(The Sports Xchange) – – – -Kevin Durant scored 46 points, his eighth straight game with at least 30, to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 105- 97 points victory in a division showdown with the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday night
With the win, the Thunder (32-10) took the lead in the Northwest Division from the Blazers (31-11).
Oklahoma City trailed 95-90 with about three minute left, but Durant caught fire and made a trio of three-pointers during a 15-0 Thunder run.
LaMarcus Aldridge paced Portland with 29 points and 16 rebounds. Wesley Matthews added 21 points on 7-for-15 shooting.
– – –
Heat 93, Celtics 86
Playing a third consecutive game without guard Dwyane Wade (knee soreness), LeBron James led the way with 29 points as the Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics.
The Heat scored the last nine points of the game to earn the win and improve to 30-12, good for second place in the Eastern Conference.
It was a much needed win for the Heat, who entered Tuesday’s contest having won just two of their previous six games. The Celtics (14-29) lost their 10th straight road game and also suffered injuries to Avery Bradley and Brandon Bass.
Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo, in just his third game back after missing a year due to a knee injury, finished with one point and five assists. He missed all eight of his field goal attempts.
– – –
Jazz 112, Timberwolves 97
Kevin Love flirted with a triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists as Minnesota routed the Jazz for the second time in four nights.
On Saturday, the Timberwolves blew out Utah by 26 points. In the rematch, Utah’s Gordon Hayward finished with a game-high 27 points with five rebounds and five assists in his first game in two weeks after being sidelined with a left hip flexor.
Utah (14-29), however, only had two other players in double figures.
Corey Brewer added 19 for the Wolves who also got 11 points and 13 assists from Ricky Rubio.
– – –
Kings 114, Pelicans 97
Rudy Gay matched his career high with 41 points, including five of eight from three-point range, to lift the Sacramento Kings to a victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.Gay made 16 of 25 shots and also added a 30-footer at the buzzer to end the third quarter with a 91-70 Sacramento lead. Isaiah Thomas added 20 points and 11 assists and center DeMarcus Cousins had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings (15-25).
The Pelicans, who snapped an eight-game losing streak with a road win against Memphis on Monday, fell to 16-25. They got 17 points from guard Tyreke Evans.
– – –
Nets 101, Magic 90
The Brooklyn Nets continue their red-hot month with a victory over the Orlando Magic. Andray Blatch led the Nets with 18 points, Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce each added 13 points as Brooklyn improved to an NBA-best 8-1 in January. While the Magic proved pesky in the first half, the Nets (18-22) outscored Orlando 27-14 in the third quarter to build a double-digit lead. Kyle O’Quinn led Orlando (11-31) with 15 points and eight rebounds.
