Russ triple-double not enough for OKC in Houston
Lou Williams paced a quartet of 20-point scorers for the Houston Rockets in 137-125 home conquest of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night.
Williams finished with 31 points on 11-of15 shooting, hitting 7-of-8 three-pointers to help carry the Rockets to their third win in four meetings with the Thunder this season.
Aid came in the form of guards James Harden (22 points, 12 assists) and Eric Gordon (24 points on 4-of-9 three-point shooting), and forward Trevor Ariza, who made 9-of-11 shots while also chipping in 24 points. Houston shot a robust 63.3 percent from the floor.
Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook recorded his league-leading 36th triple-double. He finished with 39 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists.
Kings 98, Clippers 97
Willie Cauley-Stein scored on a put-back with 1.8 seconds remaining, allowing Sacramento to stun Los Angeles.
Darren Collison scored 19 points to lead the Kings, who trailed by as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter. Kings rookie guard Buddy Hield, who hit two clutch three-pointers in the rally, and forward Anthony Tolliver each had 15 points.
DeAndre Jordan collected 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, while Chris Paul had 17 points and nine assists.
The loss prevented the Clippers from pulling into a tie with the idle Utah Jazz for the fourth seed in the Western Conference.
Warriors 106, Grizzlies 94
Stephen Curry contributed two three-pointers to a 14-5 fourth-quarter run that enabled Golden State to pull away from Memphis.
Curry finished with 21 points and Klay Thompson a game-high 31 for the Warriors, who extended the league’s longest active winning streak to seven games while squaring the season series 2-2 with the Grizzlies.
Mike Conley had 29 points and a teamhigh six assists for Memphis, which lost ground in its pursuit of the fifth and sixth playoff spots in the West.
Trail Blazers 97, Lakers 81
Damian Lillard led the way with 22 points, and Portland cruised past host Los Angeles.
Allen Crabbe added 18 points and C.J. McCollum contributed 13 as the Trail Blazers beat the Lakers for the 12th consecutive time. Portland has won seven in a row over Los Angeles at Staples Center.
The win allowed the Trail Blazers to tie the Denver Nuggets for eighth place in the Western Conference race.
Celtics 112, Heat 108
Boston held off a late Miami charge and moved into a virtual tie for first place in the Eastern Conference with a victory.
The win moved Boston to just four percentage points behind the idle Cleveland Cavaliers for the top seed in the conference. The teams meet April 5 in Boston.
Isaiah Thomas, the league’s leading fourth-quarter scorer, tallied eight points in the final 4:58 after the Celtics, who rallied from a 15-point first-half deficit, blew a ninepoint fourth-quarter lead and trailed by two with 4:13 remaining.
Pacers 107, 76ers 94
Paul George scored 21 points to lead seven Indiana in double figures in a triumph over visiting Philadelphia.
Myles Turner contributed 17 points and a team-high 16 rebounds. Also in double figures for the Pacers were Jeff Teague (16 points) and Al Jefferson (14). C.J. Miles, Monta Ellis and Aaron Brooks each scored 10 points.
Indiana snapped a two-game losing streak and moved into a three-way tie with Atlanta and Milwaukee for the No. 5 spot in Eastern Conference.
Pelicans 115, Nuggets 90
Anthony Davis scored 31 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in only 28 minutes to lead New Orleans over Denver.
Jrue Holiday and Jordan Crawford each scored 13 points, and the bench contributed 49 as the Pelicans earned their sixth win in eight games. New Orleans is now four games behind the Nuggets for the eighth spot in the Western Conference.
The Pelicans won without DeMarcus Cousins, who sat out due to an ankle injury. Cousins got hurt Friday during New Orleans’ 117107 loss to the Houston Rockets and was still sore at the Sunday morning shootaround.
Hornets 120, Suns 106
Kemba Walker had 31 points and nine assists to lead Charlotte past Phoenix.
The Hornets pounced on the Suns quickly, racing to leads of 17-1, 22-3 and 30-7 before eventually leading 38-18 after one quarter. The Hornets went on to lead by as many as 25 in what was their second wire-to-wire victory of the season.
Charlotte has won four of its last five and continues to hang around in the Eastern Conference playoff race with nine games remaining in he regular season.