Thunder 107, Bulls 95
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kevin Durant poured in 32 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Chicago Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The win enabled the Thunder to tie the 1976-77 Seattle Supersonics for the franchise record of 13 straight home wins to start the season. At 21-4, they also have the best record in the NBA.
Playing short-handed, the Bulls (9-16) did their best to break the Thunder's streak. Each time it looked like Oklahoma City was going pull away, Chicago slowly reeled them back within striking distance.
The Bulls whittled a 15-point lead to eight with 9:30 left in the fourth quarter. However, the Bulls had no answer for Durant down the stretch. Time after time the Bulls left the NBA's leading scorer open on the perimeter and he made them pay with his 13th 30-point game of the season.
Durant also racked up nine rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Thunder guard Russell Westbrook added 20 points and 10 rebounds. Guard Reggie Jackson came off the bench to score 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field.
Center Joakim Noah paced the Bulls with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Guard DJ Augustin collected 15 points and five assists. Chicago had six players score in double figures, but it wasn't enough.
With the Bulls missing three starters, Noah took it upon himself to ignite the team's offense. He scored 11 of the Bulls' first 13 points to give Chicago a quick lead.
But the Thunder outscored the Bulls 23-9 the rest of the quarter, despite Durant picking up his second technical foul of the season and going to the bench early.
Oklahoma City led 35-24 heading into the second quarter.
With Durant and Westbrook on the bench, the Thunder didn't lose a step. Jackson single-handedly picked up the scoring and torched the Chicago reserves to give Oklahoma City a 43-30 advantage midway through the quarter.
Chicago's Jimmy Butler suffered a sprain knee in the second quarter and didn't return. Yet the Bulls only trailed 55-52 at halftime.
NOTES: The injury bug continues to bite the Bulls. Already playing without G Derrick Rose, G Kirk Hinrich missed his fourth straight game with a back injury and F Luol Deng sat out with soreness in his Achilles. "We are in the midst of a lot of games in a short amount of days with a lot of guys out of the lineup," Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said. "So you try and make your adjustments in ballrooms and things of that nature. That's somewhat challenging." ... Despite being fourth in the NBA in scoring, the Thunder are 26th in 3-point shooting, which has coach Scott Brooks concerned. "We are focused on improving and that's an area we'd like to get better," Brooks said. "We believe in 3-point shots. We feel that's a big part of the game. I'd like us to take more and make more." ... Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant and several teammates attended the Jay-Z "Magna Carter World Tour" concert at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Durant, who is a member of Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports, got a shoutout from his agent during the show. "A special shoutout to my man KD in the building (KD is part of Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports agency)," Jay-Z said. "I told him when he walked into the room, this is my building tonight. He said slow down."
