The Oklahoma City Thunder (22 - 10) defeated the Milwaukee Bucks (12 - 21) 131 - 123 on Tuesday night. In an anticipated blowout, the Bucks kept this game with an unlikely recipe. Milwaukee came into this game as the worst rebounding team in the NBA and actually outrebounded the Thunder, who rank second in the NBA in rebounding. The game was played at an incredible fast pace, as the 24 - second shot clock didn’t even need to be on. The difference in the game was the free - throw shooting, as the Thunder went 37 - for - 40 from the charity stripe, while the Bucks went just 15 - for - 22. Milwaukee came into this game as a huge underdog, but held their own to keep it close throughout. This was one of the best offensive performances that the Bucks have had all season and it's a shame they couldn’t keep the Thunder off the free - throw line. Khris Middleton has been fantastic lately and that form continued here, as he scored a career - high 36 points in the loss. Michael Carter-Williams also played well, as he tallied 19 points, nine assists and nine rebounds in the defeat. This goes down as a loss, but Milwaukee did some good things here that they can definitely build upon for future endeavors. The Bucks next game will be on Thursday against the Pacers in Indiana. Oklahoma City has been the second - best offense in the NBA this season and they improved on that scoring average tonight. Per usual, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant were the stars of the show and put up very similar lines. In fact, Westbrook totaled 27 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and five steals, while Durant amassed 26 points, six rebounds and eight assists. Those two also went a combined 20 - for - 21 from the free - throw line and continue to carry this team. Cameron Payne also had his best game as a pro, as he scored a career - high 16 points off the bench in just 16 minutes. The bench was good all - around, as they scored 53 points in the win. If the bench can score 40 - plus regularly with Durant and Westbrook doing what they do, this team will be impossible to beat. The Thunder will look to continue their good play against the struggling Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
["PlayerStat(G,'Khris Middleton') has 36 Assists ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Michael Carter-Williams') has 9 Assists ,has 19 Minutes played ,has 9 Points ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Kevin Durant') has 8 Assists ,has 26 Minutes played ,has 6 Points ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Russell Westbrook') has 7 Assists ,has 27 Minutes played ,has 7 Points ,has 5 Total rebounds ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Cameron Payne') has 16 Assists ,has 16 Minutes played ."]