Westbrook scores 43 as Thunder down Suns
The Phoenix Suns have been real pests against Oklahoma City the past couple of seasons, beating the Thunder three straight times.
Russell Westbrook made sure it didn’t happen again.
The reigning MVP had 43 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 56 seconds to play, and the Thunder scored the final 10 points of the game to escape with a 124-116 victory over the Suns in Phoenix on Friday night.
“They always play us tough, especially here,” Westbrook said. “We stayed with it and made big plays down the stretch.”
Westbrook also had 14 rebounds and eight assists.
Phoenix guard Devin Booker scored 39 points, his career high for a home game. At 21 years, 123 days old, he became the thirdyoungest player in NBA history to reach 4,000 career points. Only LeBron James and Kevin Durant were younger.
Josh Jackson and T.J. Warren scored 19 apiece for the Suns. Elfrid Perry had 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Paul George scored 20 for Oklahoma City. Jazz Gobert and grabbed 116, scored Timberwolves 16 a rebounds, season-high 108: Donovan 26 Rudy points Mitchell Utah beat also Minnesota. scored 26 Jae points Crowder and host and Derrick Favors added 15 points apiece for the Jazz. Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points for the Timberwolves and Jeff Teague added 25 before being ejected for a flagrant foul on Ricky Rubio in Minnesota’s second straight loss. 76ers 110, Hornets 99: Joel Embiid had 23 points and 14 rebounds to help host Philadelphia pull away from Charlotte down the stretch. JJ Redick and newly signed Ersan Ilyasova scored clutch buckets in the final minutes to continue the Sixers’ late charge up the East standings. Kemba Walker scored 31 points and Frank Kaminsky 19 for the Hornets. Nuggets 108, Grizzlies 102: Gary Harris scored 26 points, hitting a key basket with just under a minute left, and the Nuggets weathered a fourthquarter rally to beat host Memphis. Will Barton added 24 points, and Paul Millsap scored 15 as Denver sent the Grizzlies to their 12th straight loss. Marc Gasol led Memphis with 22 points and nine rebounds. Magic 115, Pistons 106: Aaron Gordon had 27 points and 13 rebounds to help Orlando stop a seven-game losing streak with an overtime victory over visiting Detroit. Nikola Vucevic added 22 points and 12 rebounds, and D.J. Augustin had 20 points and nine assists for the Magic. Blake Griffin had 12 for the slumping Pistons, who have lost seven of nine. Raptors 102, Wizards 95: DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points and reserve CJ Miles added 20 to give visiting Toronto the win. Miles scored 11 points in the second half and was 6 of 9 from 3-point range, as the Raptors’ bench outscored the Wizards’ reserves 50-15. Otto Porter Jr. led Washington with 24 points. Pacers 103, Bucks 96: Victor Oladipo had 21 points, and Indiana nearly blew a 17-point lead in the middle of a mistake-laden fourth quarter before holding off host Milwaukee. The Bucks nearly stormed back from a 93-76 deficit with 6:34 left. But the Pacers held on for a key road victory against a fellow Eastern Conference playoff hopeful. Bulls 108, Mavericks 100: Bobby Portis scored 22 points and made three straight shots during the decisive run late in the fourth quarter to help Chicago roar back and beat visiting Dallas. Harrison Barnes scored 26 points and rookie Dennis Smith Jr. had 25 as Dallas lost for the 13th time in 16 games. Clippers Jordan had 128, 19 Knicks points and 105: 20 DeAndre rebounds, Lou Williams scored 21 points and host Los Angeles used a dominating third quarter to bury New York. The Knicks have lost three consecutive games and 11 of their last 12. Enes Kanter had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks.