Thunder rout Celtics, extend lead in Western Conference
Oklahoma City — Oklahoma City Thunder made it 11 straight home wins with a 119-104 win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday, extending its lead in the NBA Western Conference to three games.
Russell Westbrook scored 31 points and Kevin Durant added 28 for Oklahoma City, who led by as much as 27 points before Boston hit back to get within six with 3:31 left. Durant banked in a pair of jump shots and hit two free throws during an 11-2 run that sealed it.
Kevin Garnett’s return after a two-game absence wasn’t enough to lift the Celtics, who were still without point guard Rajon Rondo as he served the second of a two-game suspension.
Paul Pierce and Garnett scored 23 points apiece, and Garnett also had 13 rebounds.
Lakers 96, Mavs 91
In Dallas, Andrew Bynum had 19 points and 14 rebounds as Los Angeles hit the halfway point of its season with a road win against defending champion Dallas.
Bynum grabbed a rebound of his own miss and was fouled trying to go back up with 5:29 left. He made both free throws to break an 82-82 tie and finally put the Lakers ahead to stay after 13 ties and 10 lead changes.
Pau Gasol had 24 points for Los Angeles.
Dirk Nowitzki had 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Mavericks.
Clippers 103, Nuggets 95
In Los Angeles, Chris Paul scored a season-high 36 points to lead Los Angeles past Denver.
Blake Griffin added 27. He and Paul are headed to the All-Star game as starters, having led their team to a 20-11 record in the first half of the lockout-shortened season.
Arron Afflalo scored 20 points for the injury-riddled Nuggets, who lost their fifth in a row on the road. They played without Danilo Gallinari, Ty Lawson, Nene and Rudy Fernandez.
Bulls 110,
Bucks 91
In Chicago, the hosts beat Milwaukee for the seventh straight time.
Carlos Boozer scored 20 points, while Joakim Noah had 13 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the first triple-double by a Chicago center since Artis Gilmore in 1977.
The Central Division leaders built an 11-point halftime lead and broke it open in the third quarter, a nice send-off for the All-Star break.
Rockets 93,
76ers 87
In Houston, Luis Scola had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead Houston to a tight win over Philadelphia.
Kyle Lowry added 13 points and two crucial late 3-pointers for the Rockets, who’ve won three in a row and snapped a four-game home-court losing streak to Philadelphia. OTHER RESULTS: Knicks 99, Hawks 82; Magic 108, Nets 91; Timberwolves 100, Jazz 98; Warriors 106, Suns 104; Pacers 102, Bobcats 88; Raptors 103, Pistons 93; Hornets 89, Cavs 84; Kings 115, Wizards 107.
