(REUTERS) – The Boston Celtics brushed aside Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder 92-83 on Sunday to claim their fifth straight win. NBA scoring champion Durant finished with 34 points but the Celtics used a balanced attack and stout defence to improve to 6-1 for the season, tying the Atlanta Hawks for the best record in the Eastern Conference.
“We played as well as a team can play in the first half then we did the exact reverse in the third quarter,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers told reporters. “Veteran teams shouldn’t do that but we got away with it tonight.”
Ray Allen scored a team-high 19 points for Boston, Paul Pierce added 17 and Rajon Rondo finished with 10 points and 10 assists.
Rondo entered the night as the league’s commanding leader in assists, averaging more than 15 per game and he continued his strong start to the season.
Russell Westbrook had 16 points and 10 assists for the Thunder (3-3), who shot just 43 percent and committed 18 turnovers to lose for the third time in four games.
Oklahoma City played without forward Jeff Green who injured his ankle during practice.
“We can’t worry about who’s playing or not playing, the guys we have just have to step up,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks.
After winning consecutive overtime games against the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls a few days earlier, the Celtics got off to a fast start against the Thunder.
Boston took a seven-point advantage after the first quarter then closed the first half with a 24-6 run as they headed to the locker room with a 58-37 lead.
Oklahoma City fought back to cut the deficit to just 73-67 early in the fourth before the Celtics fended them off.