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CLEVELAND -- As the score tightened, Kevin Durant stayed loose. Sitting in his warm-ups on Oklahoma Citys bench, Durant knew he might be called upon again. And when he was, the NBAs leading scorer closed out Cleveland. "My minds always on the game so I didnt space out," he said. "I was instantly ready." Durant scored 35 points, finding his shooting touch after a rough start, and made five free throws in the final minute to shut down a furious, fourth-quarter comeback and give the Thunder their 50th win, 102-95 over the injury-riddled Cavaliers on Thursday night. Durant missed five of his first six shots, but finally got it going. He has scored 25 or more in 33 straight games -- the leagues longest streak since Michael Jordan did it 40 consecutive times (1986-87). With the win, the Thunder, who let a 24-point lead dwindle to five in the fourth, moved within 1 1/2 games of San Antonio for the best record in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City played without point guard Russell Westbrook, who rested his surgically repaired knee. Dion Waiters scored 30 and Spencer Hawes 20 for the Cavs, who trailed 95-71 with 6:34 left before going on a 21-2 run to pull within 97-92. Durant, though, who had re-entered with 3:34 to go, made his free throws to end Clevelands rally. When he took a seat after three quarters, Durant figured his night was done. "But that can happen in this league," Durant said. "Guys have pride and Cleveland plays extremely hard, so those guys made it a game late and we had to close it out." Cleveland played without injured star guard Kyrie Irving (strained biceps) and forward Luol Deng (sprained ankle). Durants performance came two nights after LeBron James dropped 43 points on Cleveland, which lost its season-high fourth straight at home and has seen its playoff chances disappear. Durant added 11 rebounds and six assists, his biggest to Serge Ibaka for a dunk with 1:54 left after the Cavs had closed within eight. With the Thunder ahead by 17 entering the fourth, Durant grabbed a seat after scoring 30 in 32 minutes. Oklahoma Citys reserves were having their way with the Cavs, but Cleveland quickly reeled off 11 in a row, forcing Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks to bring Durant back. Waiters steal and layup got Cleveland within five, but the Thunder made sure the ball went to Durant, who then put it away at the line. But not before the Thunder had their nerves frayed. "You hate to talk about the last few minutes," Brooks said. "So Im not going to." Reggie Jackson started for Westbrook and added 13 points. Derek Fisher had 12 and Jeremy Lamb 10. Durant had a very un-Durant-like start. He started 1-of-6 from the field and grew more and more agitated with every missed shot. Late in the first quarter, Durant, who had complained to the officials about not getting a call on a drive, grabbed an offensive rebound, dunked in frustration and got called for a technical. "I just dont care if I miss," Durant said. "I had it in my mind that I was going to start the game off 1 for 10. Thats how quickly it can change, man. I thought I might be in for a tough shooting night, but I always stay aggressive." With Deng, Clevelands top wing defender, out and down to just nine dressed players, Cavs coach Mike Brown knew his team would struggle to handle the multifaceted Durant. And when Alonzo Gee picked up his second personal foul less than two minutes into the game, Brown brought in pesky guard Matthew Dellavedova to guard the leagues leading scorer. Dellavedova, generously listed at 6-foot-4, did all he could to pester Durant and it worked -- for a while. "He didnt get under my skin," Durant said. "He plays hard, you can respect a player like that but I didnt pay him any attention" Brown was proud of the job Dellavedova did on Durant. "One thing Dellys going to do for sure is fight," Brown said. "Hes going to get up in your chest and hes going to bother you, hes going to show his hands so hes not going to foul you. He makes you work for points." NOTES: Brooks has been impressed with Caron Butler, who has played in eight games since signing with Oklahoma City on March 1. Scott said Butler is tough, experienced and fearless. "He can make shots and hes not afraid to take shots," Brooks said. "We like that." ... OKC centre Kendrick Perkins (left groin strain) missed his 12th consecutive game and G Thabo Sefolosha (left calf strain) sat out his ninth straight. ... Brown boycotted filling out an NCAA bracket because Butler, where his son Elijah plays, didnt make the field. "Its my own protest," Brown joked. "Im loyal." ... Dellavedova had 11 points and 10 assists. 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HEROES St. Louis Blues – After rolling the San Jose Sharks for seven goals, for the second time in a week, the Blues have a bunch of players on hot streaks.HAMILTON, Ont. -- Louis Leblanc scored two goals, including the overtime winner, as the Hamilton Bulldogs defeated the Rochester Americans 4-3 in American Hockey League action on Friday. Nick Tarnasky and Magnus Nygren also had goals for the Bulldogs (3-1-2), and Robert Mayer made 27 saves in the win. Luke Adam, Frederick Roy and Brayden McNabb scored for the Americans (3-2-1), while Nathan Lieuwen stopped 28 shots. Leblanc brought a back-and-forth game to a close at 1:26 in OT, when Drew Schiestel found him with a short pass along the red-line and Leblanc elevated a backhand effort past Lieuwen. The Hamilton forward now has five points in his past two games. Gabriel Dumont nearly opened the scoring for the Bulldogs three minutes into the first period, when a loose puck deflected to him, unguarded, in the low slot. But his quick wrist shot eluded Lieuwen only to ring off the near post. Tarnasky was luckier at 11:22 of the period, when he scored the games first goal late on a Bulldog power play. Erik Nystrom brought the puck into the zone and weaved past a defender, only to see the puck drift off of his stick and to Tarnasky, who was planted in front of Lieuwens net. The winger did the rest, quickly sweeping the puck off the far post and past the Rochester goaltender. The goalscorer produced another moment worthy of the highlight reel as Hamilton took to the power play again in the final five minutes of the period. Tarnasky carried the puck through the middle of the ice and beat split two defenders, before his backhandeed effort was saved by Lieuwen.dddddddddddd Hamilton doubled its lead at 2:10 of the second period, capitalizing on another Rochester penalty after Alexander Sulzer was whistled for tripping. Leblanc received a pass from Duffy behind the red-line, and curled all the way out to the top of the left circle before releasing a low wrist shot that beat Lieuwen through a screen. The Americans cut their deficit in half on a man advantage of their own, after Leblanc was penalized for holding at 6:42 of the second period. Rochesters power-play unit moved the puck around the top of the zone with a series of short passes, before Sulzer found Adam in the low slot with a cross-ice pass. The speed of the play left Mayer stranded out of position, and Adam had an empty net to tap the puck into at 7:14. The Bulldogs restored their two-goal advantage at 8:17 of the period, scoring their third power-play goal of the night when Nygren allowed traffic to form in front of Lieuwen and took a heavy slapshot that beat him high to the glove side. The Americans struck back just over two minutes later, when Colton Gillies shot from the blue-line bounced off the end boards to Roy, and the forward quickly slid a wrap-around past Mayer at 10:52 of the second. The comeback was completed with five seconds to play in the period, as McNabb gathered the puck after an initial effort was blocked, and beat Mayer through the five-hole with his second wrist shot. Hamilton went 3-7 on the power play Friday, after going 0-19 to begin the season. ' ' '