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Oklahoma City Thunder send Los Angeles Clippers to 4th straight loss

The Thunder's starters enjoyed the fourth quarter from the bench as the reserves mopped up Sunday's 131-108 rout of the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers.

Oklahoma City scored 101 points over the first three quarters, shot 52 percent from the floor for the game and led by as many as 32.

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Kevin Durant scored 29 points on 10-of-15 shooting, while Russell Westbrook finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the Thunder, who soundly bounced back from Friday's heartbreaking loss to the Pelicans.

Reggie Jackson added 15 points and six assists off the bench, and Mitch McGary was a surprising spark with 19 points and 10 boards in his third career game.

The Clippers not only saw their losing streak reach a season-high four games, but they found out before the game that All-Star forward Blake Griffin will need surgery Monday to remove a staph infection in his right elbow.

Their already thin frontcourt took another hit when Glen Davis exited for good in the second quarter with upper back spasms, and the result was the Thunder owning a clear advantage down low to the tune of a 54-29 edge on the glass.

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Jamal Crawford netted 21 points, Chris Paul donated 18 points and 13 assists, and Spencer Hawes scored all 17 of his points in the first half of LA's third straight double-digit loss.

There were 10 lead changes in a tight first quarter that ended with Oklahoma City holding a slim 28-26 lead.

Durant scored 15 points in the frame, and Jackson and McGary combined for 17 in the second. McGary, the 21st overall pick in last year's draft, received a standing ovation from the home fans after his three-point play put Oklahoma City in front 49-37.

A baseline hook shot from Steven Adams extended the Thunder's lead to as many as 14, but Adams injured a finger on his shooting hand later in the quarter and had to take a pair of free throws left-handed. He airballed the first one, made the second and did not return in the second half.

Hawes kept the Clippers competitive, but they trailed 66-56 at the break. The Thunder held a 33-14 rebounding edge and made 10 more free throws (17-7) in the opening half.

Durant scored five points and recorded three assists on Oklahoma City's 15-4 run to open the third quarter, and Westbrook's 3-pointer in the final minute pushed the difference to 101-75.

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Both coaches emptied their benches in the fourth.

Game Notes

LA fell to 2-5 on its 13-day Grammys road trip, which ends Monday in Dallas ... Westbrook, who missed his first eight shots, was averaging 34.4 points in his previous seven games ... Oklahoma City played without Kendrick Perkins, who was handed a one-game suspension for initiating and making head-to-head contact with Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans during Friday's loss ... The season series is even at 1-1 with the tiebreaker set for March 11 in Oklahoma City.

[SportsNetwork.com]

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