Westbrook surpasses Wilt, sets triple-double record
OKLAHOMA CITY — Russell Westbrook set an NBA record with his 10th straight triple-double, Paul George scored 47 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Portland Trail Blazers 120-111 on Monday night.
Westbrook broke a tie with Wilt Chamberlain, who had nine straight triple-doubles in 1968, by finishing with 21 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. He clinched the record on an assist to George for a 3pointer with 3:52 remaining in the fourth quarter. It was his 23rd triple-double of the season and the 127th of his career.
George had 12 rebounds and 10 assists for the third triple-double of his career.
ROCKETS 120, MAVS 120
James Harden scored 31 points for his 30th straight 30-point game despite dealing with a shoulder injury, leading host Houston to a victory over Dallas.
Harden, who had eight rebounds and seven assists, seemed to be a bit slowed early by the strained left shoulder that he injured on Saturday against Oklahoma City, making just one of his first seven shots. But he warmed up after that and finished 9-of-23, capped by his sixth 3-pointer with less than a minute left to put him over 30 and keep the streak going. Fans chanted “MVP! MVP!” after he sunk the step back over Dorian Finney-Smith.
He’s now just one game from tying Wilt Chamberlain for the second-longest streak of 30-point games in NBA history. Chamberlain also holds the top 30-point game streak with 65 in a row.
RAPTORS 127, NETS 125
Kawhi Leonard banked home the tiebreaking basket with 4.2 seconds remaining, and Toronto edged visiting Brooklyn.
Leonard scored 30 points, and Serge Ibaka had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who have won eight straight home meetings with the Nets.
TIMBERWOLVES 130 CLIPPERS 120
Derrick Rose scored 22 points, and Jeff Teague added 19 to propel Minnesota to a win over visiting Los Angeles.
BUCKS 112, BULLS 99
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 29 points and had 17 rebounds, Eric Bledsoe added 19 points, and Milwaukee outlasted host Chicago.
CAVALIERS 107, KNICKS 104
Collin Sexton scored 20 points, and Cleveland held off a late rally and sent visiting New York to its franchise-record 17th consecutive loss.
PISTONS 121, WIZARDS 112
Andre Drummond had 32 points and 17 rebounds, and host Detroit beat Washington to extend its winning streak to four.
PACERS 99, HORNETS 90
Myles Turner scored 16 points, and Thaddeus Young added 11 points and eight rebounds to help host Indiana hold on for a victory over Charlotte.
NUGGETS 103, HEAT 87
Denver snapped a threegame losing streak with a win over visiting Miami behind 23 points and 12 rebounds from Nikola Jokic and 20 points from Malik Beasley.
LEAGUE TO INVESTIGATE
The NBA is going to investigate whether league rules were broken when Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons inquired about meeting with Los Angeles Lakers president Magic Johnson for playing tips.
League spokesman Mike Bass said Monday that the NBA will look at the matter. Johnson revealed over the weekend that Simmons expressed a desire to meet, through an intermediary, and indicated that he would be willing to partake in such a session with the 76ers’ starting point guard if all parties involved granted permission.
76ers general manager Elton Brand, however, told Philadelphia radio station WPEN that when the request was made about a month ago, he declined.
LIN TO JOIN RAPTORS
Atlanta Hawks guard Jeremy Lin finalized a contract buyout after being waived Monday and is expected to sign with the Toronto Raptors.