LOS ANGELES – Kevin Durant scored 36 points and Reggie Jackson added 27 as the in-form Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 111-105 for their fifth straight win.
It was the ninth consecutive game Durant had scored 30 or more points as the Thunder (33-10) recorded their second impressive victory in as many nights after knocking off mighty Portland, to move half a game ahead of the Spurs (32-10) at the top of the Western Conference.
Frenchman Tony Parker poured in a season-high 37 points, while Tim Duncan had 14 with 13 rebounds for the Spurs, who had won seven of their previous eight contests but dropped to 0-3 this season against the Thunder.
Already without injured starters Danny Green and Tiago Splitter and top reserve Matt Bonner, the Spurs lost small forward Kawhi Leonard in the second quarter with a fractured finger in his right hand.
Jackson then reeled off 11 straight points in the final frame, helping the Thunder to a 94-89 advantage with 7:13 remaining.
Durant missed his first four shots of the quarter, but converted a layup off a lob pass, making it 100-94 at the 3:12 mark.
Two free throws by Parker brought the Spurs to within 100-96, but Durant drilled a pair of three-pointers to open up a 108-98 advantage with 68 seconds left that sealed the decision.
In Wednesday’s other matches, Gerald Green scored 23 points, Slovenia’s Gordon Dragic added 21 to help the Phoenix Suns snap the league-best Indiana Pacers’ five-game winning streak with 124-100 win.
Paul George scored 26 for the Pacers (33-8), whose league-best defence surrendered a season-high point total.
