Durant, Thunder surpass last season's win total
Jon KrawczynskiWith more than three months to play in the season, Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder have already reached new heights.
Durant had 31 points and 10 rebounds, and the Thunder eclipsed their win total from all of last season with a 94-92 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.
Durant topped 30 points for the 13th time in the last 16 games. Jeff Green added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder (24-18).
Corey Brewer had 25 points, six assists and five rebounds, and Al Jefferson added 20 points and nine boards for the Timberwolves, who had a chance to tie or take the lead twice in the closing seconds.
Jefferson missed a tough jumper in the lane and Ramon Sessions stole the ensuing inbounds pass to give the Wolves one last shot. But Jonny Flynn's long 3-pointer at the buzzer was just off the mark, ending the Wolves' bid for their first three-game winning streak at home in more than a year.
The Thunder went 23-59 in their first season in Oklahoma City and were only 20-62 in Durant's rookie season, the franchise's final as the Seattle SuperSonics.
Now, thanks to Durant's offensive brilliance and a defense that started the night ranked second in the NBA by allowing opponents to shoot just 43.6 percent, the Thunder are well on their way to being a factor in the competitive Western Conference.
Kurt Rambis put Brewer on Durant for most of the night, hoping Brewer's combination of height and quickness would be enough to handle one of the most dynamic young scorers in the game. It was, for about a quarter.
Brewer made Durant work for everything he got early, forcing him to go to the free throw line for most of his points. Durant missed three of his first five shots and committed three turnovers in the first 18 minutes before finishing the first half with a flourish.
He knocked down a 25-footer with Brewer's hand right in his face, scored on a driving layup and threw down a dunk in transition in the final 2:30 of the second quarter and finished the half with 19 points.
Brewer did his best to answer Durant on the other end. He made five of his eight shots in the first half and scored 14 points to keep the Timberwolves close at 55-51.
The Wolves were playing their second straight game without Kevin Love, their leading rebounder and second-leading scorer. Love is out with an illness.
With the Thunder clinging to an 88-86 lead late in the game, Durant scored six straight points, two pull-up jumpers and two free throws, to make it 94-86 with 2:14 to play, and Oklahoma City hung on the for the win.
NOTES: Wolves F Damien Wilkins, nephew of former Hawks high flyer Dominique Wilkins, made his uncle proud with a posterizing dunk over Nenad Krstic in the third quarter. ... The Thunder played their second straight game without F/C Nick Collison (concussion). He is day to day. ... The Thunder also sent F D.J. White home for medical tests after he injured his hand in practice on Tuesday.