Nets, with no answer for Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, tumble to Thunder

OKLAHOMA CITY-- Thunder superstar Kevin Durant dribbled to the right wing n a tie game and quickly shot the three-pointer that served as the Nets' first big blow with 7:41 left in the game.

Nearly a minute later, Durant delivered a pass to Dion Waiters in the corner for another blow. Twenty-five seconds later, Durant hit nearly an identical shot as the first for the knockout in a 9-0 run.

"They just made big shots," Thaddeus Young said after the Nets' 110-99 loss Wednesday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

"That was kind of the knock-out punch for us. We were already down a little bit, but those two or three threes that they hit in transition was huge for them because they could control the game and get into a momentum."

The Nets had no answer for Durant, who scored 30 points and made 5 of 8 three-pointers.

"I feel like any given time I can go off and make a few," Durant said. "I just need a little bit of space, man."

The Nets also had no answer for Russell Westbrook, who added 27 points and 13 assists.

That was never more evident than during that 90-second outburst, which included a turnover and two missed shots by Joe Johnson.

The Nets had rallied to tie the score at 85 at that point. But then Durant and Westbrook re-entered the game.

"They overwhelmed us with their guys," coach Lionel Hollins said. "When they came back from the bench and went back in they took over the game, and that's what you expect them to do."

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 26 points and had eight rebounds, scoring 10 points in the first quarter, after which the Nets led 26-25.

But it was a small lineup down the stretch that neutralized Lopez.

Young scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Bench players Shane Larkin and Andrea Bargnani each had solid games, totaling 23 points.

Bargnani was a big spark in the first half, scoring 11 of his 13 points. He helped the Nets build an eight-point lead, but the Thunder's duo responded with a mini dunk show to close the half and take the lead.

Durant unleashed a one-handed dunk over multiple defenders with 43.3 seconds remaining and then got a quick pass off a defensive rebound to Westbrook, who threw it down with two hands with two seconds remaining for a 56-52 advantage.

The Nets took a 61-58 lead early in the third, but Durant buried a three-pointer and Westbrook unleashed his third dunk of the night., The pair totaled 18 points in the quarter.

"Well, they're great players," Hollins said.

The Nets are 3-12 heading into Saturday's game at Cleveland against LeBron James and Co., another grueling matchup in the team's opening portion of the season that has featured 10 games against the Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks.

"We had a rough schedule, a lot of games on the road, so we can't get our heads down," Bargnani said. "We've got to keep working, stay positive and get some wins."