Westbrook’s historic 20-20-20 carries Thunder to victory

NEW YORK: Russell Westbrook had 20 points, 20 rebounds and 21 assists to lead Oklahoma City Thunder to a 119-103 home win over Los Angeles Lakers.

It was just the second time in league history a player had at least 20 points, 20 rebounds and 20 assists in a game.

Wilt Chamberlain had 22 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists in a 1968 game.

Westbrook finished off the feat in the final minute, nabbing Lance Stephenson’s miss with 41 seconds left, drawing a large ovation from the crowd.

He clinched the triple-double – his 31st of the season – with 4:38 left in the third quarter, hitting a contested jumper.

Golden State took a big step towards securing the top seed in the Western Conference, overcoming the ejection of Kevin Durant to crush Denver in Oakland.

The win gave the Warriors (53-24) a two-game lead over the Nuggets (51-26) with just five to play.

The Warriors also earned a potential tie-breaker by virtue of their third straight win over the Nuggets after an October defeat, claiming the season series 3-1.

In a marquee matchup of big men, DeMarcus Cousins outplayed Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, contributing 28 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots, helping the Warriors to their fourth win in their last five games.

James Harden recorded his 32nd double-double, and visiting Houston completed a sweep of their four-game season series with Sacramento.

Harden paired 36 points on 12-of-19 shooting with 10 assists and sank 7-of-12 three-pointers for Houston (50-28), who led by as many as 30 points.

The Rockets improved to 17-4 since the All-Star break to move a half-game ahead of Portland in pursuit of the third seed in the Western Conference.

Eric Gordon added 19 points, Danuel House Jr scored 19 off the bench, and P.J. Tucker chipped in 13 points, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer that gave the Rockets a 62-46 lead at the intermission.

Derrick White and Marco Belinelli led a fourth-quarter surge as San Antonio rallied past visiting Atlanta.

White, who hit 10 of his 12 shots, finished with 23 points, and DeMar DeRozan went for 29, as the Spurs (45-33) kept pace with Oklahoma City (4533) in their duel for seventh place in the Western Conference.

The Spurs trailed by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter before rallying into the lead during a stretch in which White scored seven straight points.