Durant leads by example to take OKC to 13-0 at home this season.
There were just two games on the NBA schedule on Thursday night, but the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs continued to pick up wins.
It was business as usual for the Thunder, who moved their home record to 13-0 for the season while also making it eight consecutive wins with their 107-95 victory.
Kevin Durant had 32 points, nine rebounds and six assists, as ultimately the hosts had an answer for everything the Bulls tried to throw at them.
Given their circumstances, it was surprising that Chicago were able to make it such a competitive game, but ultimately they came up short as they have done many times already this season.
“I thought our defense was good the whole game,” Durant said, according to ESPN.
“They slowed us down a little bit with their free throws, but I thought we just played through it in the second half. We were able to come out and speed it up a little bit, get some turnovers and get some easy points.”
Russell Westbrook added 20 points and 10 assists, while reserve Reggie Jackson continues to be a consistent scoring option off the bench as he added 18 points to help the Thunder improve their record at the Chesapeake Arena.
In contrast, Joakim Noah had 23 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Bulls going down to their fourth straight loss and their seventh defeat in the last eight games.
Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng were both missing, while Jimmy Butler was forced to leave the game with a right ankle injury.
There were reports of a heated exchange between Noah and Kendrick Perkins in the Thunder locker room after the game, with the latter taking exception to the fact his team-mate Thabo Sefolosha had brought him in.
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs held off the Golden State Warriors despite missing their star trio with Thiago Splitter tipping in a rebound with 2.1 seconds left to grab the win.
San Antonio moved to 21-5 with the win, but did so without Tony Parker who missed his second game with a bruised right shin, while Gregg Popovich also rested Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili.
Marco Belinelli had a career-high 28 points, Kawhi Leonard had 21 points and 10 rebounds while Patty Mills added 20 points in arguably San Antonio’s most impressive win this season.
David Lee had 32 points and 13 rebounds for the Warriors, as Stephen Curry added 30 points and tied a career-high 15 assists, but it wasn’t enough for the hosts.
NBA Results:
Chicago Bulls 95-107 Oklahoma City Thunder
San Antonio Spurs 104-102 Golden State Warriors
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