Thunder thrash Nets 120-95; extend win-streak to 10

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

The Nets entered tonight with the NBA's best record in the month of January, but they had a red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder team coming in with the NBA's leading MVP candidate, Kevin Durant. The Thunder proved to be too much for the Nets this time around as they stomped them into the ground with a 120-95 victory.

As we all know, Kevin Durant is really good. He scored the first six points of the game for the Thunder and had 11 points in the first quarter alone, but Shaun Livingston kept up with him as best as he could with eight points of his own. Early on, it looked like it was going to be a close back-and-forth effort, but Oklahoma City picked up the pace and showed why they have the best record in the NBA.

Kevin Durant didn't slow down from there. He entered tonight's game with a 12 game streak of scoring 30+ points, and it looked like he was going to do it in the first half alone. He didn't, as he finished the first half with 22 points on 8/9 shooting. His streak would end tonight, as he finished the game with 26 points. Oklahoma City led the Nets by 28 at halftime, and that's the worst halftime deficit the Nets have faced all season, as they trailed 63-35.

It was Serge Ibaka who was the real story of the game, and he led Oklahoma City in the third quarter where the lead was extended to 30. He finished the game with 25 points on a perfect 12/12 shooting night, and also grabbed nine rebounds. These numbers would be impressive for a full game, but with the Nets down 30, he didn't play at all in the fourth quarter, making his stat-line that much more impressive.

The scrubs came in for the full fourth quarter for both teams, and Marquis Teague made his Nets debut. The game was over in the first half, so we all knew that we would get to see Teague. He took the floor with Deron Williams, who continues to come off the bench, and recorded his first seven points in a Brooklyn uniform.

Shaun Livingston was the go-to guy for the Nets, and he finished with 16 points on 6/8 shooting. Mason Plumlee came off the bench to score 13 points, but failed to grab a single rebound in 17 minutes of play.

The All-Star Joe Johnson finished with nine points, but shot just 4/8 from the field. This may be one of the bigger problems of the game. Joe Johnson is the Nets' leading scorer, and the fact that he is shooting just eight times is unacceptable. If he's going to put up numbers, he need to be shooting the ball much more than he did tonight.

Final Score: 120-95 Thunder
Most Disappointing Stat of the Game: Nets grabbing 17 rebounds as a team.
Promising Stat of the Game: Shaun Livingston 16 points on 6/8 shooting 
Scariest Moment of the Game: EVERYTHING
Best Moment of the Game: NOTHING

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