National Basketball Association
Oklahoma City 103, Phoenix 96
When: 7:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 3, 2013
Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Officials:
#22 Bill Spooner, #54 Nick Buchert, #65 Sean Wright
Attendance:
18203
By SportsDirect Inc.
Thunder 103, Suns 96: Kevin Durant scored a game-high 33 points and Russell Westbrook added 21 in his return from knee surgery as Oklahoma City rallied in its home opener to edge Phoenix.
Westbrook, who suffered a knee injury in the second game of last season’s playoffs, added seven assists and made four critical free throws in the final 29 seconds. Serge Ibaka and Durant each collected 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which has beaten Phoenix 11 straight times.
Eric Bledsoe registered 26 points and 14 assists while Gerald Green scored 21, including a 3-pointer to bring the Suns within two with 30 seconds left. Channing Frye added 19 points and Goran Dragic scored 10 for Phoenix before suffering a left ankle injury in the third quarter and missing the rest of the contest.
Westbrook scored the first point of the game, but Frye had 10 and Marcus Morris drained a 3-pointer in the final second as Phoenix took a 24-21 lead after one quarter. Durant recorded 13 points in the first half as Oklahoma City took several leads in the second before P.J. Tucker’s late 3-pointer allowed the Suns to hold a 45-44 lead at intermission.
The Suns, who lost for the first time in three games, led by as much as seven in the third quarter and Bledsoe’s 3-pointer with 7:45 left in the game gave Phoenix a 79-73 advantage. Westbrook’s coast-to-coast basket highlighted an 8-0 run that gave the Thunder the lead, and they never trailed again as Derek Fisher had five points and a key steal late.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Westbrook had his original surgery April 27 and underwent another Oct. 1 to remove a loose stitch from the first. He was expected to be out the first four to six weeks of the regular season, but Westbrook only missed two games. … Suns C Miles Plumlee, who had 31 points combined in the first two games, was held scoreless in 24 minutes. … The Thunder was only 2-of-18 from 3-point range, but forced 25 Phoenix turnovers.
Top Game Performances
| Phoenix |
|
Oklahoma City |
|
Eric Bledsoe 26 |
Scoring |
Kevin Durant 33 |
|
Eric Bledsoe 14 |
Assists |
Russell Westbrook 7 |
|
Gerald Green 8 |
Rebounds |
Kevin Durant 10 |
|
Eric Bledsoe 10 |
Free Throws Made |
Kevin Durant 11 |
|
Eric Bledsoe 3 |
Steals |
Kevin Durant 2 |
|
Channing Frye 2 |
Blocks |
Steven Adams 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Phoenix
|
96 |
40.0 |
14-37 |
18-22 |
21 |
43 |
3 |
11 |
25 |
| Oklahoma City
|
103 |
42.7 |
2-18 |
31-37 |
20 |
41 |
4 |
8 |
15 |
Upcoming Games
-
Oklahoma City will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Thunder have a W/L % of .000 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
-
Phoenix will play their next game on the road against New Orleans. The Suns have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .000 after a loss.
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