Durant Leads Thunder Past Grizzlies 86-77
Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant strengthened his claim to the MVP crown by leading the Thunder to an 86-77 win over Memphis on Monday, extending their home winning streak to seven games.
The Thunder also boosted their lead in the Northwest Division to four games as nearest rival Portland lost at Washington. Among other games, Denver beat the Los Angeles Clippers thanks to a Randy Foye 3-pointer on the buzzer, and San Antonio rallied from a big deficit and overran New Orleans.
Durant had 31 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, starting off February in the same kind of form he showed during a remarkable January in which he averaged 35.9 points per game.
Serge Ibaka had 21 points and 12 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which lost the Grizzlies in the playoffs last season.
Zach Randolph had 13 points and 13 rebounds for Memphis, which had won its previous six games.
Washington beat Portland 100-90 to improve to 24-23, boasting more wins than losses for the first time in four years.
John Wall scored 22 points, and Trevor Ariza added 20 for the Wizards, who committed six turnovers as opposed to 16 by Portland.
Damian Lillard scored 25 points for the Trail Blazers, who have lost four straight road games.
Denver's Randy Foye hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer to give the Nuggets a 116-115 win over the Clippers.
Kenneth Faried had a career-high 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets.
Blake Griffin came out on the losing end despite scoring 36 points. The Clippers are 0-11 when trailing after three quarters in road games.
San Antonio's Tony Parker scored 21 of his 32 points in the second half to lead the Spurs' comeback and a 102-95 win over New Orleans.
Tim Duncan scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half to aid the fightback, with San Antonio winning the last quarter 38-19.
Anthony Davis had 17 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks for the Pelicans.
Dallas handed Cleveland a fifth-successive defeat, winning 124-107 thanks chiefly to 23 points from Dirk Nowitzki.
Nowitzki was on the bench for most of a key third-quarter stretch as the Mavericks restored a double-digit advantage, led by Devin Harris, who finished with a season-high 16 points.
Kyrie Irving had 27 to lead the Cavaliers.
Miami's LeBron James came within two rebounds of his first triple-double this season, and led the Heat to a 102-96 victory over Detroit.
James had 24 points and 11 assists while Dwyane Wade scored 30 points for Miami, which has won five of six.
Wade had one of his best performances in an injury-hampered season, shooting 13 for 19 and adding 10 rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes.
Indiana retained the NBA's best record ahead of surging Oklahoma City by beating Orlando 98-79, with Danny Granger scoring 16 points.
Toronto's DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points to help the Raptors defeat Utah 94-79.
Sacramento ended a seven-game skid by cruising past a disappointing Chicago 99-70, with DeMarcus Cousins having 25 points and 16 rebounds.
Brooklyn's Paul Pierce scored 25 points as the Nets beat Philadelphia 108-102 to win a third straight.
Milwaukee ended a run of six consecutive defeats by beating New York 101-98, with Brandon Knight making a 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left.
Source: Associated Press
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