Thunder Declaws Bobcats

All 13 Thunder players saw the floor and 12 scored as Oklahoma City rumbled past Charlotte 116-94 on Friday night.

Friday, March 8th 2013, 9:45 pm

By: News 9

For the second time this season Oklahoma City destroyed the Charlotte Bobcats, and the starters spent the entirety of the fourth quarter looking on from the comfort of the bench.

But unlike last time – for at least a quarter – this game gave the appearance of a competitive contest.

The Bobcats got off to a hot-shooting start and took a one-point lead on OKC heading into the second. Then the Thunder got serious and threw down the gauntlet; OKC started the second quarter on a 19-0 run to suck the life out of Charlotte and coasted to an easy 116-94 victory.

It wasn't as authoritative as the Thunder's historic 45-point beat down of the Cats at Chesapeake Energy Arena in November, but once Oklahoma City decided to play it was obvious how different these teams are from a talent standpoint.

All 13 Thunder players who made the trip played at least seven minutes and 12 scored at least four points; only Ronnie Brewer failed to make a shot but he didn't attempt one either.

Kevin Durant paced OKC with 19 points in just 24 minutes to lead six Thunder players who scored in double figures. Thabo Sefolosha and Derek Fisher each scored 13 points and shot 3-of-3 from behind the 3-point arc.

Serge Ibaka scored 12 while Russell Westbrook and Kevin Martin each tallied 11 for Oklahoma City.

The Thunder shot a torrid 56.8 percent from the floor and was cooking from 3, where they finished 12-of-24. OKC held the Bobcats to 41.2 percent shooting and also outrebounded Charlotte 49-37.

Gerald Henderson led the Bobcats with 21 points and Ben Gordon chipped in 19 off the bench.

It was the Thunder's sixth-straight win against the Bobcats and OKC's fourth straight overall. The Thunder beat the Bobcats by a combined 67 points in the two meetings this season.

The last time the team's played the Bobcats entered Oklahoma City with a 7-5 record but OKC handed them their first of 18-straight losses. Friday night's decision dropped Charlotte to an NBA-worst 13-49 on the season.

Meanwhile, the Thunder improved to 46-16 and will be looking for win No. 5 in-a-row on Sunday when it hosts the Boston Celtics at 12 p.m. at The Peake.