(The Sports Xchange) – Forward Kevin Durant posted 28 points, eight assists and six rebounds, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 105-91 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at the Chesapeake Energy Arena Thursday night.
The game was a rematch of a contest last week in which a near-brawl led to two ejections. There was no such drama this time around as the Thunder (8-3) grabbed a lead early and never relinquished it to the Clippers (8-5).
Forward Blake Griffin paced the Clippers with 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Los Angeles guard Chris Paul contributed 17 points and 12 assists.
Thunder forward Serge Ibaka, who was thrown out of the previous match-up, finished with 17 points and five rebounds. Guard Russell Westbrook collected 12 points, six rebounds and five assists in the win.
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Nuggets 97, Bulls 87
Forward Jordan Hamilton came off the bench to score 17 points, forward J.J. Hickson had 14 points and nine rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Chicago Bulls 97-87.
Chicago guard Derrick Rose scored 19 points, just four in the second half, and forward Carlos Boozer added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls (6-4), who had their five-game winning streak snapped.
The Bulls suffered their fifth consecutive loss to Denver (5-6).
