OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant scored 26 points, Russell Westbrook added 23 and the Oklahoma City Thunder overpowered the outmanned Minnesota Timberwolves 106-84 on Wednesday night.
After losing its last game on a buzzer-beater against a last-place Washington team saddled by injuries to its three top players, Oklahoma City left nothing to chance with the Timberwolves missing All-Star forward Kevin Love and four others.
The Thunder took control with 7-0 run early in the second half and stretched their lead to 24 before pulling Durant, Westbrook and the other starters with 5:44 remaining.
Alexey Shved scored 18 points for Minnesota, which announced earlier in the day that Love would miss eight to 10 weeks after breaking his right hand for the second time.
Nikola Pekovic added 17 points and 10 rebounds in the opener of a four-game road trip for the Timberwolves.
Kevin Martin chipped in 19 points off the bench for Oklahoma City, which had a 12-game winning streak in the series snapped last month in Minnesota.
Also on Wednesday:
Clippers 99
Mavericks 93
LOS ANGELES — Chris Paul had 19 points and 16 assists, and Los Angeles held on to beat Dallas, extending its franchise-record home winning streak to 13 games.
Spurs 108
Lakers 105
SAN ANTONIO — Tony Parker scored 24 points to help San Antonio hand slumping Los Angeles to its fifth straight loss. Kobe Bryant had 27 points but missed a 3-pointer on his final attempt that would have tied the game.
Celtics 87
Suns 79
BOSTON — Jeff Green scored 14 points, rookie Jared Sullinger added 12 points and 16 rebounds, and Boston recovered from a dreadful third quarter, rallying in the fourth to beat Phoenix.
Bucks 104
Bulls 96
CHICAGO — Brandon Jennings scored 20 of his 35 points in the third quarter and Milwaukee beat Chicago for its second consecutive victory under interim coach Jim Boylan.
Hornets 88
Rockets 79
NEW ORLEANS — Roger Mason scored 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter to rally New Orleans to a victory over Houston.
Jazz 112
Bobcats 102
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Al Jefferson had 26 points and eight rebounds to lead Utah to its fourth win in five games with a victory over Charlotte.
Raptors 90
76ers 72
TORONTO — Amir Johnson had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Toronto beat Philadelphia, sending the slumping 76ers to their fifth straight loss.
Cavaliers 99
Hawks 83
CLEVELAND — Kyrie Irving scored 18 of his 33 points in the third quarter to lead injury-riddled Cleveland over Atlanta.
Grizzlies 94
Warriors 87
OAKLAND, Calif. — Zach Randolph had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Rudy Gay scored 18 points and Memphis completed a 3-0 road trip with a victory over Golden State.
Nuggets 108
Magic 105
DENVER — Kenneth Faried scored 19 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to help Denver rally for a win over slumping Orlando.
