Nuggets silence Thunder in overtime

DENVER, Colorado - Agence France-Presse

Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets grabs a rebound away from Ibaka, Durant and Westbrook of the Thunder. AFP Photo

Corey Brewer scored 26 points and Danilo Gallinari added 18 Jan. 20 as the Denver Nuggets halted Oklahoma City’s six-game NBA winning streak with a 121-118 overtime triumph over the Thunder.

Kenneth Faried scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, his layup with less than a minute left in overtime giving the Nuggets the lead for good.

Wilson Chandler added a dozen points and Ty Lawson and Andre Miller scored 11 apiece for the Nuggets, who bounced back from a disappointing loss to the hapless Washington Wizards on Friday and avenged a 20-point loss to the Thunder last Wednesday in Oklahoma City.

The Thunder rolled into the contest on a six-game winning streak with a league-leading .800 winning percentage.

In their previous contest, Kevin Durant had scored 52 points and gone a perfect 21-for-21 from the free throw line in an overtime win over Dallas Jan. 18.

In this one, Durant finished with 37 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. But he missed a three-pointer at the end of overtime that would have tied the score and forced another extra session.
Russell Westbrook’s three-pointer with less than a minute remaining in regulation knotted the score at 109-109 and sent the contest into overtime.

Westbrook scored 36 points with nine assists and eight rebounds.

In Toronto, Toronto guard Jose Calderon scored 22 points and handed out nine assists as the Raptors handed the Los Angeles Lakers their fifth straight NBA road defeat, 108-103.

The Lakers were without center Dwight Howard for the second half, after he was ejected with 1:18 left in the first half for his second technical foul of the contest.

Howard and Raptors forward Alan Anderson were whistled for a double-technical after they tangled while jostling for position under the basket.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Howard, who had never been ejected from a game until December 26, when he was tossed for a flagrant foul on Denver forward Kenneth Faried.