Westbrook’s triple-double leads Thunder past Timberwolves

Westbrook narrowly missed a triple-double with 30 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds in the December contest. It was fifth triple double of the season.

Kevin Durant had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Serge Ibaka scored 19 points and Dion Waiters added 18 for the Thunder, who became the third team to reach 30 wins this season.

Dwight Howard had 14 points and 15 rebounds for his ninth straight double-double, his longest such streak since a 14-game run three seasons ago.

Over the past month or so, fans have started to take notice of all the dancing going on as the Oklahoma City Thunder dap each other up just before they take the court for tipoff.

“We’ve got guys out”, Heat forward Chris Bosh said. Gerald Green would sit out the second half with knee tendinitis and the Heat got only a combined two points from the combination of Luol Deng and Justise WInslow (scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting).

Head to head, the Heat are 8-3 ATS in the last 11 meetings and the over is 9-4-1 in the last 14 meetings in Oklahoma City.

Elsewhere, the Mavericks rallied to beat the Chicago Bulls 83-77 and the Cleveland Cavaliers returned to winning ways via a 91-77 victory over the Houston Rockets.

The French big man was hurt when he tangled with Mavericks center JaVale McGee in the paint, immediatly departing for the locker room.

Wade was able to find success with his mid-range game as he scored 18 to keep the Heat within two points of the Thunder at halftime.

By the end of the third, the outcome of the game was really never in doubt.

On Friday, the Wolves played without veteran guard Kevin Martin, who was scratched from the lineup after he said he felt sick to his stomach fewer than three hours before a game that started an hour earlier than normal because it was the first game of ESPN’s weekly Friday night doubleheader.

“He was exhausted”, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. They’ll be in Miami less than 48 hours before heading out again, hardly enough time to solve all the injury and illness problems that are decimating the roster right now.

They, are, brilliant. The defense needs sorting out, but that’s what the regular season is for, as first-year coach Billy Donovan works with a roster that doesn’t have much experience together. He completed the four-game stretch with 36 points, 13 assists, seven rebounds, and seven steals in a 119-117 loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday. He has lashed out on reporters on multiple occasions whether it’s about a question asked or if he disagrees with a statement said to him. The skid dropped the Suns (13-29) into a tie with the Wolves for the fourth-worst record in the National Basketball Association and is the worst record at the halfway point for the Suns since their inaugural season in 1968-69. “We don’t want to make any excuses for ourselves, we just wanted to come out here and compete”.