Westbrook (49) equals Jordan feats

The Associated Press MASKED MAN: Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook wears a clear protective mask Wednesday night to shield an injury to his zygomatic arch. Westbrook set career highs with 49 points and 16 rebounds, adding 10 assists for his fourth consecutive triple-double as the Thunder beat the visiting Philadelphia 76ers 123-118 in overtime.
The Associated Press MASKED MAN: Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook wears a clear protective mask Wednesday night to shield an injury to his zygomatic arch. Westbrook set career highs with 49 points and 16 rebounds, adding 10 assists for his fourth consecutive triple-double as the Thunder beat the visiting Philadelphia 76ers 123-118 in overtime.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook set career highs with 49 points and 16 rebounds, and added 10 assists for his fourth consecutive triple-double, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Philadelphia 76ers 123-118 in overtime Wednesday night.

Westbrook became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1989 to have four consecutive triple-doubles, according to STATS, and the first since Jordan that year to have back-to-back triple-doubles with at least 40 points. Jordan had seven straight triple-doubles and 10 in an 11-game span in 1989 for Chicago.

It was the most points by any player with a triple-double since Larry Bird also had 49 in 1992.

Westbrook wore a mask and a headband after fracturing a bone in his right cheek Friday night against Portland. He had surgery Saturday and missed a game Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Isaiah Canaan had career highs of 31 points and eight 3-pointers, and Jason Richardson added 29 points for the 76ers.

Cavaliers 120, Raptors 112

TORONTO -- LeBron James scored 29 points and matched a season high with 14 assists, Kevin Love had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Cleveland held on to beat Toronto.

Kyrie Irving scored 26 points, J.R. Smith had 15 and James Jones 14 to help the Cavaliers win their second straight. They improved to 9-8 in the second game of back-to-backs.

Jonas Valanciunas had 26 points and 11 rebounds, Lou Williams scored 21 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, and DeMar DeRozan had 25 points for the Raptors. They lost for the sixth time in seven games.

James finished four rebounds shy of a triple-double.

Grizzlies 102, Rockets 100

HOUSTON -- Marc Gasol made a jumper with 0.1 seconds left to lift Memphis past Houston.

With the game tied, Gasol blocked James Harden's layup with 6.4 seconds left to give the Grizzlies the ball back for his winner. Gasol finished with 21 points.

Courtney Lee made a pair of free throws with about a minute remaining to give Memphis a 100-98 lead. Terrence Jones tied it with a hook shot seconds later, and Gasol missed on the other end to set up the final sequence.

The win extended the Grizzlies lead over second-place Houston in the Southwest Division and tied the season series at 2-2.

Jones had 21 points and Harden scored 18 in his return after a one-game suspension for kicking LeBron James on Sunday.

Pelicans 88, Pistons 85

NEW ORLEANS -- Anthony Davis had 39 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks in his first game back from a right shoulder sprain, and New Orleans won for the sixth time in seven games.

Davis hit two mid-range jumpers in the last 1:14, the second with 18 seconds left, to hold off Detroit in a frenetic game that was close throughout the second half.

In only his third season, Davis has a Pelicans career-record 437 blocks. His seventh of the game gave him the record, surpassing David West's mark of 435.

Tyreke Evans had 21 points and nine assists for New Orleans.

Jodie Meeks scored 20 points for Detroit.

Warriors 102, Bucks 93

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Stephen Curry shook off a rough shooting night to make three straight three-pointers early in the fourth quarter that helped the Golden State Warriors beat Milwaukee in their return from a season-high, six-game road trip.

Draymond Green had 23 points and 12 rebounds on his 25th birthday, Klay Thompson scored 17 and Shaun Livingston added 16 for the Warriors, who improved to an NBA-best 25-2 at home.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Michael Carter-Williams scored 16 points each for the Bucks, who have lost six of seven and went winless on a four-game trip.

After playing 10 of the previous 11 on the road, Golden State was locked in a close game until Curry found his shooting stroke in the fourth quarter. He finished with 19 points and 11 assists.

Blazers 98, Clippers 93, OT

LOS ANGELES -- Nicolas Batum hit a three-pointer that forced overtime, then set up three alley-oop baskets and added a clinching three in the final minute to rally Portland past Los Angeles.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 29 points and Batum added 20 for the Northwest Division leaders, who have won four straight after a 6-11 stretch that began with a 100-94 loss to the Clippers on Jan. 14 in Portland.

