Russell Westbrook set career highs with 49 points and 16 rebounds, and added 10 assists for his fourth consecutive triple-double, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Philadelphia 76ers 123-118 in overtime on Wednesday night.
Westbrook became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1989 to have four consecutive triple-doubles, according to STATS, and the first since Jordan that year to have back-to-back triple-doubles with at least 40 points. Jordan had seven straight triple-doubles and 10 in an 11-game span in 1989 for Chicago.
It was the most points by any player with a triple-double since Larry Bird also had 49 in 1992.
Westbrook wore a mask and a headband after fracturing a bone in his right cheek on Friday last week against Portland. He had surgery on Saturday and missed a game on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Isaiah Canaan had career highs of 31 points and eight three-pointers, while Jason Richardson added 29 points for the 76ers.
PELICANS 88, PISTONS 85
In New Orleans, Anthony Davis had 39 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks in his first game back from a right shoulder sprain as New Orleans won for the sixth time in seven games.
Davis hit two mid-range jumpers in the last 1 minute, 14 seconds, the second with 18 seconds left, to hold off Detroit in a frenetic game that was close through the second half.
In only his third season, Davis has a Pelicans career-record 437 blocks. His seventh of the game gave him the record, surpassing David West’s mark of 435.
Tyreke Evans had 21 points and nine assists for New Orleans.
GRIZZLIES 102, ROCKETS 100
In Houston, Texas, Marc Gasol made a jumper with 0.1 seconds left to lift Memphis past Houston.
With the game tied, Gasol blocked James Harden’s layup with 6.4 seconds left to give the Grizzlies the ball back for his winner. Gasol finished with 21 points.
Courtney Lee made a pair of free throws with about a minute remaining to give Memphis a 100-98 lead.
Terrence Jones tied it with a hook shot seconds later, and Gasol missed on the other end to set up the final sequence.
The win extended the Grizzlies lead over second-place Houston in the Southwest Division and tied the season series at 2-2.
Jones had 21 points and Harden scored 18 in his return after a one-game suspension for kicking LeBron James on Sunday.
CAVALIERS 120, RAPTORS 112
In Toronto, LeBron James scored 29 points and matched a season high with 14 assists, while Kevin Love had 22 points and 10 rebounds as Cleveland held on to beat Toronto.
Kyrie Irving scored 26 points, J.R. Smith had 15 and James Jones 14 to help the Cavaliers win their second straight.
They improved to 9-8 in the second game of back-to-backs.
Jonas Valanciunas had 26 points and 11 rebounds, Lou Williams scored 21 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, while DeMar DeRozan had 25 points for the Raptors.
They lost for the sixth time in seven games.
James finished four rebounds shy of a triple-double.
In other NBA action, it was:
‧ Warriors 102, Bucks 93
‧ Heat 100, Lakers 94
‧ Celtics 85, Jazz 84
‧ Spurs 112, Kings 85
‧ Suns 105, Magic 100
‧ Hornets 115, Nets 91
‧ Pacers 105, Knicks 82
‧ Nuggets 100, Timberwolves 85
‧ Trail Blazers 98, Clipper 93 OT
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