NBA: Durant leads Thunder past Hornets

NEW ORLEANS — Kevin Durant scored 30 points, and Russell Westbrook had 26 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the Oklahoma City Thunder's 103-99 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night.

Westbrook hit a mid-range shot with 13.7 seconds left to give the Thunder a 99-97 lead. After the Hornets cut it to 101-99 on Peja Stojakovic's layup, Durant hit a pair of free throws with 8.5 seconds left, finally putting away a Hornets team playing without injured All-Star point guard Chris Paul (knee surgery).

Westbrook dominated his matchup with Paul's replacement, rookie Darren Collison.

Marcus Thornton led New Orleans with 22 points, before leaving with a lower-back contusion after a hard fall in the fourth quarter. Stojakovic and David West added 15 each, but Oklahoma City limited West to two points after the first quarter.