Kevin Durant extended his impressive scoring streak with another 25-point haul as the Oklahoma City Thunder won for the seventh time in a row, a 99-86 triumph over the revamped Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.
Fresh from participating in his first All-Star game, Durant racked up 25 points for a 26th straight game, the longest such run since Allen Iverson completed the feat for 27 successive games in the 2000-2001 season.
The third-year forward topped the scorers despite shooting a mediocre nine-for-28 from the field, but also contributed a game-high 14 rebounds.
“My teammates did a great job of picking me up when my shots weren’t falling,” Durant told reporters. “The important thing is we got the win.”
The Thunder spoiled the debut of the new Dallas acquisitions after the Mavericks traded for high-scoring forward Caron Butler, center Brendan Haywood and reserve DeShawn Stevenson during the All-Star weekend.
The reinforcements, however, could not prevent the Mavericks (32-21) suffering a sixth loss in their last eight games.
Butler made just four-of-16 shots and had 13 points, while Dirk Nowitzki paced Dallas with 24. As a team, the Mavericks shot a season-low 32 percent and were never in contention once they fell behind in the second half.
“We didn’t make shots,” Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd said. “I think we started pressing. It just didn’t work out.”
Oklahoma City surged ahead in the third quarter by scoring 14 straight points to pull ahead 73-59, a lead that swelled to 17 early in the fourth.
Point guard Russell Westbrook recorded 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds to go with 17 each from forward Jeff Green and reserve James Harden.
The Thunder started slowly and were 10 points adrift after the first quarter, but erupted for 40 points in the second to take a 56-54 halftime advantage.
After under-achieving for several years, the youthful squad is in the thick of the Western Conference playoff mix, while extending their longest winning streak since 2004, when the franchise was located in Seattle.
Meanwhile, Mavericks center Erick Dampier exited the game with less than three minutes left because of a dislocated finger that could force him out for several games.
His absence will put extra pressure on new big man Haywood, who had seven points and six rebounds in his first outing with Dallas.
■HEAT 105, SIXERS 78
AFP, PHILADELPHIA
Dwyane Wade scored 24 points to lift Miami to victory over Philadelphia on Tuesday that spoiled Allen Iverson’s return for the 76ers.
Jermaine O’Neal added 20 points for the Heat, who won their third straight. Udonis Haslem scored 13 points and Michael Beasley chipped in with 12.
“These are the wins everybody loves. Everybody’s happy,” Wade said. “It was a good game for us. It started yesterday in practice where we really focused on what we needed to do.”
In the teams’ first game since the All-Star break, Philadelphia welcomed back Iverson. He had missed five games as well as Sunday’s All-Star game to help care for his ill daughter, Messiah.
Iverson came off the bench and shot one-of-seven from the field to score four points.
Thaddeus Young led the 76ers with 16 points, while Andre Iguodala added 11.
“A classic, classic butt-kicking,” coach Eddie Jordan said. “No doubt about it. Mostly, I wanted our guys to keep competing and keep encouraging each other during the times we were down. It was hard to do that.”
The Heat led by 11 at halftime, and took control with a 17-0 scoring run in the third quarter.
“I think there’s a direct correlation to yesterday’s mindset to come back after the break,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Tuesday’s other results:
• Nets 103, Bobcats 94
• Bulls 116, Knicks 85
• Pistons 108, Timberwolves 85
• Suns 109, Grizzlies 95
• Jazz 104, Rockets 95
• Celtics 95, Kings 92
• Trail Blazers 109, Clippers 87
• Lakers 104, Warriors 94
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Armand Duplantis will be among the reigning Olympic champions adding star power to the world indoor championships this weekend when the Chinese city of Nanjing hosts the first major global athletics meet since the Paris Games last year. The three-day event was originally slated for 2020 and faced multiple postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Nanjing’s Sports Training Center would finally welcome more than 570 athletes for the start of the showpiece today. One of the main attractions would be pole vaulter “Mondo” Duplantis, who soared 6.27m to break the world record for a staggering 11th time in Clermont-Ferrand last
RSS