NEW YORK - The Kevin Durant-Carmelo Anthony duel was postponed, though J.R. Smith filled in nicely - for three quarters.
The Oklahoma City Thunder finally silenced the Knicks' streaky shooter in the fourth, hanging on to beat New York 95-94 on Thursday night when Smith missed a turnaround jumper just before the buzzer.
"We've been hurt on those game-winners a couple of times this year and we didn't want that to happen again," Durant said. "So we just had to lock in and get a stop."
Durant scored 34 points, including two free throws with 1:38 left that put Oklahoma City in front for good. He also had eight rebounds and six assists.
Russell Westbrook struggled over the final three quarters but finished with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists, plus provided tough defense on Smith's last shot in the Thunder's first trip to New York since Dec. 22, 2010.
Kevin Martin had 16 points as Oklahoma City posted its third straight win, fighting off a spirited effort by a Knicks team missing Anthony. The All-Star forward missed his second straight game with what the Knicks said is a stiff and sore right knee.
"It was a great fight. I mean we put up a heck of a fight out there tonight," Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire said. "We played great defensively, offensively we were playing well, the ball was moving, so we can be happy with the way we played but still a little upset that we lost down the stretch."
Smith scored a season-high 36 points but was just 2 of 9 from the field in the final period, 1 of 5 on three-pointers.
• Nuggets 107, Clippers 92: In Denver, Ty Lawson had 21 points and 11 assists for the Nuggets, who improved to 27-3 at home.
Rim shots
• Suns center Marcin Gortat probably is out for the rest of the season after spraining his foot during Wednesday night's loss to Toronto.
The Suns say an MRI revealed a midfoot sprain to his right foot. Gortat will be sidelined three to four weeks, much of that time in a cast.
That timetable would mean Gortat might be back for a handful of games. The Polish center is averaging 11.1 points and 8.5 rebounds. He has appeared in 182 consecutive games.
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