Kevin Durant scored a career-best 51 points for the top performance in the NBA this season, Russell Westbrook added 40 and Serge Ibaka had his first career triple-double as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets, 124-118, in overtime Sunday. Durant, a two-time league scoring champion, drove for a dunk to tie the game with 4.4 seconds left in regulation, then used the extra period to chalk up his first 50-point game. When the final horn sounded, he walked over to his mother, seated courtside, and gave her a kiss and a hug. Ibaka added 14 points, 15 rebounds and 11 blocks to become the 14th player in franchise history with a triple-double. Arron Afflalo scored 27 points and Andre Miller had 21 points and 10 assists for Denver, which had a shot to win at the end of regulation. Ty Lawson, who missed a 3-pointer with seven seconds left, also failed to connect on an off-balance jumper from the foul line at the buzzer. Knicks 104, Mavericks 97: Jeremy Lin scored 28 points and made a career-high 14 assists as the New York Knicks beat the Dallas Mavericks for Linsanity to reign once more in the NBA. The Knicks ended the Mavericks' six-game winning streak and recorded their eighth victory in nine games since Lin became the starter and an international sensation. Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 34 points for the Mavericks, who had been playing championship-level defense but became the latest team who couldn't stop Lin. In a game of wild momentum swings, the Knicks reeled off 17 straight points in the first quarter, fell behind by 12 in the third, then pulled it out to beat the Mavericks for only the third time in the last 20 meetings. Heat 90, Magic 78: Dwyane Wade scored 27 points, and LeBron James had 25 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists as Miami returned from a marathon trip to beat Orlando for its sixth consecutive victory, each of them by double digits. With former President Bill Clinton courtside, the Heat improved to 25-7, a half-game better than Chicago for the top record in the league and the Eastern Conference. J. J. Redick scored 17 points for Magic. Bucks 92, Nets 85: Ersan Ilyasova had career highs of 29 points and 25 rebounds as visiting Milwaukee spoiled the season debut of Nets center Brook Lopez. Ilyasova's rebounds tied the NBA single-game high this season set Jan. 18 by Dwight Howard in an overtime game. Ilyasova, a 6-foot-10 forward from Turkey, hit a key 3-pointer with 4:56 to play. Deron Williams scored 26 points to lead the Nets. Suns 102, Lakers 90: Jared Dudley scored a season-high 25 points, and Marcin Gortat had 21 points and 15 rebounds as the Suns held on to beat Los Angeles in Phoenix. Kobe Bryant scored 32 points but he was 1 of 8 on 3-point attempts and committed 10 turnovers. Pistons 96, Celtics 81: Greg Monroe had 17 points and 10 assists, and Rodney Stuckey added 16 points to lead host Detroit over Boston. The Pistons have now won seven of nine games. Timberwolves 92, 76ers 91: Kevin Love scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and hit two free throws with 0.1 of a second remaining to lead host Minnesota over Philadelphia. Ricky Rubio added a career-high 22 points for Minnesota. Cavaliers 93, Kings 92: The rookie Kyrie Irving paced host Cleveland with 23 points, including two free throws with 0.4 of a second left for the win. Rockets 101, jazz 85: Kyle Lowry scored 32 points and Luis Scola had 26 as host Houston fought off a late run by Utah. Pacers 108, Bobcats 73: The first-time All-Star Roy Hibbert had 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead host Indiana.
