Recap: Nets 116, Thunder 106 – Lopez Heats Up During the Blizzard
After a four-hour weather delay, a pair of streaks came to an end in New York on Sunday when the Brooklyn Nets upended the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-106.
The Nets, who were led by a season-high 31 points from Brook Lopez, broke a five-game losing streak. The Thunder were led by an especially impressive Kevin Durant performance, but ultimately saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end in Brooklyn.
In spite of Durant’s 32 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, the Thunder failed to lead at any point in the game. Every run from Durant and the Thunder was answered by an impressive array of post moves and aggression from Lopez, who also added 10 rebounds and three blocks.
Highlights from Lopez’s Duel with Durant
Lopez exploited a notable gap in Oklahoma City’s frontcourt, with Steven Adams sitting out due to an injured right elbow. Nick Collison started in his place, but he and Serge Ibaka were unable to match up with Lopez’s size and skillset.
The Thunder and Nets played an even third quarter but Lopez and the starters got some needed help off the bench from Bojan Bogdanovic. The shooting guard came off the bench to score 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting to help the bench outscore its counterpart 38-34. Shane Larkin played the passing lanes well with the second unit, racking up four steals.
- Markel Brown, who had an impressive stint in Saturday’s loss, did not appear against the Thunder.
- Thaddeus Young filled the stat sheet once again, picking up 14 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, one steal and a block in 39 minutes.
- It might have been a different game for Brooklyn if Durant found his stroke from beyond the arc. His performance was stunted by him shooting just 2-of-10 on 3-pointers.
- In a rare turn of events, the Nets actually outshot their opponent from beyond the arc. Brooklyn shot 47 percent from 3-point range, while the Thunder struggled, shooting just 30 percent.
