SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Oklahoma Thunder took the fourth quarter off and almost paid for it against the Sacramento Kings. Kevin Durant had 27 points and 11 rebounds and the Thunder withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally to earn their eighth straight win, a 97-95 victory over slumping Sacramento on Tuesday night. The Thunder were outscored 30-19 in the fourth quarter, but hung on to improve to 4-3 on the road this season. "We cant ever take a win for granted," said Durant, who missed three of four shots and scored three points in the fourth quarter. "Its hard to win in this league. We won the game, thats all that matters." Although the Thunder played inspired defence in limiting the Kings to a combined 34 points in the middle two quarters, they had no answer for Kings diminutive reserve guard Isaiah Thomas in the fourth period. The Thunder built a 17-point lead early in the fourth, but had to hold off the Kings and Thomas, who scored 21 of his 24 points in the final period and missed a jumper with 1 second left that would have sent the game to overtime. "I felt like I was passive in the first half and I wasnt really doing anything on offence," said Thomas, who made 8 of 14 shots in the fourth, including a pair of 3s. "When I got in at the end of the third and fourth I wanted to try to make a difference. I was in attack mode and my teammates kept feeding me." Thomas made a 20-foot jumper with 37 seconds left, getting the Kings within 97-95. After Durant misfired on a 3, the Kings got the rebound and set up the final shot for Thomas, but it hit the front rim and Durant secured the rebound. "There are no nights off in the West," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "The West is so good and there are so many good teams and tough places to play." One of those teams and places is Portland, where the Thunder play Wednesday night. "We have to play better tomorrow night," Brooks said. "Were playing one of the hottest teams in the game right now. They have a great home crowd and have a great atmosphere. But our team has always been up for challenges and definitely tomorrow night will be a tough challenge for us." The Kings played without starting centre DeMarcus Cousins in dropping their fifth straight. He sprained his right ankle against Golden State on Sunday and watched Tuesdays game in street clothes. Cousins, the Kings leading scorer (21.7) and rebounder (10.1), is day to day. The Kings next play Friday at home against the Lakers. Russell Westbrook had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, but also committed seven turnovers for the Thunder, who have defeated the Kings seven straight and 13 of 14. Jeremy Lamb scored 14 points, Reggie Jackson had 13, and Serge Ibaka had 13 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma City. Rookie Ben McLemore scored 14 points for Sacramento, Derrick Williams added 13, Greivis Vasquez 12 and Jason Thompson had 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Kings have made a habit of getting behind by double digits and making impressive fourth-quarter rallies. "DeMarcus doesnt play tonight, (were) playing against a team thats 12-3, and odds have them one of the favourites to get to the Finals out of the West," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "And we play them tooth and nail, giving ourselves a chance to win. At some point were going to pull these games out." The game was the start of a difficult stretch of road games for Oklahoma City. The Thunder play three games in four nights, then go home to face Indiana on Sunday. Thats followed by two more road games next week at Atlanta and Memphis. The Thunder have been flawless this season at home, winning all nine games and tying Indiana for the best home record. Oklahoma City just concluded a six-game home stand with a convincing victory Sunday against Minnesota. NOTES: The Thunder assigned rookie guard/forward Andre Roberson to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League on Tuesday. He appeared in six games (one start) this season, averaging 1.7 rebounds in 6.5 minutes per game. . The Kings shot 58 per cent in the first quarter, 33 per cent in the second, and 26 per cent in the third. . The Kings had eight turnovers after committing a season-high 24 Sunday against Golden State. Air Max 270 Mens Sale . Early in the first period, Stuart pinched in from the blue line, hit Nash and was assessed a minor penalty for elbowing. Nash remained in the game for the rest of the first period, but did not return for the second. Cheap Air Max 270 Gold . Right-hander Ricky Nolasco and the Twins agreed to terms on a free-agent contract Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. http://www.cheapairmax270online.com/cheap-air-max-270-all-gold/ . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley. Cheap Air Max 270 Black . - Gary Kubiak is John Elways No. Cheap Air Max 270 Orange . -- The Kelowna Rockets earned their 16th straight win with a 7-2 rout of the Portland Winterhawks in Western Hockey League action Thursday. SONOMA, Calif. -- Tony Stewart was running lap times about a second faster than expected at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when a blown tire caused him to wreck this week in a Goodyear test. Goodyear officials said Stewarts accident 17 laps into Tuesdays 20-lap run was the only incident of the two-day test. The three-time NASCAR champion wasnt injured. "Our test speeds were extremely fast at Indianapolis," Greg Stucker, Goodyears director of racing, said in a statement Friday. "Tony was approaching the end of a very strong 20-lap run, with his lap times as much as a second faster than what has become the norm at Indianapolis at that point of a run. "It appears that increased, sustained speed over that run generated a significant amount of heat, which eventually caused the right-front to go down." Stewart wasnt upset with Goodyear over the incident, which he said "destroyed the car, so it was a good hit. "I am not really sure what the cause of it was, but thats part of tire testing," Stewart said. "Thats why you go to the test. Im sure theyll learn something from it and well go on." Joey Logano was one of six drivers at the test and said Stewart easily had the fastest car at Indy. Also at the test were Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman, the defending race winner. Stewart, an Indiana native, has two BBrickyard victories and puts a huge emphasis on the July race.dddddddddddd Following Stewarts tire failure, Logano said Goodyear made adjustments "to figure out a way to knock some speed out of these race cars." Teams were given a different left side tire to use and will wait to see what Goodyear decides to bring for the race. "I know when we left they were going to go back and discuss where they wanted to be, but I think theyre going in the right direction on making sure they have the security in the tire, making sure its safe," Logano said. "Its definitely a very big challenge when you come to a race track and you go faster and youre already on edge. Youve got to come back with something thats even more durable and thats hard." Indianapolis has been a difficult track for Goodyear, and the tire brought to the 2008 race was not durable enough to make it more than a dozen or so laps. NASCAR was forced to call a caution roughly every 10 laps to force teams to change tires. "The thing about Indianapolis is the tough conditions the cars and the tires have to endure," Stucker said. "The surface is very abrasive, the long straightaways and short chutes are fast, cornering is tough with very little banking. Combine that with this new car package, and youve got conditions that put a lot of stress on the tires." Cheap Jerseys ChinaNFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Jerseys WholesaleDiscount Basketball JerseysCheap NHL Jerseys AuthenticCheap Baseball Jerseys Free ShippingCheapest College Jerseys SaleCheap Football Jerseys ChinaNike NFL Jerseys CanadaWholesale NHL Jerseys From ChinaMLB Jerseys Outlet CanadaWholesale NBA Jerseys Canada StoreCheap Soccer Jerseys ChinaCheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '