Westbrook notches 99th triple-double for OKC
Blazer handle Heat for 10th straight win Bucks hand Grizzlies 18th consecutive loss Rocket top Spurs
Paul George and Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points apiece to help the Oklahoma City Thunder register a 106101 victory over the visiting Sacramento Kings on Monday night.
Russell Westbrook added 17 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his 99th career triple-double. Oscar Robertson (181), Magic Johnson (138) and Jason Kidd (107) are the only members of the century club.
Corey Brewer contributed 16 points for the Thunder, who shot 45.2 percent from the field and were 16-of-36 (44%) from three-point range.
Bogdan Bogdanovic recorded 19 points and eight rebounds for the Kings, who dropped to 1-17 all-time in Oklahoma City.
Justin Jackson and Garrett Temple scored 15 points apiece, De’Aaron Fox had 11 points and 10 assists and Zach Randolph scored 10 points.
The Kings shot 41 percent from the field and were 12-of-33 from long range (36%).
Sacramento scored 39 points in the third quarter after scoring 40 the entire first half.
Still, the Thunder led the entire period until the end when Temple hit a jumper with 5.4 seconds left to give the Kings a 79-78 lead.
Alex Abrines knocked down a three-pointer with 7:26 remaining in the final stanza to give Oklahoma City a 91-85 lead. He buried another one with 4:40 left to stretch the Thunder lead to 96-87.
Fox scored on a layup to bring the Kings within 98-92 with 3:46 to play. Westbrook responded with a jumper and then fed Jerami Grant for a dunk to make it a 10-point advantage with 2:48 remaining.
Temple’s three pulled Sacramento within 104-99 with 1:01 left and Bogdanovic added two free throws to make it a one-possession game with 23.7 seconds left.
But Brewer made two free throws with 17.2 seconds to go as the Thunder closed it out.
Trail Blazers 115, Heat 99
Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic led the way as Portland disposed of Miami at home.
Lillard collected 32 points and 10 assists while Nurkic contributed 27 points and 16 rebounds as the Trail Blazers ran their winning streak to 10 games. Portland has won 16 of its last 17 games at home.
Goran Dragic scored 23 points and Justise Winslow had 15 points and 13 boards for the Heat, who had won in four of their previous five and six of their previous eight outings.
Miami was without starting center Hassan Whiteside (hip) and sixth man Dwyane Wade (hamstring).
Five Blazers scored in double figures, including C.J. McCollum with 17 points, Evan Turner with 13 and Zach Collins with 10.
The Heat drew to within 93-87 after seven straight points by Winslow early in the final period. Tyler Johnson’s 3 made it 93-90 with 6:24 remaining.
The Blazers followed with five straight points for a 98-90 lead with 5:26 to go. Lillard drilled another three-pointer, and Portland was on top 104-95 with 3:31 left. Turner followed with another three for a 107-95 advantage with 2:54 to play. The Heat got no closer the rest of the way.
Bucks 121, Grizzlies 103
Khris Middleton’s 24 points led seven players in double figures as Milwaukee handed host Memphis their 18th straight loss.
Giannis Antetokounmpo added 20 points, six rebounds and four assists despite playing just 27 minutes because of foul trouble. Brandon Jennings came off the bench to score 16 points, Eric Bledsoe chipped in 14 and Tony Snell managed 12 points. John Henson netted 11 and rookie Sterling Brown hit for 10 points.
Marc Gasol tallied 17 points to lead six Memphis players in extra digits. Jarell Martin, reserve Ben McLemore and Dillon Brooks added 16 each. JaMychal Green scored 11 points and backup Deyonta Davis tallied 10.
The result boosted Milwaukee to 36-31, tying it with Miami for seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Thanks to their losing streak, the Grizzlies now own the NBA’s worst record at 18-49.
Memphis established an eight-point lead just 4:20 into the game when Martin sank a jumper, but the Bucks turned it around. They outscored the Grizzlies 23-9 for the quarter’s remainder and took a 32-24 advantage to the second quarter when Sterling Brown converted a driving layup with 4.5 seconds on the clock.
Rockets 109, Spurs 93
James Harden returned from a brief injury hiatus and scored a game-high 28 points as host Houston shorthanded San Antonio.
Although he missed 9-of-11 three-pointers, Harden compensated by shooting 14-for-14 at the free-throw line. He sat out the Rockets’ 23-point victory in Dallas on Sunday with a sore left knee.
The Rockets completed a grueling stretch of five games in seven days with a 4-1 record, their lone loss coming at Toronto last Friday. Houston moved two games ahead of the Golden State Warriors in the pursuit of home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.
Harden added six rebounds and six assists to his ledger. Chris Paul totaled 18 points and nine assists for the Rockets, who moved to 3-0 against the Spurs this season. San Antonio dropped all three games of its road trip and lost for the 11th time in 14 games to fall into a tie with the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets for the eighth spot in the West.
The Spurs were without Kawhi Leonard (right quad), LaMarcus Aldridge (right knee), and Manu Ginobili (rest).
They shot 40.7 percent and had just one starter score in double figures, with forward Rudy Gay tallying 13. Four reserves reached double figures for San Antonio as Derrick White and Bryn Forbes scored 14 points apiece while Tony Parker added 12 points and three assists. (Reuters)