OKLAHOMA CITY — Reggie Jackson scored a career-high 27 points, Kevin Durant added 21 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder halted their home-court swoon with a 119-96 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday night.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Reggie Jackson scored a career-high 27 points, Kevin Durant added 21 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder halted their home-court swoon with a 119-96 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday night.
Serge Ibaka added 17 points and 11 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which had lost three of its previous four home games after starting the season 13-0 at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Thunder (27-7) have the best record in the Western Conference.
Oklahoma City is 4-2 since All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook had arthroscopic knee surgery on Dec. 27.
Jeff Green and Avery Bradley scored 19 points apiece for Boston, which has lost four straight games and seven of its last eight.
Nuggets 137, Lakers 115
LOS ANGELES — Ty Lawson had 20 points and 12 assists, Timofey Mozgov added 20 points and seven rebounds, and Denver beat slumping Los Angeles for its second straight win after an eight-game skid.
Nate Robinson scored 21 points, while Wilson Chandler and Kenneth Faried added 17 apiece as the Nuggets dropped 77 points on the Lakers in the second half.
Denver emphatically earned a win for coach Brian Shaw in his first game back at Staples Center to face the Lakers as a head coach. The longtime Lakers guard and assistant coach was passed over for the top job in Los Angeles after Phil Jackson’s departure.
Pau Gasol had 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists amid another round of trade rumors with the injury-battered Lakers, who have lost seven of eight.
Knicks 92, Mavericks 80
DALLAS — Carmelo Anthony scored 15 of his 19 points in the first quarter to jump-start the New York’s victory over Dallas.
New York led by as many as 19 points and held off a second-half rally that pulled the Mavericks within six. The Knicks went 2-1 on a four-day trip through Texas.
Anthony scored six points during a 12-0 run in the first that gave the Knicks a 24-13 lead. He also had four rebounds, three assists and two steals in the quarter.
Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Mavericks, who lost their fourth consecutive home game.
Kenyon Martin scored six points in a 1:13 span early in the third quarter that gave New York a 58-39 lead. He had 10 of the Knicks’ 15 points in the quarter and finished with a season-high 14.
Pacers 82, Cavaliers 78
CLEVELAND — Paul George scored 16 points, Roy Hibbert made a putback and two free throws in the final 1:09 and Indiana held off Cleveland’s late rally for a win over the short-handed Cavaliers.
The Pacers led by 16 in the fourth before Dion Waiters brought Cleveland back by scoring 12 points in a 16-1 run that got the Cavs within 75-74 with 3:35 left. Hibbert’s free throw with 7.9 seconds left put the Pacers up 81-78, and Indiana got the ball back when Cleveland’s Earl Clark stepped out on an inbounds pass 1 second later.
David West made one free throw with 5.4 seconds left, and the Pacers escaped with their seventh win in eight games. At 27-6, Indiana has the NBA’s best record.
C.J. Miles scored 21 and Waiters had 14 for the Cavaliers, who played without All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving.
Heat 102, Raptors 97
MIAMI — LeBron James scored 30 points, Michael Beasley came off the bench to add 17 and Miami held on down the stretch to beat Toronto.
Dwyane Wade scored 14 points and Chris Bosh grabbed 11 rebounds for the Heat, who successfully overcame a deficit entering the fourth quarter for the seventh time in 13 tries. Miami was down by five entering the fourth, then opened the final period with a 7-0 run and never trailed again.
DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points on 11 for 19 shooting for Toronto, which was bidding for its first six-game winning streak since April 2007. Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas each scored 17 for the Raptors, who got 14 from Kyle Lowry.
Warriors 112, Wizards 96
WASHINGTON — Klay Thompson scored 26 points, Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut connected on a trick play worthy of the NBA’s slam dunk contest, and Golden State has its longest in-season winning streak since 1975 after a win over Washington.
The Warriors won their ninth in a row by turning the third quarter into a laugher, opening the period with a 30-5 run.
Curry and Thompson topped John Wall and Bradley Beal in the battle of the two highest-scoring backcourts in the NBA. Curry scored 14 points on 5-for-17 shooting, but the league’s most turnover-prone player had 10 assists and only two giveaways. Thompson was 9 for 14 from the field, including 6 for 9 from 3-point range.
Wall had 14 points and 10 assists, but he shot 4 for 11, including 1 for 5 in the crucial third quarter.
Grizzlies 112, Pistons 84
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Jon Leuer matched a career-high with 23 points, Zach Randolph had 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Memphis dominated the second half to beat Detroit.
Memphis had six players in double figures, including 15 from former Piston Tayshaun Prince.
Greg Monroe led Detroit with 19 points, while Andre Drummond added 15 points and 14 rebounds.
The Pistons lost their fourth straight and fifth in a row at home. They are now 4-10 after a 10-10 start to the season.
The Grizzlies continued to alternate wins and losses, going 3-2 in their last five without back-to-back victories or defeats.
Clippers: Paul out up to 6 weeks
LOS ANGELES — Chris Paul will be out of the lineup for up to six weeks with a separated right shoulder, but the All-Star point guard won’t need surgery.
The Clippers gave the prognosis Sunday after Paul had an MRI.
Paul was injured in the third quarter of the Clippers’ game at Dallas on Friday when he tripped over guard Monta Ellis.