WESTBROOK LIFTS THUNDER VS. LAKERS
Westbrook tallies 28th triple double, going 17, 18, 17 against Lakers DeMan DeRozan scores career-high 43 in leading Toronto over Boston Raptors erase 17-point lead to improve to 34-24, while Boston falls to 37-21
Russell Westbrook scored 17 points in his 28th triple-double of the season, and his new teammates fit in seamlessly as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 110-93 on Friday.
Westbrook also had 18 rebounds and 17 assists for the 65th triple-double of his career.
It was the first game for new Thunder players Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott, acquired Thursday in a trade with the Chicago Bulls. Gibson scored 12 points and McDermott added eight, even though they arrived Thursday night and weren’t even available for shootaround on Friday.
Alex Abrines and Andre Roberson each set a career high with 19 points, and Steven Adams added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder.
D’Angelo Russell scored 29 for the Lakers.
In Toronto, DeMar DeRozan scored a career-high 43 points and Toronto rallied from 17 down to beat Boston, 107-97.
DeRozan shot 15 of 28 from the floor as he surpassed his 42-point effort against Houston on March 30, 2015. That helped the Raptors overcome the absence of fellow All-Star guard Kyle Lowry, who sat out with a right wrist injury.
Serge Ibaka, acquired from Orlando last week, scored 15 points in his Raptors debut. Fellow newcomer P. J. Tucker, obtained from Phoenix on Thursday, had a game-high 10 rebounds and nine points in his first game for his new team.
Isaiah Thomas scored 20 for Boston, which also got 19 points apiece from Jae Crowder and Marcus Smart.
Down 91-88 with 4:11 to play, the Raptors went on a 9-1 run to lead by five with 2:01 to go.
In Atlanta, Tyler Johnson scored 23 points and resurgent Miami helped its playoff hopes by beating Atlanta, 108-90.
Miami (26-32) has won 15 of 17 to move to within four games of .500. /