This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
THUNDER 112, HEAT 95
MIAMI • Kevin Durant scored 33 points, Serge Ibaka added 22 and the Oklahoma City Thunder erased an 18-point early deficit on the way to overwhelming the Miami Heat 112-95 on Wednesday night.
Jeremy Lamb and Derek Fisher came off the bench to score a combined 33 more for the Thunder, who have now won nine straight. Durant scored at least 30 points for the 12th straight game, matching the league's longest such streak since Tracy McGrady did it in 14 consecutive outings in the 2002-03 season.
Miami led 22-4, and then got outscored 87-53 in the next 2½ quarters.
LeBron James scored 34 for the Heat, with Chris Bosh adding 18 and Dwyane Wade 15.
—
76ERS 95, CELTICS 94
BOSTON • Evan Turner sank a layup at the buzzer to lift Philadelphia past Boston.
The 76ers rebounded the ball after Kris Humphries missed a jumper with 12 seconds left. They hurried upcourt and Turner released his shot just in time to give the 76ers only their third win in 13 games.
The Celtics lost for the 19th time in 22 games and dropped behind the 76ers in the standings by one game.
Spencer Hawes led Philadelphia with 20 points and tied his career high with four 3-pointers. Turner had 16 points and eight assists and Thaddeus Young added 16 points.
Jared Sullinger led Boston with 24 points and 17 rebounds and Jeff Green had 18 points, but just five after the first quarter.
—
SUNS 126, BUCKS 117
MILWAUKEE • Goran Dragic scored 30 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter despite sustaining an apparent injury to his left elbow, and Phoenix beat Milwaukee.
Gerald Green scored 23 and Marcus Morris had 16 points off the bench for the Suns, who have won the first three games of a four-game road trip.
Dragic hit the floor hard after a late foul by Larry Sanders, but was able to stay in the game — and keep scoring. But he was on the bench with a wrap on his left elbow in the closing minutes, and was escorted to the locker room with 52 seconds remaining.
Ersan Ilyasova scored 27 points and Brandon Knight added 24 for the Bucks, who have only one win in January.
—
TIMBERWOLVES 88, PELICANS 77
MINNEAPOLIS • Kevin Love had 30 points and 14 rebounds to finally carry Minnesota over the .500 mark.
Kevin Martin added 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting and six boards for the Timberwolves in their first game without center Nikola Pekovic, who is expected to miss at least a week with bursitis in his right ankle. They still managed to get over .500 after failing in their previous 10 chances to do so.
Al-Farouq Aminu had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Pelicans, who were missing star forward Anthony Davis with a dislocated left index finger. They shot just 35 percent and managed a season-low 35 points in the first half to snap a three-game winning streak.
—
RAPTORS 98, MAGIC 83
TORONTO • Kyle Lowry had a season-high 33 points and 11 assists, Amir Johnson had 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead Toronto past Orlando for the fifth straight time.
Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 15 rebounds and Terrence Ross scored 12 as the Raptors, who never trailed, won for the fourth time in five games.
Lowry, who had seven rebounds, matched his season best with six 3-pointers. He came within three points of matching his career-high of 36, set Feb. 16, 2011, against Philadelphia, when he played for Houston.
Lowry also topped 30 points in back-to-back games for the first time.
—
ROCKETS 117, MAVERICKS 115
DALLAS • Chandler Parsons scored 26 points and Houston knocking off a Texas rival for the second straight day without James Harden.
Seven Rockets players scored in double figures on a night when they had just 10 players in uniform. Dwight Howard had 21 points, and Jeremy Lin had 18 and seven assists.
The Mavericks cut a 12-point deficit with 4:08 remaining to just two and had a chance to win, but Jose Calderon missed a pair of 3-point tries in the final seconds.
Dirk Nowitzki had 38 points and a season-high 17 rebounds, but was the only Dallas starter in double figures.
—
BOBCATS 101, NUGGETS 98
DENVER • Al Jefferson matched a season high with 35 points, including a key basket in the final seconds, to lead Charlotte.
Jefferson, who has scored 20 points or more in 10 straight games, also had 11 rebounds for his 14th double-double in his last 22 games.
Gerald Henderson and Ramon Sessions each added 16 points for the Bobcats who beat the Nuggets in Denver for only the second time in eight games here.
Randy Foye scored 33 points to lead Denver, which was without leading scorer Ty Lawson (left shoulder). His replacement, Nate Robinson, was knocked out of the game in the first quarter with a left knee sprain.
—
BULLS 96, SPURS 86
SAN ANTONIO • Jimmy Butler had 19 points and Carlos Boozer added 16 points and 12 rebounds as Chicago handed injury-riddled San Antonio its third straight loss.
D.J. Augustin and Taj Gibson added 15 points each and Joakim Noah had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago.
Tony Parker had 20 points and Tim Duncan had 17 points and 12 rebounds for San Antonio, which hadn't lost back-to-back games until this current skid.
The Spurs were without Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Tiago Splitter. It led to a disjointed and inconsistent offense for San Antonio.
—
GRIZZLIES 99, KINGS 89
SACRAMENTO, Calif. • Mike Conley had 27 points and 10 assists as Memphis won its fourth straight.
The Grizzlies took the lead for good in the third quarter and never trailed again in winning for the ninth time in 10 games. They were coming off an impressive 98-81 victory Tuesday night in Portland where they held the NBA's highest scoring team to 34.5 percent shooting.
Isaiah Thomas scored 24 points and Rudy Gay had 23 for the Kings, who have lost five straight and seven of eight.
DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings' leading scorer and rebounder, missed his fourth straight game with an ankle sprain.
—
CLIPPERS 110, WIZARDS 103
LOS ANGELES • Blake Griffin led five players in double figures with 29 points, and Los Angeles won its fourth straight.
Back home for the first time after going 5-2 on their Grammy road trip, the Clippers improved to 19-3 at Staples Center this season.
Jamal Crawford added 21 points, including two 3-pointers from 29 and 33 feet, and DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 17 rebounds for the Clippers, who beat the Wizards for the sixth straight time at home. Darren Collison scored 16 points to help the team improve to 11-3 without the injured Chris Paul.
Bradley Beal scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth, and John Wall had 19 points and 11 assists for Washington.