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BROOKLYN - No team in the NBA is hotter than Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder right now, and on Friday night they were in Brooklyn to take on a Nets team that had won 10 of their last 12 games. The Nets, however, were without their top on-the-ball defender in Andrei Kirilenko who was expected to pull Durant duty, but was out with a sore right calf.
Durant, who entered the game with a 36.6 points per game average in the month of January, continued to dominate, scoring 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting, with his 30-point consecutive game streak ending at 12, as the Thunder absolutely destroyed the Nets at home, 120-95.
How bad was it? The Nets set an NBA record for fewest rebounds in a game with 17 ... Or roughly one every four minutes. In addition, Andray Blatche left the game in the third quarter with a hip injury and didn't return.
Durant got off to a hot start, as expected, scoring his team's first six points on Shaun Livingston, who drew early Durant duties. The Thunder worked the paint a lot, however, as the Nets sent two, sometimes three men at Durant. This led to a mini Kendrick Perkins explosion, as he scored six points in the first six minutes.
Deron Williams once again came off the bench for the Nets. He played alongside Livingston with a two-point guard set, as Livingston was putting together a fantastic stretch of basketball. Reed Wallach of NetsDaily wrote about the Williams-Livingston combo earlier in the week, and on Friday night we saw it in action, though, no lineup for the Nets, to be fair, was any good. The Thunder closed out the first on a 13-0 run, shooting 72.6 percent in the quarter.
Livingston scored 10 points in the first quarter, but the Nets found themselves down 30-16 after one. Durant scored 11 and Serge Ibaka went for 12 points in the first.
Brooklyn struggled offensively in the second, allowing for the Thunder to continue to build their lead, even as Durant was on the bench. The Nets at one point midway through the second, after Kevin Garnett picked up a technical foul, found themselves down 45-21.
Williams was awful in the first half. He had just six points to go along with three turnovers and zero assists in 16 minutes. Durant, meanwhile, scored 22 points and dished out six assists in the first half.
The Nets were down 63-35 at halftime.
Brooklyn never really worked their way into this one. In the third, even when they had put together a little run they couldn't even cut it to 20 points. The Thunder would respond, and on top of epic hole they had dug themselves into, it was near impossible for the Nets to make a game of this. After three, the
Some bad news in the third, as Andray Blatche left the game with a bruised hip. He did not return. Obviously, the Nets can't afford another injury to a big, though you have to wonder about how precautionary the move was, considering they were down by 30 points at the time.
Marquis Teague made his Nets debut, scoring seven points in 12 minutes. Mason Plumlee had 13 points in 16 minutes.
Durant finished with 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting and seven assists, while Ibaka went for 25 points on 12-of-12 shooting and seven rebounds
Next up for the Nets, Saturday night in Indiana against the Pacers.
For more on the Thunder, see: Welcome to Loud City
- Thunder at Nets - January 31, 2014 - Box score - NBA.com
- Game Thread: Brooklyn Nets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 8:00 PM - NetsDaily
- 2nd Half Game Thread: Nets vs. Thunder - NetsDaily
- Thunder vs. Nets: Highlights (Video) - NBA.com
- Jackson And-one (Video) - NBA.com
- Durant's Heating Up (Video) - NBA.com
- Quick Step (Video) - NBA.com
- Post Game Plus: Nets fall to Thunder, 120-95 (Video) - Bob Lorenz - YES Network
- Kidd discusses Nets' loss to the Thunder (Video) - YES Network
- Pierce discusses Nets' 120-95 loss to Thunder (Video) - YES Network
- Livingston on Durant's dominance after loss (Video) - YES Network
- HIGHLIGHT: Shaun Livingston, Dunking All Over The Place - The Brooklyn Game
- Durant All About The Team (Video) - Avery Johnson - ESPN
- Durant's 30 Streak Ends in Thunder's Romp - Brian Mahoney - AP
- Rapid Reaction: Thunder 120, Nets 95 - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Thunder, Durant can't miss in win vs Nets - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Notebook: Blatche hurts hip; D-Will struggles - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- NBA: Russell Westbrook's front-row seat - Brian Windhorst - ESPN
- Nets set NBA record for fewest rebounds in blowout loss to Thunder - Rod Boone - Newsday
- Durant's incredible run could have the biggest impact on Westbrook - Adrian Wojnarowski - Yahoo! Sports
- Kevin Durant 30-point streak comes to end, only because Thunder star sat down stretch - Roger Rubin - New York Daily News
- Thunder and Kevin Durant Remain Red-Hot Against Nets - Andrew Keh - New York Times
- Kevin Durant, Thunder strike down Nets - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
- Not on board: Nets snag record-low 17 rebounds - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
- Nets can't stop Kevin Durant in 120-95 loss to Thunder- Andy Vasquez - The Record
- Nets Notes: Blatche hurt; Nets make history in a bad way - Andy Vasquez - The Record
- Oklahoma Thunders Past the Nets - Alex Raskin - Wall Street Journal
- Durant’s Streak Ends, Thunder Still Good - John Schuhmann - NBA.com
- Final Score: Thunder 120, Nets 95 - Jim Mancari - SNY Nets
- Struck Down: Thunder 120, Nets 95 (GAME GRADES) - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
- Nets set an NBA record... and not a good one - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
- The Morning After: Thunder Dominate Nets - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
- Nets flunk high-powered test - Gregory Hrinya - Examiner
- Durant Leads Hot Thunder to Rout of Nets - Lenn Robbins - Brooklyn Nets
- Five quick observations on the Thunder's 120-95 domination of the Nets - Anthony Slater - The Oklahoman
- Regular Season Recap: Thunder at Nets - Nick Gallo - Oklahoma City Thunder