Thunders beats Raptors 119-118 in thrilling double overtime game

TORONTO – Kevin Durant poured in 51 points including a huge three-pointer with 1.7 seconds left to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 119-118 victory over the Toronto Raptors in double overtime on Friday.

DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points to top the Raptors (38-30), in just their sixth loss at home in 22 outings. Kyle Lowry added 25 points, including a three-pointer that forced a second overtime period, while Amir Johnson had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Greivis Vasquez finished with 21 points.

Reggie Jackson added 25 points for the Thunder (51-18), while Russell Westbrook had 15 points before leaving the game in the third quarter with yet another knee injury.

Durant extended his scoring streak — of at least 25 points a game — to 34 consecutive games. It’s the league’s longest scoring streak since Michael Jordan’s 40-game run in 1986-87.

With the capacity crowd of 19,800 fans on their feet, and a playoff vibe palpable at Air Canada Centre, the Raptors dominated the second overtime period to nearly secure the hard-fought win. DeRozan pumped a victorious fist when he scored on a pullup jumper with 2:37 left to put Toronto up by five.

Fans chanted “M-V-P!” when Lowry stepped up to the line to sink two free throws that gave Toronto a nine-point lead. But the Thunder rallied to pull within two on a basket by Derek Fisher with 15.7 seconds left, then John Salmons missed on two free throws that surely would have sealed the victory for Toronto.

Then with 1.7 seconds on the clock and Johnson guarding him, Durant — the league’s leading scorer — calmly launched the three that sent the fans home unhappy.

The game had gone into a second overtime tied 107-107 thanks to a three-pointer by Lowry with seven seconds left.

The game was bad news for for Westbrook who sprained his surgically-repaired right knee and with 7:37 left in the third quarter. Lowry had inadvertently bumped into the same knee the Thunder player had undergone his third surgery on in late December.

Lowry apologized to Westbrook, as he was being helped to the locker-room by teammate Hasheem Thabeet. Westbrook had sat out the Thunder’s 102-95 win at Cleveland the previous night to rest his troublesome knee.

The Raptors trailed Oklahoma City 72-71 going into the fourth quarter in a scrappy see-saw affair that saw 22 lead changes. The Thunder stretched their lead to seven points when Jackson chucked up an alley-oop to Durant for a dunk with 9:14 left to play.

Toronto chipped away at it, eventually taking a 90-89 lead with 3:08 left after a thrilling 30-second segment that saw five points and steal from DeRozan, and a basket by Johnson.

The Raptors were trailing by three with just under a minute to go when Johnson hit one of two free throws then a layup with 17 seconds to go to send the game into the first extra period 96-96.

The Raptors had beaten the Thunder 104-98 on Dec. 22 at Oklahoma, ending the Thunder’s 13-game unbeaten streak at home.

That victory was one of the Raptors’ first significant wins after they overhauled their roster in a seven-player deal, and their solid play has continued as they’re poised to make the post-season for the first time in six years.

Durant and Westbrook scored eight points apiece in a first quarter that saw the lead change hands several times and neither team lead by more than five. Durant scored on a stepback jumper with seven second to go to send the Thunder into the second half with a 22-20 lead.

The Raptors held their visitors to 24 per cent shooting in the second quarter, and a stepback jumper by Vasquez put the Raptors up by eight about four minutes into the frame. Westbrook drained a three with 1.9 seconds left to cut Toronto’s lead to 46-42 at halftime.

Durant had 14 points in a third quarter that saw the lead change hands nine times, and the Thunder led by one heading into the fourth.

NOTES: The Raptors had won six of their previous seven games against Western Conference teams. . . The Thunder came into the game having won 11 of 13 games on the road against Eastern Conference competition. . . Three-time world champion Patrick Chan was at the game. He was presented with a No. 14 Chan jersey. . . The Raptors host the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, a game that marks the return of The Raptor. The team mascot ruptured an Achilles tendon during training camp.