Lillard too tough for Pelicans

Damian Lillard scored 33 points, getting up from a vicious Kendrick Perkins forearm to help the visiting Trail Blazers recover from a blown 20- point lead and finish off a feisty Pelicans squad 117- 112 on Friday night.

New Orleans nearly pulled off what would have been its largest comeback this season while Anthony Davis sat out the second half with an injury coach Alvin Gentry called “just a sore left knee.”

The Pelicans then lost Perkins when he was ejected for leveling Lillard.

“I’m from Oakland,” Lillard said. “I’ve been punched before. I’ve been tackled before. It was a cheap play, but to me it didn’t feel as bad as it might have looked.”

Thunder 111, 76ers 97: Russell Westbrook recorded his leagueleading 13th triple- double with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, and Kevin Durant had 26 points and 13 boards to lead visiting Oklahoma City. Westbrook’s 13 triple- doubles tie Grant Hill ( 1996- 97) and Jason Kidd ( 2007- 08) for most in a season over the past 25 years.

Cavaliers 109, Magic 103: Kyrie Irving scored 26 points and LeBron James had 18 as visiting Cleveland beat the Magic for the 14th consecutive time. Channing Frye came off the bench to make four threepointers and score 14 against his old team. Victor Oladipo had a career- high 45 points for Orlando, but scored only six in the fourth quarter.

Pistons 115, Kings 108: Marcus Morris scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half and Kentavious Caldwell- Pope made a couple of big threepointers in the fourth quarter as host Detroit pulled into a virtual tie with Chicago for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. DeMarcus Cousins had 31 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento.

Rockets 116, Timberwolves 111: James Harden had 29 points and 14 assists as host Houston bounced back from a blowout loss to the Clippers. Karl- Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 32 points and 11 rebounds.

Raptors 105, Celtics 91: Kyle Lowry scored 32 points, and Luis Scola had all of his 17 in the first quarter for visiting Toronto. Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points for host Boston.

Suns 95, Lakers 90: Brandon Knight scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter after visiting Phoenix nearly blew a 19- point lead.