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OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kevin Durant did the expected. And for a change, Oklahoma Citys defence came along for the ride. Durant scored 33 points, Serge Ibaka had 17 points and 17 rebounds and the Thunder snapped a two-game skid by defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 101-85 Saturday night. Oklahoma City was coming off two poor defensive efforts. On Tuesday, the Thunder let the Jazz shoot 59 per cent from the field on their way to a 112-101 win. Two nights later, Denver led 89-66 after three quarters before holding on for a 101-88 win over the Thunder. This time, the Thunder held the Bucks to 40 per cent shooting and sent them to their fifth consecutive loss. "All we wanted to focus on was defence," Durant said. "We told the guys before the game, Dont worry about making shots or missing shots, just worry about locking in on defence, and I think they did a great job of that." Durant took care of much of the offence, though much of his damage came after a hard fall. He went up to block a shot in the second quarter, hit the floor and remained there for a few minutes. He got up and walked to the bench on his own as the crowds cheers broke a concerned silence. Moments later he made his first 3-pointer of the game. He made 7 of 9 shots from the field after the fall. "That fall woke me up," said Durant, who missed his first eight shots from the field. "One of my friends texted me after the game and said as soon as I fell, he dropped to his knees and prayed for me. I guess that helped, too." Jeremy Lamb added 17 points for the Thunder, who had lost four of six. Oklahoma City scored just 14 points in the first quarter and 38 in the first half before heating up and hitting 63 after the break. O.J. Mayo and Luke Ridnour scored 16 points apiece and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 13 points and 11 rebounds and five assists for the Bucks (7-29), who have the leagues worst record. Milwaukee coach Larry Drew was impressed with Antetokounmpos effort. The 19-year-old was matched up with Durant for much of the night, and he bothered him early. "I thought he took the challenge," Drew said. "Its great to put him in that situation so he can learn. He has to feel good about how he played tonight." With the score tied at 54, Mayo was issued a technical foul for arguing with the officials. Durant made the free throw, then Lamb made a 3-pointer on the following possession. Lamb then made a layup to give the Thunder a 60-54 lead. Oklahoma City rolled from there. Durant was fouled on a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the third quarter. He made all three free throws to give the Thunder a 77-62 lead. Durant scored 14 points in the period. It would have been worse had Brandon Knight not found his shooting stroke. Knight, held without a point in the first half, scored 11 of his 13 points in the third quarter. Oklahoma City made just 12 of 42 shots in the first half, but hit 13 of 24 in the third period. "It got away in the third quarter," Drew said. "I thought defensively, we had some breakdowns." Milwaukee didnt go away. Back-to-back 3s by Mayo cut Oklahoma Citys lead to 81-72 and forced the Thunder to call timeout with 9:20 remaining. The Thunder regrouped and controlled the rest of the game. Durant and Ibaka left with 1:45 remaining and the Thunder leading 99-85. Durant said it was good to be able to win ugly. "It shows we can win different ways," he said. "We can play fast-paced, slow it down, win a sloppy game or a low-scoring game. Tonight, we didnt get down on ourselves and let it affect our defence. Everybody played hard." NOTES: Milwaukee went scoreless for the final 5:09 of Friday nights 81-72 loss to Chicago and then missed its first 10 shots against Oklahoma City. ... The Thunder allowed 10 points in the first quarter, the fewest in a first quarter since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City in 2008. It also was the fewest the Thunder have allowed in any quarter this season. ... Thunder coach Scott Brooks said he never addressed Durant or the team about the incident involving Durants Twitter account. Durant has said his account was hacked on Thursday and a photo of him smoking a hookah was sent out without his knowledge. ... Milwaukees Larry Sanders was ejected for elbowing Steven Adams. Cheap NBA Jerseys China . 