Thunder Too Much for 76ers 111-93

For three quarters, Kevin Durant put on quite a show for about 50 friends and family members who made the short trip up I-95 from his hometown of Washington, D.C.

There was no need to play for most of the fourth while his teammates were adding to a big lead. Durant had 26 points and 10 rebounds, Jeff Green added 16 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder cruised to a 111-93 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.

''It's big to see fans with the Oklahoma City jerseys on,'' Durant said. ''I don't care if it's my jersey. I care about Oklahoma City jerseys. I know a lot of the jerseys were for me because I had a lot of family here. It was extra special to get a win here.''

Nenad Krstic added 14 points and Russell Westbrook had 10 points and 14 assists for the Thunder (45-28), who swept the season series from Philadelphia for the first time since 1998-99. ''We start every game with the same approach, to have a serious competitive effort no matter who we're playing,'' Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.

James Harden had 12 points and Serge Ibaka 10 for Oklahoma City, which is nearing its first playoff appearance since 2004-05 as the Seattle SuperSonics. Elton Brand scored 22 points, Andre Iguodala added 21 and Jrue Holiday had 11 for the Sixers, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.

''We were close for a while, and then the beginning of the fourth quarter, they kind of exploded on us,'' Brand said. Philadelphia still has not won at least three in a row since a five-game streak between Jan. 31-Feb. 9.
''I think we missed some easy shots,'' Holiday said. ''They got in transition and got some momentum in the fourth and we didn't recover.'' Marreese Speights and Rodney Carney added 10 points each.
As usual, Durant provided the big plays for the Thunder.
Durant, the league's second-leading scorer (29.6) behind only LeBron James' 29.8, sparked the Thunder with six points in the final 2:07 of the third quarter. After the Sixers got within 77-70, Durant drove by three Philadelphia defenders and threw down a one-handed dunk.

Durant, who has 22 double-doubles this season, then added a tough runner in the lane and two free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining.
Oklahoma City also received balanced scoring and extended its lead early in the fourth. The Thunder went on a 17-4 run to open the quarter with reserves scoring all the points. Eric Maynor had six and Harden five as the Thunder increased their lead to 101-78 with 5:55 left. ''Our bench did a great job, especially in the fourth quarter,'' Brooks said. ''Eric Maynor set the tone with a big 3-point shot.''