Auburn Hill, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder overcame a halftime deficit to beat the lowly Detroit Pistons. Scott Brooks team might still be a little rusty with its two stars back in the lineup, but Durant had 28 points and the Thunder did enough to beat the Pistons 96-94 on Sunday. Durant, in his third game back from offseason foot surgery, made 10 of his 19 shots in his best shooting performance so far, and Russell Westbrook scored 22 with 11 rebounds and seven assists in his fourth game back after missing 14 with a broken hand. Serge Ibaka added 13 points and 13 rebounds in Oklahoma Citys fourth win in its last five. The Thunder survived a late baseline miss from Westbrook when Josh Smith was off on a 3-pointer at the other end with 1.1 seconds remaining. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 19 points to lead the Pistons, who have lost 12 in a row for the first time in five years. Detroit was coming off an overtime loss to one-win Philadelphia on Saturday after also losing in overtime to Boston on Wednesday. Why dont we just go from the answers from the last two nights and run them again, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy joked at the start of his postgame news conference. It was after a 12-point win over the 76ers on Friday that Brooks admitted Durant looked rusty and said it would take longer than a few practices for the Thunder to jell with everyone back. They climbed out of a nine-point hole in the third quarter with a 13-4 run led by Durant and Westbrook. Later, the Thunder took a three-point lead on Durants jumper and had a 77-75 edge going into the fourth. Oklahoma City led by as many as nine in the fourth quarter but had to hold on down the stretch. After Kyle Singler cut Detroits lead to one, Durant buried a 3-pointer at the other end. Andre Drummonds dunk on Ibaka made it a two-point game with 31.5 second left, but that was the final bucket of the game for either team. Game Notes The Pistons have lost 12 in a row for the first time since a 13-game skid from Dec. 15, 2009-Jan. 12, 2010. Their last win was 96-89 in overtime at Oklahoma City on Nov. 14 to snap a 10-game losing streak to the Thunder, who were without Durant and Westbrook ... Drummond scored 16 points for Detroit, and Smith and Greg Monroe had 12 each ... The Thunder return home after a three- game road trip to host Milwaukee on Tuesday ... The Pistons host Portland on Tuesday. Ab McDonald Jersey . Saltalamacchia drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning, Henderson Alvarez won for the first time in three starts and the Miami Marlins beat the Braves 3-2 on Thursday night. Jim Paek Jersey . He was 40. Firefighters were called about 11 a.m. Friday because Brown was unresponsive at his home near the Inner Harbor, fire spokesman Battalion Chief Kevin Cartwright said. He said Brown was dead when firefighters arrived. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/ . Gonzalez participated in his final game on Sunday, Atlantas 21-20 defeat at the hands of the NFC South champion Carolina Panthers, having posted four catches for 46 yards. Kris Letang Jersey .500. The Jets have now won nine of their last 11, and five of their last six road games. With the win they moved to within two points of Vancouver in the west, the Canucks holding down the eighth spot. Vancouver lost in Boston, while the other big game saw Dallas win in Phoenix. Jake Guentzel Jersey . As deep as their roster is, they need their superstar. Rose scored 23 points in his return from a five-game absence due to back pain, and Chicago hung on to beat the struggling Atlanta Hawks 90-79 on Monday.Depending on ones level of optimism, the Toronto Maple Leafs are either running out of time or are completely out of it in their search for a playoff berth. The Leafs have lost eight straight games and have tumbled all the way from second in the Atlantic Division to two spots back of the final Eastern Conference wild card position. Reminiscent of the teams struggles in February of 2012 that saw them drop 10 of 11 games and fall from fourth in the Eastern Conference all the way to 10th, it appears that the proverbial 18-wheeler is going off the cliff once again, to borrow former Leafs general manager Brian Burkes immortal turn-of-phrase. The 2011-12 failure would cost head coach Ron Wilson his job, with Randy Carlyle taking over before the Leafs March schedule even began. Burke, too, would become a casualty in the seasons aftermath. He would be replaced by his colleague - Dave Nonis – prior to the lockout-delayed start to the 2012-13 season. The Leafs are still mathematically in the thick of the wild card hunt – two points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets entering Monday night. But with games-in-hand to be factored, the hill could become steeper still. Regardless of whether the team makes the playoffs or not, they have certainly done themselves no favours with the slide. With the skid, the Leafs have lost the possibility of home-ice advantage against the likes of the Montreal Canadiens or Tampa Bay Lightning and have painted themselves into a black-and-gold corner that would likely see them draw the Boston Bruins (again) in the first round - that is, if they even make the playoffs. So who takes the blame this time around? Traditionally, the coach is the first to shoulder the load. So does Carlyle wear the horns? He has been a polarizing figure if former players like Mikhail Grabovski are to be believed and as the old adage goes, "you cant fire the team." Dion Phaneuf has drawn his share oof criticism over the streak as well, making notable on-ice gaffes against both the Philadelphia Flyers and St.dddddddddddd Louis Blues and taking additional heat after refusing to speak to the media after the streak hit seven. He has posted a minus-8 rating in the Leafs past three games. Nonis, too, could shoulder some of the blame for failing to add to a team that many had predicted was overachieving earlier in the season. Not only did Nonis not make a trade leading up to the Mar. 5 trade deadline, the Leafs war room was shown deserted in the minutes leading up to 3pm et that day. A lack of deadline activity is nothing new to Toronto as the team has avoided big name additions in each of the last three seasons, but should Nonis have pressed harder to improve his club? Or does the blame fall to the teams long-term core? The Leafs have five forwards - Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul, David Clarkson, James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak – locked up over the next four seasons beyond 2013-14 at a combined cost of just under $27 million. While Lupuls productivity has actually trended upwards during the slump (three goals in his last five games and six points over the eight games), the big line of Kessel, van Riemsdyk and Bozak has not been up to the lofty standards it set earlier this season. Kessel has scored just twice in eight games and the entire line has combined for just 12 points with only one player (Bozak) having managed a multi-point game over the stretch, and that only once. As for Clarkson, his career lows in goals and assists this season speak for themselves. The blame game could go on and on. The team has given up three goals or more eight straight games. That statistic could be pinned on the defence corps, overall team defence, or a four-game stretch without Jonathan Bernier. So who takes the blame for the Leafs late-season struggles? As always, its Your! Call. ' ' '