1. Did the Senators trade the wrong goalie? Lets make one thing clear: The Ottawa Senators acquired Ben Bishop from the St. Louis Blues for one reason and one reason alone. Wholesale Authentic NBA Jerseys .J. -- Tom Coughlin doesnt have many options at halfback for the winless New York Giants. http://www.wholesalechinajerseysforcheap.com/ .Mallais and his team out of Saint John defeated James Grattan 5-4 in Fredericton.The 2015 Tim Hortons Brier from Feb. Cheap China Jerseys . George Hill had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who stayed atop the overall NBA standings despite losing twice on their West Coast trip. Los Angeles kept it close into the second half before the Pacers finished an easy win over the injury-riddled Lakers, who have lost five straight. NFL Jerseys For Sale . Pierre last November, only to watch St. Pierre leave the UFC octagon with his welterweight title belt and a split-decision victory.SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Jimmermania began in Sacramento with hundreds of fans gathered at the airport to cheer the arrival of a player most had only watched on television or read about during the NCAA tournament. Its headed for a much quieter conclusion. As the Kings and guard Jimmer Fredette worked toward reaching a buyout of his contract, the former BYU sensation was not in attendance for Tuesday nights 129-103 loss to the Houston Rockets. Kings coach Michael Malone said the team advised Fredette to stay home until a resolution is reached. Malone said he wished Fredette well and believes the third-year guard can carve out an NBA career somewhere -- just not in Sacramento. "For whatever reason, Jimmer was never able to find success, whether they were unrealistic expectations from his college career or whatever it was," Malone said. "But he just wasnt able to play to the level that everybody wanted him to play, which is somewhat maybe unrealistic. Maybe we have to temper our expectations for Jimmer and let him just become a solid NBA player. And theres nothing wrong with that." Fredette, who turned 25 years old Tuesday, is making about $2.4 million this season. He will be a free agent if -- and most likely when -- he clears waivers. Kings general manager Pete DAlessandro told reporters at the teams morning shootaround that he was approached by Fredettes representatives about a buyout. He said Fredette no longer fits into the teams plans but Kings owner Vivek Ranadive "loves Jimmer and wants to do the right thing by Jimmer. Were just talking about things at this point. Theres nothing done at this point." A person with knowledge of the discussions, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because negotiations were ongoing, said the sides hoped to finalize an agreement by the end of the week. Yahoo Sports first reported the buyout talks. Fredettes locker at the arena also was cleared out. Fredette was drafted 10th overall in 2011 after dazzling at BYU, where he won The Associated Press player of the year award his senior season. Fredette never lived up to the fanfare in Sacramento, though the franchises instability -- playing for three different coaches, two different ownership groups and constant relocation chatter -- didnt help his cause. Fredette is averaging 5.dddddddddddd9 points and 11.3 minutes this season, shooting 47.5 per cent from the floor and 49.3 per cent from 3-point range. For his career, hes averaging seven points, 1.5 assists and 1.1 rebounds while shooting 41.6 per cent overall, including 40 per cent from beyond the arc. But the same concerns some scouts had about Fredette when he entered the league -- his defence, ball-handling skills and ability to score off the ball against bigger and more athletic defenders -- persist. "Every time he shot it, I thought the ball was going in. I will say that," Malone said. Fredettes time in Californias capital city has been nearing an end since the Kings decided not to pick up a team option before this season on his contract for the 2014-15 season. Sacramento also tried to move Fredette before last weeks trade deadline but couldnt get any suitable deals. Since Sacramento traded Marcus Thornton to Brooklyn for Jason Terry and Reggie Evans last week, Malone promised to use the remainder of the season to give rookie guards Ben McLemore and Ray McCallum more playing time. That move buried Fredette even further on the bench. Fredette led the nation in scoring at 28.5 points per game and guided BYU to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament as a senior. Big performances in big games had NBA stars tweeting his name, President Barack Obama mentioning him while filling out his bracket and college basketball fans in a frenzy. The Kings acquired him in a draft-day trade with Milwaukee as the 10th overall pick. Fans have remained incredibly vocal about Fredette, often screaming at games for him to play more -- and cheering louder for him than other reserves when he finally enters. . Paul Westphal was the only one of Fredettes three coaches committed to giving him extended minutes. Even that didnt last long. Westphal was fired after a 2-5 start in Fredettes rookie season. Keith Smart and Malone both opted to go away from Fredette in favour of other guards, most notably Isaiah Thomas, who has outplayed Fredette since their rookie season. "Jimmer knows how to play, hes a worker, hes a great kid," Malone said. "And I just hope that he goes to a team that allows him to play and put him in a position to have success and maybe he can catch on with somebody." ' ' '