Kevin Durant upstaged LeBron James to guide the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 103-87 win over the visiting Miami Heat on Sunday.
In a marquee match-up of two teams expected to challenge for the NBA title, Durant recorded 28 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Western Conference-leading Thunder (37-12).
Durant, being touted as a candidate for the most valuable player (MVP) award, was at his best in the second quarter, shouldering the scoring burden as All Star Russell Westbrook sat on the bench mired in foul trouble.
Photo: Reuters
Durant scored 11 in the quarter and pushed the Thunder to an 11-point halftime advantage.
While Durant clearly got the better of fellow MVP candidate James, who finished with 17 points and seven assists, the Thunder’s Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka provided enough defensive presence in the middle to stifle the Heat.
IBAKA FINISHED WITH 19 POINTS AND 10
rebounds and Perkins scored a season-high 16 points.
“We did a good job of locking the paint up and forcing them to shoot contested shots,” Durant told reporters. “They’re a really good team, they do a lot of good things, we just played hard tonight.”
Miami’s Dwyane Wade scored a team-high 22 points and Chris Bosh added 18, but the Heat (35-12) were on the back foot for most of the game.
The defeat ended their four-game win streak and leaves them 3.5 games behind Eastern -Conference-leading Chicago.
Miami made one last push to get back in the game in the fourth quarter with back-to-back three-pointers from Shane Battier reducing the deficit to eight, but the Thunder answered with a 9-2 run to make the game safe.
The Heat were sloppy in possession and had 21 turnovers for the game.
“Some of it was attack turnovers and some of it was careless turnovers,” James told reporters. “We started the game with a turnover and from there on we turned the ball over.”
HAWKS 139, JAZZ 133
It took four overtimes for the Atlanta Hawks to edge the Utah Jazz in the NBA’s longest game in nearly 15 years at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
In an exhausting battle between evenly matched teams, the Hawks and Jazz produced the league’s first quadruple-overtime game since November 1997, when Phoenix and Portland went the distance.
The longest game in NBA history was a six-overtime game between the Indianapolis Olympians and the Rochester Royals in 1951.
In Sunday’s 68-minute epic, Joe Johnson scored 37 points and made a game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds of double overtime to force another extra session.
“I think we will appreciate this win more than any other win during the season,” Atlanta’s Josh Smith told reporters after tallying 22 points and 10 rebounds. “It just shows the resilience and the toughness of this ball club.”
In all, Atlanta (30-20) had seven players in double-figures scoring as they jumped out to a 15-point halftime advantage only to let the lead slip away.
Led by a combined 53 points and 30 rebounds from big men Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap, the Jazz (26-23) clawed their way back and were in position to win down the stretch.
They led by five with about three minutes left in the second overtime, but failed to close, then fell victim to Johnson’s eight points in the final five-minute session.
SPURS 93, 76ERS 76
In San Antonio, Texas, Tony Parker scored 21 points as San Antonio beat Philadelphia in a matchup of short-handed teams.
DeJuan Blair added 19 points for the Spurs, who won for the seventh time in eight games and swept the season series with the 76ers despite being without Tim Duncan. With the Spurs playing three games in three nights, coach Gregg Popovich gave Duncan his second day off this season.
Elton Brand led the 76ers with 12 points and Jodie Meeks added 11.
CELTICS 88, WIZARDS 76
In Boston, Massachusetts, Avery Bradley scored a career-high 23 points, and Paul Pierce added 21 points and eight rebounds to help Boston beat Washington.
Boston were without guards Ray Allen (ankle) and Mickael Pietrus (head injury), but still had plenty to hold off the struggling Wizards.
Rajon Rondo had 11 assists, while Kevin Garnett finished with 10 points and six assists for the Celtics, who shot 22 for 34 (65 percent) in the first half. Boston led by as much as 25.
Jordan Crawford scored 20 points, and Kevin Seraphin had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Washington. John Wall added 12 points and nine assists.
TIMBERWOLVES 117, NUGGETS 100
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kevin Love followed up his 51-point game with 30 points and 21 rebounds to lead Minnesota over Denver.
Luke Ridnour had 25 points and six assists, and Wayne Ellington added 17 points for the Timberwolves, who have gone 3-6 since point guard Ricky Rubio was lost for the season on March 9 to a torn ACL in his left knee.
Kenneth Faried had 17 points, and JaVale McGee had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Denver.
Love had 51 points and 14 rebounds on Friday night in a double-overtime loss in Oklahoma City.
SUNS 108, CAVALIERS 83
In Cleveland, Ohio, Marcin Gortat and Markieff Morris scored 22 points each as Phoenix never trailed against Cleveland.
Steve Nash added 13 assists for the Suns, who have won six of eight to get back into the Western Conference playoff race. Phoenix trail Denver and Houston by 1.5 games in the race for the final playoff spot in the conference.
Rookie Kyrie Irving scored 16 points for Cleveland, who have lost six of seven.
Gortat scored the game’s first 10 points, including two dunks and three layups, to push Phoenix out to a 12-0 lead. Irving ended the drought with a three-pointer 8:21 into the game.
TRAIL BLAZERS 90, WARRIORS 87
In Portland, Oregon, Raymond Felton scored 24 points and LaMarcus Aldridge had 18, including a fadeaway jumper and two free throws that proved the difference in the final minute, leading Portland over Golden State.
David Lee’s tip-in gave the -Warriors an 87-86 lead before -Aldridge hit a jumper to put Portland in front with 39.9 seconds left. Aldridge followed with two free throws. Golden State rookie Charles Jenkins, who scored a career-high 27 points, missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer as the Warriors lost for the sixth time in eight games.
GRIZZLIES 102, LAKERS 96
In Los Angles, California, Rudy Gay scored 18 points and O.J. Mayo had 12 of his 16 in the fourth quarter, helping Memphis avoid a winless road trip by beating the Lakers.
Mike Conley added 13 points and Tony Allen had 12 for the Grizzlies, who squandered a 14-point third-quarter lead before pulling away in the fourth.
Andrew Bynum scored 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting to lead the Lakers. Kobe Bryant finished with 18 points after a slow start and Ramon Sessions also had 18 in his second start with Los Angeles. Pau Gasol had 16 points on just 4-of-15 shooting, while adding 14 rebounds.
Mayo accounted for all the points during a 7-0 run in the fourth, during which the Grizzlies took an 89-76 lead.
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