Durant 7 Assists Ricky Rubio 10
Steven Adams 9 Rebounds Kevin Love 14
Kevin Durant 12 Free Throws Made Nikola Pekovic 5
Kevin Durant 2 Steals Ricky Rubio 5
Steven Adams 2 Blocks Kevin Love 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Oklahoma City 115 48.2 8-24 27-28 22 45 8 7 22
Minnesota 111 45.7 7-20 18-29 25 40 1 12 15
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Oklahoma City will play their next game at home against Boston. The Thunder have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.