Durant fires 38 as Thunder rally to beat Orlando Magic
Orlando, Florida — Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant scored 38 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter, as the Thunder came from 14 points down to beat the Orlando Magic 105-102 in Thursday’s meeting of NBA heavyweights.
Russell Westbrook added 29 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which notched its seventh straight win.
The Magic had a chance to tie it in the final seconds, but Jason Richardson’s long 3-pointer attempt bounced off the backboard at the buzzer.
Dwight Howard scored 33 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead all five Orlando starters in double figures, but they struggled to shoot from the field in the late stages.
Heat 107, Trail Blazers 93
In Portland, LeBron James had 38 points and 11 rebounds as Miami beat Portland, extending its winning streak to nine games.
Dwyane Wade added 33 points and 10 assists for the Heat, who at 28-7 are off to their best 35-game start in franchise history.
The Heat were without All-Star Chris Bosh because of a death in his family. He is also expected to miss Friday night’s game at Utah, but it is not yet known whether he will play Sunday when Miami visits the Los Angeles Lakers.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points for the Blazers.
Suns 104, Timberwolves 95
In Phoenix, Grant Hill scored 15 of his season-best 20 points in the second half as Phoenix pulled away to beat weary Minnesota.
Six players reached double figures for the Suns in their first game since the All-Star break. Steve Nash had 13 points and matched his season high with 17 assists as Phoenix brought up its ninth straight victory over the Timberwolves.
Kevin Love, who sat out the loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Wednesday with illness, scored 23 on 8-of-25 shooting for Minnesota, which was playing for a third straight night.
Clippers 108, Kings 100
In Sacramento, Chris Paul had 22 points and nine assists as Los Angeles downed Sacramento.
Blake Griffin added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Clippers, who led by 19 points before easing off and winning the first of four games in five nights.
DeMarcus Cousins had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, who had better news off the court, as the city and team announced a financing plan for a new 391 million arena that would keep the franchise in California’s capital for at least another 30 years.
