Bulls are no match for rolling Thunder

Kevin Durant says Russell Westbrook has carried the Oklahoma City Thunder. Statistics suggested otherwise -- until Monday night.

Durant didn’t reach 30 points for the first time in eight games and he didn’t lead his team in scoring for only the sixth time all season. Thanks largely to Westbrook’s 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists, the Thunder won anyway, beating the Chicago Bulls, 98-85.

“I’m not going into every game saying, ‘I’ve got to score 30 for us to win,’ ” said Durant, who finished with 25 -- just below his 28.4-point average, fourth-best in the NBA.

“I just go out there and play within the offense. That’s what everybody’s doing. We pass the ball to each other. That’s what great teams do.”

At 19-15, the Thunder isn’t a great team yet.

But the league’s second-youngest team has won six of its last seven games to move into eighth place in the Western Conference and is turning heads with its exciting, aggressive style.

Westbrook and Durant took over the game in the third quarter, when the Thunder shot 65% to Chicago’s 22%. They scored eight points apiece during a 27-6 run, and the Bulls never seriously threatened after that.

-- associated press