Westbrook bags sixth straight triple-double; Cavaliers snap losing streak

LOS ANGELES — Russell Westbrook motored to his sixth straight tripledouble on Monday as the Oklahoma City Thunder squeezed past the Atlanta Hawks 102-99.

Westbrook moved to within one game of equalling Michael Jordan’s seven consecutive triples in 1989 when he secured his 10th assist midway through the third quarter.

Westbrook eventually finished with 32 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists as the Thunder improved to 14-8.

The 28-year- old is now three away from matching the legendary Wilt Chamberlain’s all-time record of nine consecutive triple-doubles set in 1968.

Westbrook has compiled 11 tripledoubles so far this season — the same number as the rest of the NBA combined.

The Thunder were left grateful for Westbrook’s steadying influence after they fought off a late Atlanta rally on Monday.

The Hawks had suffered blowout defeats in their previous two games, losing by 36 and 44 points.

However, they fought back from 15 points down to move within three at 9087 midway through the fourth quarter.

Westbrook reasserted control with seven unanswered points before adding two free throws with 1: 18 remaining to put Oklahoma City into a winning position.

Hawks star Paul Millsap topscored for the hosts with 24 points while Dennis Schroder had 17 points and eight assists. Kyle Korver appeared from the bench to chip in with 15 points.

Anthony Morrow scored 15 points and Victor Oladipo 14 for the Thunder, while Kiwi Steven Adams added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

CAVS HOLD OFF RAPTORS

LeBron James scored 34 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped their threegame losing streak with a battling 116-112 win over the Toronto Raptors on Monday.

James led the scoring for the Cavs, who also saw Kevin Love pour on 28 points with 14 rebounds as the Raptors’s six-game winning streak came to an end.

The Cavs had looked to be easing to victory after opening up a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter.

But a determined Raptors fightback, which saw them move to within four with two seconds left, ensured the game went down to the wire after Kyle Lowry’s three free throws.

Kyrie Irving, meanwhile, scored 24 points and Channing Frye contributed 10 off the bench for Cleveland.

DeMar DeRozan topped Toronto’s scorers with 31 points while Lowry finished with 24 points and nine assists.

The win saw the Cavaliers improve to 14-5 in the overall Eastern Conference race, ahead of Toronto (14-7) and Boston (12-9). —