With a red-hot Durant, a stacked Golden State Warriors team didn't take long to put the game out of reach.
Durant exploded for 39 points including 7 of 11 from three-point land as the Warriors bucked a slow start to dismantle the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-96 on Thursday in Oakland.
It was the first meeting between Durant and Westbrook since the former bolted the Thunder in the summer.
Durant couldn't get in a rhythm early, but once Steph Curry and his teammates started to look for their prized acquisition and encouraged him to score at every opportunity, Durant didn't disappoint. He finished the first half with 29 points.
"As soon as the game started it brought back some memories, but after that it was back to business," Durant said.
Westbrook, coming off a win over the Los Angeles Clippers 24 hours prior, finished with 20 points on 4 of 15 shooting, to go with six rebounds and 10 assists.
The relationship between Durant and Westbrook has been icy since the separation.
Entering the Oracle Arena, Westbrook wore a photographer's garb throwing an apparent shade at Durant, who covered this year's Super Bowl as a photographer.
Just before tipoff when all the players had been introduced, neither star approached the other.
To drum up interest for the game, NBA on TNT put together a short promo video using Adele's "Hello."
It looked like the game would live up to the hype. Behind Westbrook and Steven Adams, the Thunder led 32-31 after the first quarter.
Once Westbrook sat down, things started to unravel for the Oklahoma City (4-1), which was outscored 37-11 in the second quarter.
Curry finished with 21 points for the Warriors (4-1), while Klay Thompson, who has struggled with his shot to start the season, ended up with 18 points making 4 of 8 three-pointers.
"The Warriors are doing a lot of trash talking," Westbrook said. "Apparently I guess they talk a lot of trash now, but we'll see how that goes."
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
