NEW YORK — Kevin Durant scored 42 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 106-98 victory over the Houston Rockets Tuesday. It was Durant's 11th 40-point game of the season. After the Rockets trailed by 18 at one point, guard James Harden led Houston on a run to cut the Thunder lead to five points with 8:30 left in the fourth quarter. However, Durant hit back-to-back jumpers to push the advantage back to 10 points. Harden paced the Rockets with 28 points on 9-for-21 shooting from the field, while Russell Westbrook added 24 for Oklahoma City. Spurs 104, Bulls 96: Tony Parker scored 16 of his 20 points in the first quarter as the San Antonio Spurs turned a fast start into victory over the Chicago Bulls. Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 22 points and forward Kawhi Leonard added 16. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was able to give his starters a rest for much of the second half. Guard D.J. Augustin led Chicago with 24 points while guard Jimmy Butler added 23 points. Trail Blazers 109, Grizzlies 99: Marc Gasol scored 19 points with nine rebounds and seven assists while power forward Zach Randolph scored 18 points with 12 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Portland Trail Blazers. The Grizzlies (37-26) won their third straight and have won eight of 11 games since the All-Star break. Portland lost its third successive game despite 32 points and seven assists from Damian Lillard, who scored 21 in the second half. Pacers 94, Celtics 83: David West scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a win over the Boston Celtics and halt the Pacers' season-worst losing streak. Pacers forward Paul George and guard George Hill both added 12 points for the Pacers (47-17), who avoided their first five-game losing streak in more than two years. Indiana center Andrew Bynum made his Pacers debut and finished with eight points and 10 rebounds. Jared Sullinger led Boston with 17 points. Timberwolves 112, Bucks 101: Kevin Martin led the Timberwolves with 26 points while Ricky Rubio delivered his 10th double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 assists as Minnesota beat the NBA's worst team to keep their slim playoff chances alive. Forward Kevin Love added 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Timberwolves (32-21), who still remain five games behind Memphis for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Milwaukee fell to 13-51. Pistons 99, Kings 89: Josh Smith had 24 points and eight rebounds as the Detroit Pistons snapped a three-game losing streak with victory over the Sacramento Kings. Rodney Stuckey scored 23 points off the bench for Detroit while small forward Rudy Gay's 20 points led Sacramento. Warriors 108, Mavericks 85: Reserve guard Jordan Crawford scored 10 consecutive points in a 100-second flurry bridging the first and second periods, igniting a Golden State Warriors run that helped them to victory. — Reuters
