(The Sports Xchange) – Forward Rudy Gay and center DeMarcus Cousins helped the Sacramento Kings end a half-decade of frustration against the Miami Heat while proving forward LeBron James and the defending NBA champions are not invincible against the Western Conference.
Cousins scored 25 points, Gay had 24 points and helped shut down James, the four-time league MVP, with smothering second-half defense as the Kings snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Heat with a 108 -103 points overtime victory at Sleep Train Arena.
Guard Isaiah Thomas added 20 points and 11 assists as Sacramento beat the Heat for the first time since March 2, 2008. The victory also ended Miami’s 19-game winning streak against Western Conference teams, the second-longest streak by an Eastern Conference team in NBA history.
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Magic 109, Pistons 92
Arron Afflalo scored 23 points and Nik Vucevic and rookie Victor Oladipo had double-doubles to help the Orlando Magic coast to victory over the Detroit Pistons.
Vucevic had 20 points and 11 rebounds while Oladipo added 16 points and 11 assists as Orlando ended a three-game losing streak.
Tobias Harris scored 16 points and Glen Davis 14 for the Magic against the defenseless Pistons, who allowed Orlando to shoot 52.9 percent from the field.
The Pistons got 21 points and eight rebounds from point guard Brandon Jennings and 18 points from his backup, Will Bynum, but precious little from anyone else.
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Thunder 89, Bobcats 85
Forward Kevin Durant scored 34 points, including 10 in the final six minutes, as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Charlotte Bobcats in their first game without injured guard Russell Westbrook.
The Thunder led by as many as 13 in the second half but ultimately had to hold on when Charlotte’s Josh McRoberts missed an open three-point attempt with five seconds remaining and the Thunder leading 87-85.
Oklahoma City’s Thabo Sefolosha then hit two free throws with 3.5 seconds left to push the final margin to 89-85.
The win moved the Thunder to 24-5 and was their 19th in their last 21 games. It was also their seventh straight road win, a record in the team’s Oklahoma City era.
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Nets 104, Bucks 93
Guard Shawn Livingston scored a game-high 20 points and the Brooklyn Nets buried 12 three-pointers en route to a win over the Milwaukee Bucks to snap a four-game losing streak at the Barclays Center.
Forward Mirza Teletovic scored a career-high 19 points, including 5-of-9 from three-point range, while also grabbing six rebounds for Brooklyn, which led by as many as 23 in the fourth quarter.
