Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook stepped up in overtime to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 117-111 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
After the Clippers went on a fourth-quarter run to force overtime, Durant and Westbrook combined to score all 15 Thunder points in the extra session to keep last season’s Western Conference champions on top.
Durant finished with a game-high 35 points and Westbrook tallied 23 and nine assists for the Thunder (9-3).
“It was like a playoff game in November,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “Everybody laid it all on the line tonight. We did a really good job defensively and that’s not an easy thing to do against them.”
Los Angeles (8-3) entered the game having won six straight to shoot to the top of the conference, but they were playing catchup for most of the game in Oklahoma City and could not extend their streak.
Blake Griffin paced the visiting Clippers with 23 points and Jamal Crawford had 20 off the bench.
Chris Paul made just two of 14 shots, but the feisty point guard helped Los Angeles outscore Oklahoma City 33-26 in the fourth quarter to force overtime.
With the Clippers’ Caron Butler out with a shoulder injury, Matt Barnes figured prominently down the stretch on his way to scoring 19 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
He made a three-pointer to pull his team within two points before adding a layup to level the score at 102-102 in the final minute.
The Clippers lead the Pacific division, while the Thunder are three games clear in the Northwest.
ROCKETS 93, BULLS 89
In Houston, Texas, James Harden scored 28 points and Patrick Patterson added 20 as Houston beat Chicago to snap a three-game losing streak.
Nate Robinson scored 21 points for Chicago, Luol Deng added 19 and Carlos Boozer had 13 points and 15 rebounds. The Bulls have lost three in a row for the first time in Tom Thibodeau’s tenure as coach.
In other play, it was:
Heat 113, Bucks 106, OT
Kings 113, Lakers 97
Mavericks 114, Knicks 111
Nuggets 101, Timberwolves 94
Pacers 115, Hornets 107, OT
Hawks 101, Wizards 100, OT
Bobcats 98, Raptors 97
Cavaliers 92, 76ers 83
Spurs 112, Celtics 100
Suns 114, Trail Blazers 87
Magic 90, Pistons 74
Warriors 102, Nets 93
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Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday said that she hoped she would be able to play tennis under the Belarusian flag after the International Olympic Committee lifted its ban on the country’s athletes competing in the Olympics. World No. 1 Sabalenka has had to compete under a neutral banner as a consequence of her country’s support for Russia following its ally’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The IOC earlier on Thursday lifted its ban on Belarusian athletes competing in the Olympics, although restrictions on Russian athletes remain in place. Asked whether the women’s tour would drop the ban on her representing her country, Sabalenka said:
China’s Wu Yize on Monday won the World Snooker Championship for the first time with a dramatic 18-17 victory over Shaun Murphy in the final. Wu held his nerve to seal his thrilling triumph in a tense last frame shoot-out at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. The 22-year-old is the second Chinese player to win the world title after Zhao Xintong beat Mark Williams to make history as the first Asian to lift the trophy last year. Wu is also the second-youngest player to be crowned world champion at the Crucible after Stephen Hendry, who was 21 when he won in 1990. “I have been trying
Real Madrid announced on Friday they had fined Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde 500,000 euros (US$588,000) each after a training ground clash that saw Valverde transported for medical care. The club did not impose any sporting sanctions on the two players, saying in a statement that the fine “thereby concludes the internal procedures” launched against them. Valverde is going to miss today’s Clasico against Barcelona as a result of the head injury he suffered during the altercation. The club said he would be out for up to two weeks. Tchouameni took part in training on Friday and could feature at Camp
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