Thunder sink 76ers for eighth win in row

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers aren’t even in the same conference, yet they played as though they were longtime rivals.

Russell Westbrook scored 37 points, Paul George added 31, and the host Thunder won 122-112 on Sunday night for their eighth straight victory.

The game was more intense than usual from the start, with a lot of extra trash talking and bumping. The teams combined for 51 fouls and 61 free throw attempts. It carried over from Oklahoma City’s triple-overtime victory in Philadelphia in December.

“Leading into this game, after a little talk after Game 1, I think to this game, I kind of was looking forward to it,” Westbrook said. “But you know — Oklahoma City 2-0.”

Westbrook made just six of 20 shots in the first half but was eight for 13 in the second half. He also had 14 assists and nine rebounds. Steven Adams added 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder.

Joel Embiid had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Ben Simmons added 22 points for the 76ers.

at Cleveland 121, Detroit 104: LeBron James had 25 points, 14 assists and narrowly missed his second straight triple-double for the Cavaliers, who won consecutive games for the first time since a fivegame streak Dec. 9-17. Tobias Harris and Anthony Tolliver each scored 20 points for the Pistons, who have lost eight straight.

at Houston 113, Phoenix 102: James Harden had 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who beat the Suns for the 14th time in their past 16 meetings, including seven straight. Harden fell two assists shy of his third triple-double of the season. Devin Booker kept the Suns close, scoring 21 of his 31 points in the second half.

at San Antonio 113, Sacramento,

98: Bryn Forbes scored a seasonhigh 23 points as the Spurs beat the Kings for the 13th straight time. Kings coach Dave Joerger left the game in the opening minutes after suffering a dizzy spell. A San Antonio official said Joerger was being kept in the locker room for precautionary reasons.

Milwaukee 110, Chicago 96: Joe Prunty improved to 3-0 as interim coach for the Bucks, who handed the Bulls their fourth straight loss. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 27 points.

Clippers 112, at New Orleans 103 at Toronto 123, Lakers 111