Boos, Thunder don’t derail Durant in win

Warrior thrives in Oklahoma City return

OKLAHOMA CITY — After a roller-coaster of emotions surrounding his return to Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant was glad to come out with a win and move on.

Durant scored 34 points while being booed throughout the night, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Thunder 130-114 in a chippy game on Saturday.

It was Durant’s first game back since he left the Thunder after eight seasons in Oklahoma City to join the rival Warriors as a free agent last summer.

The crowd jeered him loudly during pregame warmups, starter introductions and whenever he touched the ball.

“Basketball is fun in general, especially in an environment like this,” Durant said. “The crowd was amazing. They were loud — as loud as I’ve ever heard them.”

Russell Westbrook did it all for the Thunder with 47 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. In the end, Golden State’s depth and balance were too much. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson both scored 26 points for the Warriors.

Emotions ran high throughout the game. At one instance in the third quarter, Durant and Westbrook yelled at each other as they walked toward their benches during a timeout.

Westbrook said too much attention has been paid to his relationship with Durant.

“I do think it doesn’t make sense,” Westbrook said. “It’s over with. He plays for his team; I play with my team. Let him do his thing, I do my thing, and that’s it, plain and simple.”

Later in the third quarter, Andre Roberson fouled Durant hard, and the two got in each other’s faces and were called for technical fouls.

Oklahoma City kept it close early, but the Warriors gained their footing late in the first quarter.

76ers 117, Heat 109 — At Philadelphia, Nerlens Noel, Robert Covington and Dario Saric each had 19 points to lead seven double-figure scorers for Philadelphia, which overcame Goran Dragic’s 30 points to halt Miami’s 13game win streak.

Bucks 116, Pacers 100 — At Indianapolis, Giannis Antetokoumpo had 20 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for Milwaukee, which took control with a 12-2 third-quarter run to deal Indiana its third straight loss.

Cavaliers 125, Nuggets 109 — At Cleveland, LeBron James had 27 points and 12 assists in 32 minutes for Cleveland, which opened the second half with an 18-0 run and won for the fifth time in six games.

Rockets 133, Suns 102 — At Houston, James Harden hit eight 3-pointers and totaled 40 points in three quarters for Houston, which led by 26 at halftime and was up 91-54 with nine minutes left in the third.

Mavericks 112, Magic 80 — At Dallas, Wesley Matthews scored 12 of his 20 points in the first quarter for Dallas, which won for the sixth time in eight games — including three victories over division leaders.

Clippers 107, Hornets 102 — At Charlotte, N.C., Blake Griffin had 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for Los Angeles, which handed Charlotte its ninth loss in its past 10 games.

Celtics 112, Jazz 104 — At Salt Lake City, Isaiah Thomas scored 29 points for Boston, which shot 59.2 percent and led by as many as 23 points in its ninth victory in 10 games.