The Blazers trailed by 10 with 2:40 remaining in the fourth quarter. Batum tied it at 87 on a 3 with 25.1 seconds left.

Damian Lillard was 1 for 13 from the field, finishing with five points, five turnovers and a career-high 18 rebounds in 43 minutes. The third-year guard missed his first 12 shots before making a layup off a lob pass from Batum to give Portland a 91-89 edge with 3:04 left in overtime.

Chris Paul had 36 points and 12 assists for the Clippers, who played short-handed again without Blake Griffin (right elbow), Jamal Crawford (bruised calf) and Matt Barnes (right hamstring strain).

J.J. Redick scored 26 and DeAndre Jordan grabbed 19 rebounds.

Heat 100, Lakers 94

MIAMI (AP) -- Dwyane Wade scored 25 points and added six assists, Hassan Whiteside grabbed 25 rebounds and Miami rallied to beat Los Angeles.

Wade's last two assists set up Whiteside for crucial scores in the final moments. The Heat held on to the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race and posted two straight home wins for the first time in more than four months.

Goran Dragic scored 21 points and Whiteside finished with 18 for the Heat, who got 15 from Luol Deng and won for just the fifth time in 26 games when trailing at halftime.

Ed Davis had 14 points and 12 rebounds, Wayne Ellington scored 14 points and Jordan Hill had a 13-point, 10-rebound night for the Lakers.

Celtics 85, Jazz 84

BOSTON (AP) -- Tyler Zeller banked in a shot from under the basket as time expired to lift Boston past Utah.

After Boston blew an eight-point lead in the final 2 1/2 minutes, Marcus Smart made a long inbounds pass to Zeller under the basket. He banked it off the backboard with 0.1 seconds showing on the clock. It went through the net as the buzzer sounded and was upheld after a review.

Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 21 points, Jae Crowder had 18 and Avery Bradley added 13 points and seven rebounds to help the Celtics rebound from a 31-point loss in Cleveland on Tuesday night.

Gordon Hayward gave Utah the lead with 1.7 seconds left with a fallaway jumper from the right baseline. Derrick Favors and Trey Burke scored 16 points each for Utah.

Spurs 112, Kings 85

SAN ANTONIO -- Kawhi Leonard had 21 points and San Antonio punctuated its return from its nearly monthlong rodeo road trip with its largest home victory of the season.

Tony Parker added 19 points and three assists while guiding the Spurs to 53 percent shooting.

DeMarcus Cousins had 14 points for the Kings on 5-for-12 shooting.

Suns 105, Magic 100

ORLANDO, Fla.-- Brandon Knight had 28 points and seven assists in his best game for Phoenix, and the Suns overcame a 15-point deficit to beat Orlando.

Markief Morris added 23 points and six rebounds, and P.J. Tucker scored all 19 of his points in the second half to help Phoenix snap a two-game skid and improve to 4-10 in its last 14.

The Suns outscored the Magic 34-17 in the third quarter to take control.

Victor Oladipo led the Magic with a career-high 38 points. Nik Vucevic added 18 points.

Hornets 115, Nets 91

NEW YORK -- Al Jefferson and Gerald Henderson each scored 19 points, Marvin Williams had 18 and Charlotte routed Brooklyn in a key matchup in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Mo Williams added 14 points and a season-high 14 assists for the Hornets, who rode a blistering start to their third-straight win, breaking a tie with the Nets for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 10 points, his career-best seventh straight game in double figures, and 13 rebounds for Charlotte.

Deron Williams had 12 points for the Nets.

Pacers 105, Knicks 82

INDIANAPOLIS -- George Hill scored a season-high 21 points, and Rodney Stuckey had 17 to help Indiana rout New York.

The Pacers won their third straight, matching their longest winning streak of the season. And with nine wins in 11 games, Indiana also moved a little closer to the final playoff spot in the East.

Andrea Bargnani led New York with 25 points. The Knicks have lost 10 of their last 12.

Nuggets 100, T'wolves 85

MINNEAPOLIS -- Kenneth Faried had 18 points and 14 rebounds to help Denver win its second straight since firing coach Brian Shaw.

Will Barton scored 17 points off the bench and the Nuggets outscored Minnesota 52-28 in the paint to make interim coach Melvin Hunt 2-0 since taking over for Shaw. The Nuggets have won back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 14.

Andrew Wiggins scored 20 points for the Timberwolves.

Sports on 03/06/2015

Upcoming Events