24-point run lifts Oklahoma City Thunder over Indiana Pacers

Paul George scored 31 points and Russell Westbrook had yet another triple-double to help lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 107-99 win over the visiting Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

Early in the second half, the Thunder looked headed for yet another lacklustre defeat as the Pacers built an 11-point lead. But then came a massive third-quarter push. The Thunder scored 24 consecutive points over a stretch of nearly seven minutes to seize control.

Westbrook finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. Steven Adams scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Thunder, his highest-scoring game since December 14.

Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pacers with 28 points. Domantas Sabonis added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Myles Turner had 12 points and 14 boards.

Wizards 124, Suns 121

Thomas Bryant’s three-point play with 2.8 seconds remaining lifted the visiting Washington Wizards to a 124-121 win over at Phoenix on Wednesday, spoiling a 50-point night from the Suns’ Devin Booker.

With time expiring in a tie game, Bradley Beal drove baseline and lofted an alley-oop pass to Bryant, who laid it in and added a free throw.

After a timeout, Phoenix inbounded, and Troy Daniels’ corner 3-point attempt went off the rim at the buzzer as the Suns dropped their fifth consecutive game.

Booker, who scored 59 points at Utah on Monday, became the first player in Suns history to score 50 or more points in consecutive games and the 10th different player in NBA history to do it.

Jabari Parker had 28 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for Washington, who had lost five straight, and Beal scored 28 points. Reserve Jordan McRae contributed 21 points, and Bryant finished with 18 points and a career-high 19 rebounds.

Washington won despite missing 14 of 43 free-throw attempts.

Booker finished 19 of 29 from the field, and he grabbed 10 rebounds. Troy Daniels scored 15 points, and Deandre Ayton had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Phoenix.

Parker’s two free throws, after he grabbed an offensive rebound, gave the Wizards a 109-105 lead with 6:08 remaining. Booker’s layup tied the score 118-118 with 1:30 left.

Bryant’s 3-pointer with 28.6 seconds to go put the Wizards up by three, but Jamal Crawford answered with 17.1 seconds remaining.

The Suns led 41-35 midway through the second quarter, but Washington went on 12-0 run led by Parker and Jeff Green to go up by six. The score was 59-59 at halftime.

Booker scored 30 points in the first half on 10-of-14 shooting.

The Suns took a 72-67 lead on Booker’s layup with 8:21 to go in the third quarter.

Washington soon tied it, and the teams traded the lead through the end of the quarter. Dragan Bender’s corner 3-pointer sent the Suns into the final quarter with a 90-89 lead.

Jazz 115, Lakers 100

Rudy Gobert recorded 22 points and 11 rebounds to help the Utah Jazz register a 115-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.

Derrick Favours added 20 points, and Jae Crowder scored 16 for the Jazz, who have won three straight games and eight of their past nine. Joe Ingles posted a career-best 14 assists while adding 11 points and nine rebounds as Utah defeated Los Angeles for the 13th time in the past 15 meetings.

Lakers forward LeBron James was rested in the second of back-to-back games. During Los Angeles’ Tuesday victory over the Washington Wizards, James had 23 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds in 34 minutes.

Kyle Kuzma scored 21 points, and JaVale McGee added 16 points and 13 rebounds for Los Angeles, who lost for the 21st time in the past 29 contests. Alex Caruso and Moritz Wagner scored 13 points apiece, and Lance Stephenson added 10 for the Lakers (33-42), who shot 38.1 per cent from the field and made 9 of 27 from 3-point range.

The Jazz moved into a tie for fifth place with the Los Angeles Clippers (45-30) in the Western Conference. Both teams are just two games behind the fourth-place Houston Rockets in the battle for home-court advantage in the first round of the play-offs.

Donovan Mitchell and Thabo Sefolosha added 11 points apiece, and Ricky Rubio had 10 points and eight assists for Utah, which shot 49.4 per cent from the field and made 10 of 32 from behind the arc.

Utah held a seven-point halftime lead before scoring the first seven points of the third quarter to take a 67-53 advantage.

Mitchell’s dunk increased the lead to 77-62 with 6:15 left in the third quarter. The margin reached 20 for the first time when Gobert drained two free throw to make it 83-63 with 4:03 remaining.

Favours scored 13 first-half points, and the Jazz led 60-53 at the break.

Utah was in front 51-40 after Jae Crowder’s layup with 3:29 remaining in the half. The Lakers trimmed the deficit to five before Mitchell slammed home a ferocious dunk with 4.2 seconds remaining.

Warriors 118, 

Grizzlies 103

Golden State needed a late surge and 28 points apiece from Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant to hold off host Memphis.

Curry hit six 3-pointers and Durant missed just one shot for the Warriors, who moved a half-game ahead of Denver in the race for the top seed in the Western Conference.

Jonas Valanciunas (27 points, 13 rebounds) and Bruno Caboclo (17 points, 13 rebounds) recorded double-doubles for Memphis, who lost for just the second time in their past seven home games.

Trail Blazers 118, 

Bulls 98

Seth Curry scored a team-high 20 points as Portland topped Chicago for a fifth straight victory.

Continuing a strong run while stepping in for injured guard CJ McCollum (knee), Curry shot 8-for-11 from the floor as part of the Blazers’ 51.8 per cent (43-for-83) effort. Al Farouq Aminu notched 12 points and 11 rebounds for Portland, and Rodney Hood scored 15 points.

Chicago’s Shaquille Harrison scored a game-high 21 points and added 10 rebounds, and Wayne Selden had 11 points and 12 rebounds. The Bulls were missing Lauri Markkanen, who was shut down for the season due to fatigue.