Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson (15) is fouled by Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013. Portland won 98-94. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
December 31, 2013 - 10:01 PM
OKLAHOMA CITY - LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 14 rebounds and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied from a 13-point, second-half deficit to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 98-94 in a showdown of Western Conference heavyweights Tuesday night.
Damian Lillard added 21 points and 11 assists and hit a pair of clinching free throws with 2.1 seconds left for Portland, which beat Oklahoma City for the second time in December. Portland (25-7) snapped a two-game losing streak but still trails Oklahoma City (25-6) by a half-game in the Northwest Division standings.
Kevin Durant had 37 points and 14 rebounds for the Thunder, which had won 12 of its last 13 and 20 of its last 22 games before Tuesday. But Durant managed only one point in the fourth quarter and missed an 11-foot jumper that would have tied the game in the final seconds.
PACERS 91, CAVALIERS 76
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Paul George scored 21 points, Roy Hibbert added 19 and Indiana used a dominant fourth quarter to blow out Cleveland.
Indiana has won five straight overall to improve to 25-5. The Pacers have won eight in a row against Cleveland, their longest active streak against any opponent. They limited the Cavs to 3-of-16 shooting and forced seven turnovers in the final period.
Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving injured his left knee in the third quarter and will have an MRI on Wednesday. Anderson Varejao led Cleveland with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Cleveland has lost six straight to fall to 10-21.
KINGS 110, ROCKETS 106
HOUSTON (AP) — Rudy Gay had 25 points and DeMarcus Cousins took over late in the fourth quarter to lift Sacramento past Houston.
The Kings trailed by three points before Cousins scored four quick points to make it 105-104. He then stole the ball from James Harden and passed to Ben McLemore for an easy layup. On the next play, Cousin took a charge from Harden to give the Kings the ball back.
The late comeback ruined a big night by Harden, who finished with a season-high 38 points and had 10 rebounds and two steals.
SPURS 113, NETS 92
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Tony Parker had 18 points and San Antonio rolled past listless Brooklyn.
Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan had 15 points each and Tiago Splitter and Patty Mills each had 12.
Miles Plumlee and Shaun Livingston had 15 points each to lead Brooklyn. Kevin Garnet was held to two points, failing to make a field for only the second time in his 19-year career and the first time since 1996.
HAWKS 92, CELTICS 91
BOSTON (AP) — Paul Millsap had season highs with 34 points and 15 rebounds in Atlanta's comeback victory over Boston.
Jeff Teague added 16 points for Atlanta, including a pair of free that put Atlanta up 92-91 with 1:30 left in the fourth quarter. Kyle Korver scored 14 points and extended his NBA-record 3-pointers streak to 101 games.
Kelly Olynyk scored a career-high 21 points for Boston, and Kris Humphries had 18 points and 10 rebounds.
WARRIORS 94, MAGIC 81
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — David Lee had 22 points and Klay Thompson added 15 in Golden State's victory over Orlando.
Kent Bazemore scored 12 points, and Marreese Speights had 10 to help the Warriors win their sixth straight game. Stephen Curry had nine points, eight assists and five rebounds, but he and the rest of the Warriors' starters sat out the entire fourth quarter.
Arron Afflalo led Orlando with 15 points.
BUCKS 94, LAKERS 79
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Brandon Knight scored 18 of his career-high 37 points in the third quarter and Milwaukee handed Los Angeles its sixth straight loss.
Pau Gasol and Nick Young each scored 25 points for Los Angeles. The Lakers shot 35.8 per cent from the field and dropped to 13-19.
RAPTORS 85, BULLS 79
CHICAGO (AP) — Jonas Valanciunas scored 15 points and Toronto rallied to beat Chicago.
Valanciunas made two free throws to seal the game in the final minute after Toronto had missed three of four from the line down the stretch. Luol Deng led Chicago with 16 points in his return to the court after missing five games due to a sore left Achilles tendon.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013