Basketball: Thunder beat Mavs, Warriors lose

Stephen Curry drives to the hoop for the Golden State Warriors as Will Barton defends him. Photo:...
Stephen Curry drives to the hoop for the Golden State Warriors as Will Barton defends him. Photo: Reuters

The Oklahoma City Thunder watched a 29-point fourth-quarter lead over the undermanned Dallas Mavericks whittled down to 14 before finally pulling away for a 108-89 victory at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

"It was a difficult game for everybody," Thunder center Enes Kanter said. "They rested their guys, but like I always say, we can't worry about what they're doing. We can only focus on what we do on the court and play basketball."

Kevin Durant scored 29 points to lead Oklahoma City. He shot nine of 14 from the field to go with 10 rebounds and four assists, while Serge Ibaka added 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Thunder improved to 28-12.

Playing without all five starters, the Mavericks were paced by JJ Barea, who had 18 points and six assists. Raymond Felton added 14 points on three of 11 shooting as the Mavs fell to 22-18.

Dallas coach Rick Carlisle liked the way his team competed under difficult circumstances and singled out Barea for praise.

"[Barea] is a walking breathing, stubborn, competitor. That's why he's been a really terrific 10-year player," added Carlisle. "He's not going to back down. The bigger the moment, the bigger the challenge, the more he is going to rise to it. I think we have a team of competitors."

It took a couple of minutes for Oklahoma City to get themselves interested when the game started. Without Dallas having their normal cast of rivals on the court for Durant, Ibaka and Russell Westbrook to focus on, they came out with a lackluster look.

But the mismatches quickly started to become apparent. Felton was forced to defend Durant, who scored 11 points in the opening quarter.

The Mavericks had no players to turn to in order to change the tide. Barea tried to provide the needed offense and keep the contest close.

However, midway through the second quarter, Barea got tangled up with Westbrook and started a shoving match between the two teams and several technical fouls were issued.

"It was a regular foul, then [Westbrook] threw his arm, and then it went a little crazy after that," Barea said. "I was there. I wasn't backing down. He started pushing, I started grabbing, he grabbed me."

The altercation just seemed to motivate Durant, who then hit a pair of three-pointers and threw down a dunk on rookie forward Justin Anderson.

The Barea-Westbrook feud flared up again late in the first half and Westbrook was hit with his second technical foul and ejected from game. However, the Thunder still led 65-42 at halftime.

"That's how Barea is. He's a chippy player," Durant said. "I mean, he has to be that way. He's the smallest guy in the league, one of the toughest guys in the league as well. So we knew he was going to try and add a little something to the game, but we did a good job keeping our heads."

With Devin Harris injuring his foot and Charlie Villanueva ejected with two technicals, Dallas were down to eight players in the second half. Even without Westbrook to keep Oklahoma City's offense humming, they were still too much for the shorthanded Mavs.

"We got it down by 29 and got it back to 12 or 14 and they had to bring their starters back in," Carlisle said. "You have got to just keep playing and they did and I am proud of the way that our guys competed."

Nuggets upset Warriors

Danilo Gallinari scored 28 points and had a key steal in the final 10 seconds as the Denver Nuggets handed the Golden State Warriors a rare defeat, 112-110.

Guard Will Barton finished with 21 points for the Nuggets (15-24).

The Warriors were without forward Draymond Green and missed his all round ability. Stephen Curry had 38 points on 13 of 25 shooting, but it wasn't enough to overhaul the Nuggets.

Wizards pull away to beat Bucks

John Wall scored 19 points and the Washington Wizards opened the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run and pulled away for their third straight win, a 106-101 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Ramon Sessions had 15 points for the Wizards (18-19), who blew a 19-point lead in the first half and trailed 74-71 entering the final period before pulling ahead of the turnover-plagued Bucks.

Washington, who turned 27 Milwaukee turnovers into 36 points, improved to 3-0 against the Bucks this season.

Nets win battle of New York

Thaddeus Young had 19 points and 11 rebounds and the Brooklyn Nets had six players post double figures as they ended a 10-game home losing streak with a 110-104 victory over the New York Knicks.

Young finished with his 19th double-double and reached double figures for the 35th time. He also thrived defensively against Knicks rookie forward Kristaps Porzingis.

Hornets snap losing streak

Kemba Walker scored 23 points before sitting out the entire fourth quarter and the Charlotte Hornets snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 107-84 blowout victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Walker was nine of 13 from the field and hit four three-pointers. He also had five assists.

Harden reaches 10,000 points in win

James Harden and Dwight Howard recorded double-doubles while Terrence Jones delivered a second consecutive strong effort off the bench as the Houston Rockets held off the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-104 at Toyota Center.

Harden, who reached 10,000 career points on a fourth-quarter free throw, paired 27 points with 11 assists, while Howard added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Houston (21-19) extended their winning streak to a season-best five games.

Celtics rally late to beat Pacers

Boston's Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson and Marcus Smart all scored off steals in a 1:40 span late in the fourth quarter as the Celtics ended on a 12-0 run to score a 103-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

The Celtics (20-19) blew an 11-point, third-quarter lead and then rallied from four points down late, finishing with a flourish.

Blazers silence the Jazz

Damian Lillard scored 21 points and handed out 10 assists despite sitting out the fourth quarter, and the Portland Trail Blazers rolled to a 99-85 victory over the Utah Jazz at the Moda Center.

CJ McCollum added 15 points and eight assists for the Blazers, who had six players score in double figures. Meyers Leonard and Gerald Henderson scored 12 points apiece, Allen Crabbe had 11 and Al-Farouq Aminu scored 10.

Pelicans beat Kings as Davis returns

Eric Gordon scored 24 points, and Anthony Davis returned to the lineup to score 24 and pull in 10 rebounds, as the New Orleans Pelicans crusied to a 109-97 victory over the Sacramento Kings at Sleep Train Arena.

Clippers cool the Heat

Despite playing without Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, the Los Angeles Clippers blitzed the Miami Heat 104-90 at Staples Center.

Cole Aldrich, who started in place of Jordan, scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Chris Paul had 15 points, 12 assists and six rebounds, sparking the Clippers to their 10th consecutive victory.

Add a Comment