Thunder rack up 148 to torch slumping Cavs
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Paul George scored 36 points, Carmelo Anthony added a season-high 29 points with 10 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook recorded a season-best 20 assists as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder throttled the Cleveland Cavaliers 148-124 on Saturday night.
The Thunder led wire-to-wire in extending their winning streak to four games. Paul teamed with Steven Adams (25 points, 10 rebounds) to score the first 20 points for Oklahoma City, and when Westbrook added two free throws at the 6:45 mark of the first quarter, the Thunder lead 22-12.
Isaiah Thomas tallied 24 points for the Cavaliers, who’ve lost nine of 12 games. LeBron James finished with 18 points, leaving him seven shy of becoming the seventh player in league history with 30,000 career points. James added seven assists and finished minus-33 over 38 minutes.
Cleveland was a defensive sieve from the opening tip, allowing Adams easy access to the rim on deep post-ups and offensive rebounds while also surrendering open perimeter looks to George.
The Thunder posted a season-high 43 points in the first quarter, shooting 63 percent (17-for-27), including 5-of-9 on threes, as George and Adams combined for 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting.
Rockets 116, Warriors 108
Chris Paul paired 33 points with 11 rebounds and James Harden delivered a key three-pointer down the stretch as Houston snapped Golden State’s 14-game road winning streak with victory.
Harden finished with 22 points plus eight assists, and he drilled a three over Stephen Curry with 70 seconds remaining to push the lead to six points and fend off the Warriors once and for all.
Golden State had erased a 17-point deficit and led by as many as four points earlier in the fourth quarter before Paul, P.J. Tucker (12 points), and Harden responded with late treys.
Clint Capela added 18 points and Luc Mbah a Moute 14 for Houston, which claimed the season series over the Warriors 2-1. Kevin Durant paced Golden State with 26 points and seven rebounds while Draymond Green added 21 points, seven boards and six assists. Curry and his backcourt partner Klay Thompson combined to shoot 9-of-31 and totaled 27 points.
Heat 106, Hornets 105
Kelly Olynyk made the second of a twoshot free-throw opportunity with 0.2 seconds remaining as Miami put together a strong final two minutes on the road to overcome Charlotte.
The Heat trailed 101-91 with less than four minutes to play. It was 105-100 before James Johnson’s dunk with 34 seconds to go. Just seconds later, Josh Richardson’s steal led to Johnson’s tying three-pointer.
Kemba Walker missed twice for the Hornets, and then Dwight Howard was charged with fouling Olynyk, who missed the first attempt before sinking the winner.
Pelicans 111, Grizzlies 104
DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis played their first game since being named starters in the NBA All-Star Game, but teammate Jrue Holiday commanded equal billing as host New Orleans beat Memphis.
Holiday scored a team-high 27 points as the Pelicans got their first victory over the Grizzlies after two losses earlier in the season. Cousins had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Davis had 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Timberwolves 115, Raptors 109
Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony-Towns hit clutch three-pointers down the stretch at home as Minnesota withstood a 40-point night by point guard Kyle Lowry and beat Toronto.
Wiggins, who scored a season-high 29 points, gave Minnesota the lead at 107-106 by knocking down a three from the left wing with 2:05 remaining. A Towns three shortly after made it 110-106 and gave the Timberwolves all the room they needed.
Lowry recorded his most productive night of the season and posted his fourth career game with 40 points.
Trail Blazers 117, Mavericks 108
Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum combined for 57 points to lead host Portland past Dallas.
Lillard scored 31 points and doled out nine assists and McCollum added 26 points as the Trail Blazers won their third straight game and sixth in a row at home.
Wesley Matthews led the Mavericks with 23 points while Dirk Nowitzki and Dennis Smith Jr. each chipped in 21.
76ers 116, Bucks 94
Joel Embiid scored 29 points, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot added 16 and Philadelphia defeated visiting Milwaukee.
It was Embiid’s third straight game with at least 20 points and the 25th time he has accomplished the feat this season.
Bulls 113, Hawks 97
Robin Lopez kept his personal hot streak going with a game-high 20 points and rookie Lauri Markkanen added 19 to lead Chicago to a win in Atlanta.
It was Lopez’s fifth straight double-digit scoring output and his third with 16 or more points in that span, during which he is averaging 15.6 points.
Bobby Portis scored 14 as the Bulls won for the fourth time in five games. (Reuters)