Westbrook, Thunder hold on to win Game 3
OKLAHOMA CITY — Russell Westbrook scored 32 points in a triple-double, and the Oklahoma City Thunder held off the Houston Rockets 115-113 on Friday night to cut their deficit to 2-1 in the firstround Western Conference playoff series.
James Harden scored 44 points for Houston, but he missed a 3-pointer that could have won the game just before time expired.
Westbrook also had 13 rebounds and 11 assists. It was his second straight triple-double and the seventh playoff triple-double of his career. Taj Gibson added 20 points and Andre Roberson and Victor Oladipo each scored 12 for the Thunder, who shot 55 percent from the field.
CELTICS 104, BULLS 87: In Chicago, Al Horford had 18 points and eight rebounds, Isaiah Thomas scored 16 points, and top-seeded Boston beat Chicago after dropping the first two games of their openinground series at home.
The Celtics pulled away after a 20-point lead shrunk to one early in the third quarter and put themselves in position to tie a series that was in danger of slipping away from them. Game 4 is Sunday in Chicago.
Dwyane Wade scored 18 for Chicago. Jimmy Butler had 14 points on 7-of-21 shooting, and the offense simply didn’t click the way it had been, with Rajon Rondo out indefinitely with a broken right thumb. Chicago committed 18 turnovers. CLIPPERS 111, JAZZ 106: In Salt Lake City, Chris Paul scored 34 points and Los Angeles rallied for a victory over Utah to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.
The Jazz led most of the game before Paul took over in the fourth quarter and powered a 15-0 run that gave the Clippers a 103-96 lead with 2:09 remaining.
The win negated a spectacular night from Gordon Hayward, who scored a career-high 40 points.
Note
WARRIORS: Kevin Durant went through the team’s entire Friday practice in the Bay Area, boarded their afternoon flight and is hopeful for a Game 3 return in Portland tonight. But the Warriors are still listing him as questionable with that minor calf ‘twinge’ and preaching caution.