Westbrook, OKC snap Raptors’ 11-game streak
Blazers blitz Clippers for 13th consecutive victory. Big second half lifts Pelicans past shorthanded Celtics
Russell Westbrook capped his 23rd triple-double of 37 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds by hitting the tiebreaking layup with 39.7 seconds remaining as the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped the Toronto Raptors’ team-record 11-game winning streak with a hotly contested 132-125 victory Sunday evening at Air Canada Centre.
Westbrook posted his 102nd career triple-double and fifth straight triple-double. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Westbrook joined Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson as the only players with three instances of five straight games with a triple-double.
In a game that featured 25 lead changes and 20 ties, Westbrook snapped a 125125 deadlock and then added a 16-foot pull-up with 11.7 seconds left.
Westbrook’s final points occurred after DeMar DeRozan missed a layup with 30 seconds left on a play when the Toronto guard thought he was fouled by Corey Brewer.
The game featured 49 fouls and 57 free throws, and in the final minutes, DeRozan was ejected along with Toronto coach Dwane Casey and former Thunder forward Serge Ibaka. DeRozan was tossed by Mark Davis for continuing to argue about being fouled by Brewer and Ibaka was tossed by Davis shortly after getting a questionable foul after getting pushed to the ground while going by Steven Adams for a rebound during a free throw with 1:09 remaining.
Casey was tossed by Haywoode Workman, though it appeared the official thought a fan’s comments were made by Casey, which resulted in the coach laughing as he walked off the court.
The game ended with the officials being escorted off the court by multiple security guards.
Adams added 25 points while Paul George worked around foul trouble and added 22 points as the Thunder won their sixth straight game.
DeRozan scored 24 points for the Raptors, who took their first loss since an overtime defeat against Milwaukee on February 23. Kyle Lowry added 22 before fouling out for the second time this season.
Oklahoma City held a one-point lead when Westbrook returned with about eight minutes left.
He scored 17 points after returning and notched his latest triple-double with a spectacular individual effort by getting the offensive rebound of a missed three-pointer by Anthony, missing his initial putback, getting another rebound and scoring on another putback with 4:35 remaining for a 118-117 lead.
The eventful fourth occurred after DeRozan gave Toronto a 98-97 lead through three with a 23-foot pull-up jumper with eight-tenths of a second left. DeRozan’s shot occurred after George gave Oklahoma City a 66-64 halftime lead with a jumper with one second left.
Trail Blazers 122, Clippers 109
Portland continued its dominance with a road victory over Los Angeles for its 13th consecutive win.
Damian Lillard scored 23 points and C.J. McCollum added 21 for the Trail Blazers. Portland owns its longest win streak since a 13-game run early in the 2007-08 season.
Lou Williams went for 30 points and Montrezl Harrell chipped in 24 off the bench for the Clippers, who have lost three in a row.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Blazers. Moe Harkless scored 21 points, Jusuf Nurkic had 17 points along with 12 rebounds and four blocked shots, and Al-Farouq Aminu collected 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
The Blazers made 50 percent of their shots from the floor while limiting the Clippers to 44.9 percent shooting. Portland made 14-of-29 attempts (48%) from three-point range while Los Angeles was 9-of-23 (39%) from beyond the arc.
Harkless scored 14 points and Lillard had 12 to stake the Blazers to a 58-52 lead at intermission. Williams had 13 points – all in the second quarter – at the break.
Portland outscored the Clippers 20-10 to start the third quarter to increase its advantage to 78-62. Los Angeles rallied with a 9-0 tear to cut the difference to 78-71. The Blazers answered with a 10-3 run to go on top 88-74.
The Clippers came back with seven straight points to make it 88-81, but Lillard hit three consecutive free throws as the Blazers carried a 91-81 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Blazers extended their edge to 105-89 early in the final period. The Clippers got no closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
Pelicans 108, Celtics 89
Anthony Davis had 34 points and 11 rebounds as host New Orleans overcame a slow start and routed Boston.
Cheick Diallo added a season-high 17 points, and Nikola Mirotic had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Pelicans, who had lost four of their previous five games.
The Celtics led by two at halftime, but the Pelicans started the third quarter with an 11-3 run to take a 58-52 lead.
Five Celtics were sidelined by injury, including Kyrie Irving, who missed his third straight game because of left knee soreness, and Marcus Smart, who missed his third straight game because of a sprained right thumb.
Jayson Tatum scored 23 points, Marcus Morris added 17, Terry Rozier had 13 and Greg Monroe 12 for Boston in defeat.
Rockets 129, Timberwolves 120
James Harden buried a three-pointer inside the final minute, and visiting Houston completed a season sweep of Minnesota.
The Timberwolves roared back from a 25-point deficit, pulling within five points. However, Harden, who totaled 34 points and 12 assists, helped the Rockets hang on.
Karl-Anthony Towns paired 20 points with 18 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost five of seven games.
Chris Paul had 18 points and nine assists, and Clint Capela added 16 points, 12 boards and three blocks. Houston hit just 5-of-16 threes in the second half, but Trevor Ariza (11 points) and Harden delivered when needed down the stretch to propel the Rockets.