(The Sports Xchange) – – – No Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook? No problem for the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday night.
With Durant, who is leading the NBA in scoring at 31 points per game, nursing a bruised right shoulder and Westbrook out after knee surgery, the Thunder flashed the rest of their weapons and cruised to a 101-83 victory over the Boston Celtics.
The win was the sixth straight and seventh in the last eight games for the Thunder (34-10).
Forward Serge Ibaka had 21 points and seven rebounds and swingman Jeremy Lamb came off the bench with 19 points, six rebounds and three assists to lead the Thunder.
– – –
Knicks 125, Bobcats 96
The New York Knicks, with forward Carmelo Anthony scoring a career-high and franchise-record 62 points, finally won a game during their current eight-game homestand as they demolished the Charlotte Bobcats 125-96.
The Knicks (16-27) were able to snap their five-game losing streak, including the last three at the Garden, due mainly to Anthony.
The All-Star’s 62 points were the most points ever scored in the current edition of the Garden.
Anthony was torrid from the start as he notched the franchise’s single-quarter high with 20 points in the opening stanza, only to top that by finishing the first half with a league-best 37 points.
His performance broke small forward Bernard King’s mark of 60 points by a Knick and Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant’s record of 61 points by any player on the Garden floor.
– – –
Clippers 112, Bulls 95
Forward Blake Griffin tallied 26 points and 13 rebounds as the hot-shooting Los Angeles Clippers beat the Chicago Bulls 112-95.
The Clippers (30-15) knocked down 10 of their first 11 attempts from three-point range and the Bulls never got closer than eight points after falling behind 41-26 in the first quarter.
Guard Jamal Crawford added 19 points, guard J.J. Redick scored 18 and guard Darren Collison finished with 17. Forward Carlos Boozer led the Bulls (21-21) with 22 points.
– – –
Spurs 105, Hawks 79
San Antonio used the inside-out punch of center Tim Duncan and guard Patty Mills to prey on the injury-depleted Atlanta Hawks and take a 105-79 win.
The 6-foot-11 Duncan scored 17 points and had 16 rebounds for his 17th double-double and Australian Mills scored 18 points, including a career-best six three-pointers, as the Spurs swept the season series against Atlanta.
Atlanta (22-20) was led by forward Paul Millsap with 15 points and eight rebounds. San Antonio (33-10) also got 18 points from forward Boris Diaw and 11 points and seven assists from guard Tony Parker.
– – –
Grizzlies 88, Rockets 87
Houston Rockets forward Chandler Parsons set an NBA record for three-pointers in one half but the Memphis Grizzlies relied on their defense late and held on for an 88-87 victory.
Grizzlies forward James Johnson converted a reverse layup with 1:58 remaining to give Memphis (21-20) an 88-84 lead. Parsons followed with his 10th trey, setting the franchise record and capping his career-best 34-point night to close the deficit to one point.
But Parsons missed a three with 1:13 remaining as Houston mishandled several scoring opportunities, including a desperation Patrick Beverley trey at the buzzer.
– – –
Magic 114, Lakers 105
Forward Tobias Harris had 28 points and 20 rebounds, both season highs, to lead the Orlando Magic to a 114-105 victory over the struggling Los Angeles Lakers.
It was the 11th consecutive game the once-proud Lakers (16-28) have allowed at least 100 points.
They have lost nine of their last 11 games and it was just the second time this season the Magic (12-32) won when an opponent scored 100 or more.
Magic guard Arron Afflalo had 23 points while the Lakers were led by center Pau Gasol, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds.
– – –
Raptors 104, 76ers 95
DeMar DeRozan scored 34 points and Kyle Lowry had a triple-double as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 104-95.
Lowry, a Philadelphia native and Villanova University graduate, finished with 18 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors (22-20), who won their second straight and ended a four-game road losing streak.
Point guard Michael Carter-Williams had 20 points to lead Philadelphia (14-29), which lost for the fourth time in five games.
– – –
Pelicans 103, Pistons 101
Guard Eric Gordon’s layup in the final second gave the New Orleans Pelicans a 103-101 win over the Detroit Pistons.
Guard Anthony Morrow scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the Pelicans (17-25), who trailed by 16 late in the third quarter.
Gordon and guard Austin Rivers added 15 points apiece and forward Anthony Davis chipped in 14.
Point guard Brandon Jennings scored 22 of his game-high 28 points during the second half to carry the Pistons (17-26), who have lost eight of their last nine home games.
