OKLAHOMA CITY _ On Monday, the Nets had all the answers in a blowout of the rival Eastern Conference-contending Pistons, and for a while it seemed they might continue their hot streak as they built a 17-point second-quarter lead against the Thunder on Wednesday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
But the Nets had no answer for Russell Westbrook, who led an 18-3 fourth-quarter run that broke open a one-point game and gave the Thunder a 108-96 victory that snapped a four-game Nets winning streak. Westbrook had seven points and three assists in the decisive run, and he finished with one of his customary triple-doubles, totaling 31 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.
After trailing by seven in the third quarter, the Nets came back to stick a nose in front when Spencer Dinwiddie drilled a 3 for an 83-82 lead at the 10:17 mark. But it was short-lived as the Thunder scored on their next possession and then threw a 12-0 run at the Nets that included two lobs by Westbrook to Steven Adams followed by consecutive 3s by Jerami Grant and Westbrook as they built an insurmountable 102-87 lead.
Dinwiddie led the Nets (36-34) with 25 points, D'Angelo Russell added 14 points and seven assists and Joe Harris had 13 points. But with DeMarre Carroll (left knee strain) and Shabazz Napier (right hamstring tightness) sidelined by injuries, the Nets lacked their usual scoring punch. Paul George exploded for 25 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder (42-26), including 13 in the third quarter, and Grant added 15 points.
The Nets arrived on a four-game winning streak that pushed them back to sixth in the Eastern Conference, but they knew better than to be too confident against Westbrook, George and the Thunder, who wiped out a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat them at Barclays Center in December. That was the last of eight straight losses and was the catalyst for the Nets' turnaround.
The Nets went 28-15 since then going into the rematch, and they recorded a remarkable 24-1 record in games since then where they held at least a 10-point lead, and they were coming off a remarkable 28-point blowout of the Pistons that underlined how improved they are on defense recently.
"We need to repeat what we did against Detroit, really bring the juice," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. "It should be an exciting game, a national TV game. What more do you want?"
Indeed, the Nets came out of the box on fire, scoring the first nine points to keep the Thunder crowd standing until they got a point at the foul line. By the end of the first quarter, the Nets already had led by as much as 11 while holding the Thunder to 7-for-24 shooting (29.2 percent).
Early in the second period, the Nets put together a 15-3 run that included six straight points from backup center Ed Davis on handoffs under the basket to help build a 42-25 lead. But two quick Westbrook baskets in the final 10 seconds to cut the Nets' halftime lead to 52-42 served as a reminder of just how quickly the Thunder could strike.
When the Thunder opened the third quarter with an 9-1 surge to cut their deficit to 53-51, it was a brand-new game. Moments later, the Thunder hit three unanswered 3s, the first by Westbrook and then two by George to assume a 62-58 lead.
