Thunder top Rockets without Westbrook for seventh straight
OKLAHOMA CITY >> Paul George scored 20 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Houston Rockets 98-80 Thursday night without point guard Russell Westbrook for their seventh straight victory.
Westbrook missed his second consecutive game with a sprained left ankle. George also had 11 rebounds, six assists and six steals. The Thunder were 0-4 before the streak.
Steven Adams had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Terrance Ferguson and Dennis Schroder each added 14 points for Oklahoma City. All five Thunder starters scored in double figures before the end of the third quarter.
James Harden scored 19 points, but made just 7 of 19 shots for the Rockets. Clint Capela added 17 points for Houston, which had won three in a row.
Houston’s Carmelo Anthony, who played for the Thunder last season and was traded this summer, scored two points on 1-for-11 shooting. Chris Paul added
10 points.
The Thunder led 59-45 at halftime behind 53.8 percent shooting. In the second quarter, George made all five of his shots and scored 14 points. Oklahoma City held Paul and Anthony scoreless before the break.
CELTICS 116, SUNS 109 >> Kyrie Irving scored 18 of his season-high 39 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, and Boston rallied from a
22-point deficit for a win over Phoenix.
Irving scored Boston’s first six points in the extra period, and Marcus Morris finished with 17 against his former team — including the tying 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left in regulation off a pass from Irving.
Cavs have new injury, Hill out 2 weeks
CLEVELAND >> The Cavaliers are losing games and players at an alarming rate.
Starting point guard George Hill could miss two weeks with a sprained right shoulder, the latest setback for the Cavs, who have won just one game and are expected to be without AllStar forward Kevin Love for at least another five weeks following foot surgery.
Cleveland is also missing forward Sam Dekker, who sprained his ankle and is out for a month.
Hill was a late scratch before Wednesday night’s loss to Oklahoma City. The 32-yearold, who hurt his shoulder on the final possession of Monday’s loss in Orlando.