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It was a match up of two of the NBA’s brightest stars on Sunday night in Oklahoma City. Kevin Durant got off to a big start, but LeBron James had the last laugh.

Led by their superstar, the Cavaliers outscored the up-and-coming Thunder by 18 after halftime to leave the Ford Center with a 102-89 victory.

James scored 21 of his season-high 44 points in the second half, including a barrage of long balls late in the third quarter.

The seventh-year pro made three-straight three pointers over the final 1:07 of the period. The last one, a 26-footer, gave the Cavaliers a 78-76 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

“I can get it going every now and then,” said James after the game. ”It felt good, especially because we were down at that time. I got hot at the right time.”

The Thunder went cold at the wrong time.

They shot just 6-17 in the third quarter and followed that up with a 6-20 effort in the fourth.

The fourth was especially brutal, particularly for Durant.

Durant was 0-6 from the floor in the final period, thanks largely due to Jamario Moon. Moon guarded Durant for most of the period and did a solid job of forcing the 6-foot-9 forward into tough, contested jumpers.

“You are not going to stop a guy like him,” said Cavs coach Mike Brown. ”You just hope you can make him work as best as possible.”

Durant seemed unstoppable early in the game.

He scored 13 points in the first quarter, edging his counterpart from the Cavaliers, James, who scored 11 in the opening period.

The result was a 29-27 lead for the Thunder heading into the second quarter.

James had the upper hand the rest of the contest, outscoring Durant 27-16 over the final three quarters.

“He’s a threat every time he touches the ball,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks about the Cavalier forward. “And he made some tough shots.”

James played one of his most diverse games of the season. He finished with five made three-pointers, but also went to the free-throw line 10 times.

Every shot he made in the third quarter could be placed on a highlight reel, whether it was a driving layup or an off-balance fade-away three.

“He’s proven time after time that he can carry us, so you let him go,” said Brown. “As long as he is doing all the other things for you, which he did tonight, you let him go on that end of the floor.”

James cooled off a bit in the fourth quarter, just in time for Mo Williams to take over.

Williams scored 11 of his 22 points in the fourth. He made three shots from beyond the three-point line in the period, including a shot from half court with the shot clock running out.

The 48-foot three-pointer put the Cavaliers 94-87, all but ensuring a Cavalier victory.

“That was a big shot,” said Brooks. ”You can’t say that was a shot that he is going to make a lot of this year, but he made it.”

The Cavaliers finished the game 11-22 from the three-point line. The Thunder made just 4-16 from beyond the arc.

“Their three-point shooting obviously was a big factor in the game,” said Brooks.