NEW YORK: Forward Kevin Durant scored 30 of his game-high 37 points in the second half to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 113-107 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
The win ended a three-game losing streak for the Thunder.
After a slow start, Durant scored 17 points in the third quarter to help the Thunder (44-15) take a 87-71 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Grizzlies cut the lead to four with 3:33 left but after guard Mike Miller missed a layup that would have trimmed the deficit to two, Durant made them pay with a step-back jumper.
Memphis forward James Johnson answered with a three-pointer to make the score 105-102 though centre Marc Gasol missed an easy shot while Durant was guarding him and the Oklahoma forward then responded by slotting a corner jumper to push the Thunder advantage to five.
Thunder guard Russell Westbrook scored 21 points in 29 minutes.
Point guard Stephen Curry recorded his fourth career triple-double to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 126-103 win over the New York Knicks.
Curry scored 27 points and recorded 11 points and 11 assists in 30 minutes. He did not play in the fourth quarter as the Warriors led by as many as 20 points.
Curry sank five of the Warriors 13 three-pointers and leads the league in three-pointers this season with 193.
Shooting guard Klay Thompson scored 25 points for Golden State while the Knicks were led by 23 points from forward Carmelo Anthony.
Forward Tim Duncan scored 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 92-82 win over the Charlotte Bobcats.
Duncan, who had four points at halftime, was six of 12 from the field in 33 minutes.
Guard Manu Ginobili scored 15, while guards Patty Mills and Marco Belinelli both had 14 for San Antonio.
Tied at 80-80 with 2:48 left, the Spurs went on a 12-2 run to seal the game. Forward Al Jefferson led Charlotte (27-31) with 20 points.
The Chicago Bulls shut down the Dallas Mavericks’ high-powered offence after the first quarter and clawed back from a 16-point deficit to win 100-91.
The Bulls (32-26) won for the eighth time in nine games and snapped the Mavericks’ four-game win streak.
Dallas (36-24) raced to a 15-point lead in the first quarter, scoring 32 points before Chicago buckled down, allowing 22 points in the second quarter, 22 in the third and just nine through the first 10:56 of the fourth quarter.
The Bulls were led by forward Taj Gibson’s 20 points and 15 rebounds.
All-Star Kyrie Irving posted his first career triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 99-79 victory over the Utah Jazz.
Forwards Luol Deng and Tristan Thompson both had 16 points for the Cavs while Thompson pulled down 12 rebounds for his 29th double-double of the season.
Guard Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Jordan Farmar led a barrage of three-point shots and scored a career-high 30 points as the Los Angeles Lakers overcame the Sacramento Kings 126-122 at the Staples Center in a battle of two teams at the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
Forward Rudy Gay led the Kings (20-38) with 30 points and forward Derrick Williams added 26, but it was not enough to stop Farmar and the Lakers (20-39) from snapping a three-game losing streak.
Forward MarShon Brooks scored 23 points and guard Jodie Meeks and centre Pau Gasol had 22 each for the Lakers.
Phoenix guard Goran Dragic set a career-high for the fourth time in his last 13 games with 40 points and the Suns rallied from a 10-point deficit in the third quarter and used a 17-1 run in the fourth to outlast the New Orleans Pelicans 116-104.
Dragic hit 14-of-21 shots from the floor and added five assists as the Suns moved 1 1/2 games ahead of Memphis for the final play-off spot in the Western Conference.
Forward Anthony Davis scored 30 points and guard Eric Gordon added 21 for the Pelicans, who lost their sixth straight game.
REUTERS
