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Thunder Erase Early 18-Point Hole, Top Heat 112-95

Kevin Durant scored 33 points and Serge Ibaka added 22 as the Oklahoma City Thunder came back from 18 points down to beat the Miami Heat 112-95 on Wednesday for their ninth straight win.

Jeremy Lamb and Derek Fisher came off the bench to score a combined 33 more for the Thunder. 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 two-and-a-half quarters.

LeBron James scored 34 for the Heat, with Chris Bosh adding 18 and Dwyane Wade 15.

Philadelphia's Evan Turner sank a layup at the final buzzer to lift the 76ers past the Boston Celtics 95-94.

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.

At Milwaukee, Goran Dragic scored 30 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter despite sustaining an apparent injury to his left elbow, as the Phoenix Suns beat the Bucks 126-117.

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.

The Timberwolves beat the New Orleans Pelicans 88-77 after Kevin Love had 30 points and 14 rebounds to finally carry Minnesota over the .500 mark for the season.

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.

Kyle Lowry had a season-high 33 points and 11 assists for the Toronto Raptors in a 98-83 win over the Orlando Magic, while Chandler Parsons scored 26 points as the Houston Rockets beat a Texas rival for the second straight day without James Harden, 117-115 over the Mavericks.

In other games, the Charlotte Bobcats edged the Denver Nuggets 101-98, the Chicago Bulls downed the San Antonio Spurs 98-86, the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Sacramento Kings 99-89 and the Los Angeles Clippers were 110-103 winners over the Washington Wizards.

Source: Associated Press


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