Durant's 47 is too much for Wolves to conquer

Corey Brewer's headband flung away in disgust at the final buzzer and Kevin Love's reddened, sighing body at his locker stall afterward told everything about yet another Timberwolves loss, this one a 118-117 overtime defeat to Oklahoma City on Wednesday night at Target Center.

This time, the determining factors were a telling disparity in free-throw efficiency, too many turnovers when the Wolves least could have afforded them and Love's baseline hook shot at the end of regulation that seemingly went halfway down the basket and then spun back out to send the game to overtime.

Oh, yeah, and Thunder star and NBA leading scorer Kevin Durant's career-high 47 points.

Afterward, Love sat his locker and looked like he needed a hug.

"We've lost so many tough ones this year," Love said. "That's why I need the hug."

Thunder coach Scott Brooks knows well the Wolves' pain.

"They are exactly where we were two years ago," Brooks said. "The record says they lost the game, but they're learning how to win. These kinds of games will make that team better. That's a talented team. Nice, young pieces. They're going to figure it out."

The Thunder started 3-29, but won 23 games two seasons ago, a finish that springboarded them to 50 victories and the playoffs last season and this season has them 29-16 with a two-game lead in the Northwest Division.

The Thunder is there because the team stockpiled assets and drafted wisely. The Thunder is there also because the luck of the draw brought Durant with the second pick in the 2007 draft.

Love delivered his third 30/20 game of the season -- the scoreboard now reads Love 3, NBA 0 in that category after his 31-point, 21-rebound performance -- and Michael Beasley scored 30 points for the first time in nearly a month.

And it still wasn't enough because of Durant, who scored 36 points after halftime -- including 16 in a row for the Thunder in the fourth quarter -- and did so from all over the floor.

"How do you stop a guy 6-11, who's got a 7-5 wingspan and can shoot right over you?" Love asked afterward, one locker stall away from where Kevin Garnett used to sit. "Those types of players are a once-in-a-generation type of player. That's the type of guy we've never seen. You look at a guy who used to sit right here. How do you stop that? You just don't. That guy is just unbelievable."

And yet, the Wolves again had their chances.

The Thunder made 26 of 27 free throws. The Wolves made 18 of 25, and Brewer's second of two bounced away, a foul shot that could have tied the score with 7.6 seconds left in overtime. Beasley scored 30 points for the seventh time this season, but he had only two of those in the game's final 15 minutes.

And Love's 8-foot jump hook with a second left in the fourth quarter spun down, around and came back out after Jeff Green had tied it only three seconds before.

"When it left my hand, I said, 'That thing's in,'" Love said of the final shot in regulation of a game that had 19 lead changes. "I was ready to run back in the locker room right away."

Still, they walked away losers for the 35th time in 45 games after Durant's final two points of the night on a step-back jumper with 28.3 seconds stood as the winners. The Wolves got the rebound after Brewer missed his second free throw, but Luke Ridnour's leaning three-point attempt in the final five seconds (when the Wolves still had a timeout left) both failed to draw a foul and find the net.

"That's one of those games you hate to see end," Durant said. "It was fun to be part of. I'll tell you one thing: That team over there, they played very hard, very talented. Their record doesn't do much justice to their team. They're going to be very similar to us. They're just like us."