Thunder demolishes weary Golden State
OKLAHOMA CITY — A fog-delayed arrival in Oklahoma City made Golden State’s task tough enough.
Then the Warriors made the mistake of getting on Kevin Martin’s bad side.
Kevin Durant scored 25 points and Martin roared to life with 10 points during a fourth-quarter run that put away the Thunder’s 119-98 win on Wednesday night.
Martin hit a pair of 3-pointers, a runner and slammed home a two-handed dunk during a 16- 4 fourth-quarter spurt that pushed the lead to 106-83 and coaxed coach Scott Brooks into emptying his bench instead of going back to All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Durant down the stretch. Warriors coach Mark Jackson soon followed suit.
“Coach Jackson should talk to a couple of his bench players and make sure they get wet behind the ears before they come barking at a couple of our players,” said Martin, who went 4 for 5 in the final period and ended up with 21 points.
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Warriors didn’t get settled in Oklahoma City until almost daybreak and it showed as they fell behind by 20 early. Martin refused to say specifically who got him riled up to finally squash Golden State’s chances for a comeback.
“You’ve got to take it personal, what they did,” Martin said. “It wasn’t only talking trash. They made a couple of dirty plays to inspire us as a team.”
Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson had 19 points apiece for the Warriors.
Fog kept the Warriors from arriving in Oklahoma City after their 140-109 loss at Houston on Tuesday night, and the team plane ended up landing about 100 miles away in Tulsa instead. The team buses were still in Oklahoma City, though.
Some players took taxis and others waited for the buses to come get them. It was around 4:30 a.m. by the time they got to the hotel.
“It definitely throws your routine off, especially on a back-toback,” Stephen Curry said.
IN OTHER GAMES
Cavaliers 122, Bobcats 95 at Cleveland: Kyrie Irving scored 22 points in just three quarters, rookie Dion Waiters added 19 and Cleveland didn’t overlook a team with a worse record than their own, rolling to a win over Charlotte.
Pacers 88, 76ers 69 at Philadelphia: Roy Hibbert had 16 points and 13 rebounds to lead Indiana to a victory over Philadelphia.
The Central Division-leading Pacers won their third game in three nights. The only team to play back-to-back-to-back games this season showed no signs of weariness.
Celtics 99, Raptors 95 at Toronto: Kevin Garnett scored a season-high 27 points with 10 rebounds, Paul Pierce had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Boston won their fifth straight game by beating Toronto.
Clippers 86, Magic 76 at at Orlando: Eric Bledsoe had 27 points, including 19 in the second half, and Los Angeles used a big third quarter to secure a win over Orlando.
The victory ended a threegame losing streak for Los Angeles.
The Clippers won despite playing without its three top scorers in All-Stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, and Jamal Crawford.
Wizards 106, Knicks 96 at Washington: John Wall had 21 points and nine assists, Trevor Ariza scored 20 points and the Wizards broke New York’s fivegame winning streak.
The Wizards also snapped New York’s 10-game winning streak over them. Wall scored 10 points in the fourth quarter as Washington took control.
Nets 93, Pistons 90 at Auburn Hills, Mich.: Brook Lopez had 17 points, and Brooklyn won at Detroit for the first time since 2006, holding off the Pistons.
Will Bynum’s tying 3-point attempt from the right corner was short in the final seconds.
Heat 114, Rockets 108 at Miami: LeBron James scored 32 points, Dwyane Wade added 31 points and eight assists, and Miami held off Houston. Hornets 93, Suns 84 at New Orleans: Greivis Vasquez scored 19 points, AlFarouq Aminu added 16, and New Orleans snapped a fourgame losing streak with a victory over Phoenix.
Vasquez, who scored 15 points in the first half, was 8 of 9 from the field.
Mavericks 105, Trail Blazers 99 at Dallas: O.J. Mayo scored 28 points, Vince Carter hit a critical jumper in the final minute and Dallas beat Portland for coach Rick Carlisle’s 500th career victory. Mayo had 20 in the first half and was mostly quiet before getting two important baskets with Portland trying to rally late in the fourth quarter.
Spurs 104, Timberwolves 94 at Minneapolis: Danny Green hit eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 28 points to help the San Antonio Spurs to their 11th straight win
Tony Parker had 31 points and eight assists and Kawhi Leonard added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs.
Jazz 100, Bucks 86 at Salt Lake City: Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson each scored 19 points, Enes Kanter had 17 and a career-high five blocks, and Utah defeated Milwaukee.
Kanter went 5 of 5 with five rebounds and a block during the second quarter when the Jazz took control after trailing by 12 in the first.