KEVIN DURANT PLAYED a starring role once more as the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied past the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA on Thursday.
The forward produced a 43-point haul, pulled down 12 rebounds and had seven assists in the Thunder’s 107-103 win over the Lakers at the Staples Center.
It was Durant’s eighth game of 40-plus points this season, with Minnesota’s Kevin Love holding the next most with three.
Durant scored 31 of his 43 points in the second half, with a 35-21 fourth quarter seeing the Thunder to the come-from-behind win.
They are well clear atop the Western Conference, while the Lakers are fourth in the Pacific Division after their franchise-record seventh straight home loss.
And he threw down this Tomahawk
Reggie Jackson was the Thunder’s next highest scorer with 16, while the Lakers were led by Chris Kaman (19 points and 10 rebounds).
Kendall Marshall had 14 points and 17 assists for the Lakers, who were left to rue missed free-throws late in the match.
From 96-96 with three minutes remaining, the Lakers missed three throws from the line.
Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer had double-doubles as the Chicago Bulls capitalised on a good start to beat the Brooklyn Nets 92-76 at the United Center.
Noah (14 points and 13 rebounds), Boozer (15 and 10) and Taj Gibson (game-high 16 points) led the way for the Central Division’s second-placed side.
Boozer was playing his first game back after missing three due to a strained calf.
The Nets were outscored 29-19 in the first quarter and 23-15 in the last, and that proved costly away from home.
Paul Pierce scored a team-high 15 points for the Nets, while Deron Williams added 13 and Joe Johnson had 11.
