(The Sports Xchange) – Highlights of Wednesday’s National Basketball Association games:
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Thunder 112, Heat 95
Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant scored 33 points to lead the Thunder past the Miami Heat, who received 34 points from forward LeBron James.
Durant enjoyed his 12th consecutive game with 30 or more points, the third longest streak in the NBA in the past 30 years, trailing only runs by Kobe Bryant (16) and Tracy McGrady (14).
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Rockets 117, Mavericks 115
Chandler Parsons scored 26 points and the Houston Rockets escaped a late charge by the Dallas Mavericks for a victory.
Despite playing without leading scorer James Harden (bruised left thumb), the Rockets persevered to spoil Dirk Nowitzki’s 38-point, 17-rebound performance.
Dallas trailed by 12 with about four minutes to go, but trimmed the lead down and had a chance to win it as Jose Calderon’s three-pointer misfired at the buzzer.
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Suns 126, Bucks 117
Goran Dragic scored a game-high 30 points as the Phoenix Suns beat the struggling Milwaukee Bucks.
Gerald Green added 23 points for the Suns while the league-worst Bucks fell to 8-37.
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Timberwolves 88, Pelicans 77
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love notched 30 points and 14 rebounds to guide the Wolves to victory over New Orleans.
Kevin Martin added 18 for Minnesota while the Pelicans played without leading scorer and rebounder Anthony Davis who was out with an injured finger.
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Raptors 98, Magic 83
Kyle Lowry scored a season-best 33 points and added 11 assists and seven rebounds as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Orlando Magic.
Amir Johnson added 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Raptors while Orlando got 16 points and 10 rebounds from Nikola Vucevic.
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76ers 95, Celtics 94
Evan Turner hit a shot at the buzzer as the Philadelphia rallied from an eight-point deficit to beat the Boston Celtics.
Turner finished with 16 points and center Spencer Hawes had 20 for Philadelphia, while Jared Sullinger recorded 24 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Celtics.
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Bulls 96, Spurs 86
Jimmy Butler scored 19 points, while forward Carlos Boozer had 16 points and 12 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls snapped a two-game losing streak by defeating the San Antonio Spurs.
All starters scored in double figures for the Bulls (23-22). Tony Parker led San Antonio (33-13) with 20 points as the Spurs’ losing streak reached three games.
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Clippers 110, Wizards 103
Blake Griffin scored 29 points, and the Los Angeles Clippers held off the Washington Wizards for their fourth victory in a row.
Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick scored 21 and 20 points respectively for Los Angeles (33-15). Bradley Beal led Washington (22-23) with 20 points.
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Grizzlies 99, Kings 89
Mike Conley scored 27 points and added 10 assists as the Grizzlies used a late run to put away the Sacramento Kings.
Memphis (24-20) earned their fourth consecutive victory and ninth in the past 10 games.
Isaiah Thomas returned from an illness to score 24 points to lead Sacramento (15-30), who lost their fourth game in a row.
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Bobcats 101, Nuggets 98
Al Jefferson had 35 points and 11 rebounds, guards Gerald Henderson and Ramon Sessions scored 16 apiece, and the Charlotte Bobcats beat the short-handed Denver Nuggets.
Randy Foye scored a season-high 33 points for the Nuggets (22-22), who played without injured guard Ty Lawson and also lost Nate Robinson to a sprained left knee.
