(The Sports Xchange) – Highlights of Thursday’s National Basketball Association games.
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Thunder 107, Bulls 95
Kevin Durant poured in 32 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Chicago Bulls 107-95.
The win enabled the Thunder to tie the 1976-77 Seattle Supersonics for the franchise record of 13 straight home wins to start the season.
At 21-4, they also have the best record in the NBA.
Playing short-handed, the Bulls (9-16) whittled a 15-point lead to eight with 9:30 left in the fourth quarter, however, Chicago had no answer for Durant down the stretch and he made them pay with his 13th 30-point game of the season.
Durant also racked up nine rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Thunder guard Russell Westbrook added 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Center Joakim Noah paced the Bulls with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
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Spurs 104, Warriors 102
Tiago Splitter tipped in Boris Diaw’s miss with 2.1 seconds remaining, giving the San Antonio Spurs, playing without guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, and forward Tim Duncan a stunning 104-102 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
The dramatic win capped a 6-1 stretch in which the Spurs played six road games in a 10-day period. The sequence included three back-to-back contests.
The Spurs did not need their Big Three thanks to a 41-13 scoring advantage from their depleted bench.