Inland Waterways » previous meeting 112-101.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The drama was sapped early from Oklahoma Citys blowout win over Utah, except for one detail. Thunder forward Kevin Durant is nearing Michael Jordans mark for consecutive games with at least 25 points. With the crowd buzzing late in the third quarter, Durant reached the mark for the 38th consecutive time, leaving him two games short of Jordans accomplishment, which is the most in the past 50 years. He finished with 31 points and nine assists to help Oklahoma City defeat the Jazz 116-96 on Sunday afternoon. Jordan did it for 40 straight games for the Chicago Bulls during the 1986-87 season. Durant is aware of the mark, but the NBAs leading scorer left worrying about it to the crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena. "Im just going out there, playing my game," he said. "If it happens, cool. If it doesnt, cool. Thats how I approach it -- just playing within the offence. If a shots there, shoot it. If a pass is there, pass it. I try to play as simple as I can. If that (25 points or more) comes with it, then so be it, but if not, Im not going to lose any sleep." Durant was fouled on a 3-pointer with 4:02 left in the third quarter and was awarded three free throws. He scored his 24th point on the first one, and the crowd got into it before the second one. After he made it, the fans let out a loud cheer. He also made the third to give the Thunder an 84-56 lead. Durant extended the streak without playing in the fourth quarter for the second consecutive game. Russell Westbrook scored 19 points, Serge Ibaka had 17 points and Caron Butler added 15 for the Thunder, who have won six of seven. Oklahoma City shot 55 per cent from the field and made 11 of 18 3-pointers and 23 of 26 free throws. Enes Kanter had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Richard Jefferson scored 17 points and Gordon Hayward added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Jazz, who have lost four in a row. Utah trailed 11-0 before Jefferson finally scored with 7:34 left in the first quarter. Oklahoma City led 26-9 at the end of the quarter. It matched the fewest points the Thunder have allowed in any quarter this season and was the lowest for the Jazz in a first quarter this season. Utah missed the NBA low for an opening quarter this season by making a basket with 19.5 seconds left. "They were aggressive on the defensive end and we settled for a lot of jump shots," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "We missed jump shots and they were able to run the ball out on us. In that first quarter, I thought we were hungry for it, but thats what good teams do. They come out and try to bury you right from the beginning. They had a lot of success doing it in the first quarter." Haywards first basket came with 3:21 left in the first half. Even with his 3-point play, the Jazz still trailed 49-30. Oklahoma City led 59-40 at halftime, and it might have been a larger lead if Jefferson hadnt dropped in 15 points in the first half, well above his season average of 10.2 points per game. Durant scored 18 points in the first half on 6-for-8 shooting and helped the Thunder shoot 57 per cent before the break. Utah cut Oklahoma Citys lead to 89-77 late in the quarter before Durant hit a 3-pointer over Hayward with two seconds remaining to push the lead back up to 15 points. "That was tough," Utah forward Marvin Williams said. "That was a big three. It almost took the wind out of your sails, to fight so hard to get back to that position, to cut it to 12, thinking youre going to start the fourth at 12 (down), and he makes an amazing shot like that over a defender. It was a big shot. It kind of took the wind out of our sails, almost, a little bit, because we had fought so hard." Hayward scored 13 points in the period, and the Jazz scored 37 points on 60 per cent shooting. Utah scored 21 points in the final 3:44 of the third. The Thunder held on, and now, Oklahoma City can look ahead to Thursdays showdown with West leader San Antonio. The Spurs have won 17 in a row and are three games ahead of the Thunder for the best record in the West with nine games to go. "Just continue to play our brand of basketball," Butler said. "Play with a lot of energy and effort and do a good job defensively and stay on the same accord, and we will be fine." NOTES: Thunder G Reggie Jackson missed his second straight game with a mid-back sprain. ... Jazz G Alec Burks returned to action after missing the previous four games with a left ankle sprain. ... Utah missed its first seven shots. ... Oklahoma City won three of four against the Jazz this season. ... Utah, which has the worst record in the Western Conference, won the previous meeting 112-101. Discount Air Max 90 . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Cheap Air Max 90 Wholesale . 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Air Max 90 Ireland Cheap .FIFA says it is relaxing the rule which forced match officials to leave its international list at the end of the year they turned 45.SUNDERLAND, England - Arsenal won its first Premier League match in over a month on Saturday, beating Sunderland 2-0 with a brace from Alexis Sanchez after a pair of defensive errors.Sanchez scored in the 30th minute after a mistake from Sunderland centre back Wes Brown, who scuffed an attempted back pass to goalkeeper Vito Mannone. Sanchez raced past Brown and collected the ball to go one-on-one with Mannone, lobbing it over the advancing keeper into the back of the net.The Chilean scored again in second-half injury time after another poor back pass. This time, the ball reached Mannone, but he couldnt control it after taking a touch. The ball bobbled off the former Arsenal keepers boot and Sanchez pounced on it for a simple tap-in.Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger praised Sanchez, saying his star summer signing is swift in the transition from offence to defence and wins the ball back very quickly.He took advantage of the mistakes they made, but hes also got a super quality — hes quickly on your feet which is why he wins many balls that normal players dont, Wenger said.While Arsenals victory wasnt convincing, it was the Gunners first league win since they beat Aston Villa on Sept. 20 and their third overall triumph this season. The London side now sits closer to the top four despite also drawing five times and losing oonce.dddddddddddd.Saturdays win is encouraging, but there were also nervous moments for Arsenal before Sanchezs second goal with Sunderland putting the visitors under pressure while searching for an equalizerI believe we were quite in control as long as we could score the second goal, Wenger said. Of course you (can) concede a goal and drop points, but we didnt do it today — we were focused.Sunderland had a few chances to equalize in the second half. Jack Rodwells header from a long cross in the 52nd nearly beat Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, while Sebastian Larssons long-range shot in the 65th was saved by Szczesny.Sunderland manager Gus Poyet put on forward Jozy Altidore in the 74th in an attempt to salvage a draw. It was the Americans first league appearance of the year, but he made little impact.While Sunderland didnt endure the same 8-0 humiliation it faced against Southampton last week, the home side never controlled the match at the Stadium of Light as Arsenal dominated with nearly 60 per cent possession.Poyet said he was a bit angry about the two defensive mistakes, because he thought his team fought hard otherwise and responded well to last weeks embarrassment.Normally it takes you I dont know how many games to commit one of those mistakes, and we made two in the same game, he said. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '