THUNDER 110, HORNETS 103
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Russell Westbrook had 33 points and 10 assists, Serge Ibaka and Enes Kanter also had double-doubles and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Charlotte Hornets 110-103 Saturday night for their fifth consecutive victory.
With Kevin Durant sidelined with right foot soreness, Westbrook continued to carry the Thunder.
Westbrook was 12 of 27 from the field and a perfect 9 of 9 from the foul line, stretching his streak of consecutive foul shots made to 43.
Ibaka had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Kanter had 10 points and 13 rebounds in his first game with the Thunder, who have won nine straight against Charlotte.
Westbrook's latest big night overshadowed Mo Williams' stellar debut for the Hornets. The veteran point guard had 24 points and 12 assists after being acquired in a trade with Minnesota.
Al Jefferson had 20 points and 12 rebounds and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had a season-high 20 points for Charlotte, which has lost four consecutive.
The Thunder dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Hornets 59-41 and had 20 second-chance points.
Charlotte trailed by as many as 12 in the third quarter, but battled back to pull even at 94 midway through the fourth quarter behind five three-pointers by Williams.
But Westbrook took over, scoring on three consecutive offensive possessions on drives to the basket to push the lead to 104-96 with 2:53 left. Charlotte could never get in a position to challenge for the lead again.
PELICANS 105, HEAT 91
MIAMI -- Eric Gordon scored 16 of his 24 points in the third quarter and, even after losing Anthony Davis and Ryan Anderson to injuries, the New Orleans Pelicans had no trouble beating the Miami Heat 105-91.
Omer Asik scored 15 points and Tyreke Evans added 13 to help the Pelicans snap a four-game slide.
Mario Chalmers scored 20 points for Miami.
BULLS 112, SUNS 107
CHICAGO -- Pau Gasol had 22 points and 14 rebounds and the Chicago Bulls beat the revamped Phoenix Suns 112-107.
Jimmy Butler added 19 points, Derrick Rose had 16, Mike Dunleavy Jr. 15, and Taj Gibson and Aaron Brooks came on strong in the fourth quarter to finish with 12 points apiece, helping Chicago win for the fifth time in six games.
P.J. Tucker led Phoenix with 20 points.
ROCKETS 98, RAPTORS 76
HOUSTON -- Corey Brewer had a season-high 26 points, James Harden scored 16 of his 20 in Houston's big third quarter and the Rockets cruised to a 98-76 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Harden, who leads the NBA in scoring, got off to a tough start and had just four points by halftime. The Rockets led by 4 with less than four minutes left in the third before going on a 12-1 run, with seven points from Harden, to take a 68-53 lead into the fourth and end his night.
James Johnson's 27 points led the Raptors.
Sports on 02/22/2015