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November 25, 2009

Thunder ring up the Jazz

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 28 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder held off a late surge by Utah for a 104-94 win over the Jazz on Tuesday night.

Durant also had eight assists and Jeff Green had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists as the Thunder ended a four-game losing streak in Utah.

The Thunder built a 19-point lead early in the fourth quarter and didn't allow the Jazz to get any closer than eight down the stretch.

Carlos Boozer had 26 points and seven rebounds and Deron Williams had 10 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Jazz, who committed 24 turnovers.

The Jazz never recovered after being outscored 31-16 in the third quarter as the Thunder won in Utah for the first time since April 2007 — when they were still the Seattle SuperSonics.

Russell Westbrook and James Harden added 10 points apiece for Oklahoma City, which shot 4 for 14 from the floor in the fourth quarter but had a big enough lead to hang on.

Utah's turnovers led to 25 points for the Thunder and put the Jazz too far behind to make a comeback, although they did get close.

After Durant's layup put Oklahoma City up 92-73, the Jazz answered with a 15-4 run to revive their fans and quiet the boos that had been echoing much of the game. Mehmet Okur started the run with a 3-pointer, Wesley Matthews made a free throw and Andrei Kirilenko added a 3-pointer to keep the Jazz rolling. Paul Millsap added a basket, then Boozer hit back-to-back jumpers to get Utah to 96-86.

Millsap added a dunk with 2:58 left, but Westbrook stopped the momentum with four straight foul shots and Green sealed it with a hook shot that gave the Thunder a 102-88 lead with about a minute left.

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