Westbrook drops 49 in Thunder loss, Spurs get 17th road win
Not even 49 points from Russell Westbrook were enough for the Oklahoma City Thunder, while the San Antonio Spurs cruised to a win in the NBA.
Westbrook’s huge performance only resulted in defeat for the Thunder, who were edged by the Houston Rockets 118-116 on Thursday.
The Spurs were far more comfortable, beating the Denver Nuggets 127-99 to improve their road record.
Meanwhile, Kyle Lowry led the Toronto Raptors to victory.
WESTBROOK’S THUNDER BEATEN
Westbrook finished with 49 points, eight rebounds and five assists, but the Thunder were beaten.
James Harden recorded a double-double of 26 points and 12 assists, while Eric Gordon had 22 points off the bench for the Rockets.
Nene (18 points), Ryan Anderson (12), Patrick Beverley (11) and Trevor Ariza (10) also had double digits for points for Houston.
SENSATIONAL SPURS
The Spurs cruised to their win.
LaMarcus Aldridge (28 points) and Kawhi Leonard (24) starred, while Tony Parker (21) was also a strong contributor.
They outscored the Nuggets, who got 19 points and 11 rebounds from Nikola Jokic, 37-22 in the fourth quarter.
RAPTORS RALLY
Led by Lowry and his 33 points, the Raptors overcame the Utah Jazz 101-93.
Jonas Valanciunas had a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds for the victors, while Rudy Gobert led the Jazz with 15 points and 16 rebounds.
UNSTOPPABLE KAWHI
.@spurs pick up their 17th road win 127-99 over the @nuggets!
LA dropped 28 and Kawhi added 24 including these two! pic.twitter.com/fp0kyhIBK7
— NBA (@NBA) January 6, 2017
The Duel!@JHarden13​ puts up 26 points, 12 assists & 8 rebounds… while @russwest44 puts up 49 points, 8 rebounds & 5 assists! pic.twitter.com/amLEgYgpRt
— NBA (@NBA) January 6, 2017
PISTONS HOLD ON
The Detroit Pistons held on to edge the Charlotte Hornets 115-114 and the Indiana Pacers beat the Brooklyn Nets 121-109.
The Atlanta Hawks overcame the New Orleans Pelicans 99-94, the Phoenix Suns had a 102-95 win against the Dallas Mavericks and the Portland Trail Blazers enjoyed a 118-109 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers.
CAVS VISIT NETS
A game of polar opposites will come down to how many big three members take the court for the Cleveland Cavaliers (26-8) against the Nets (8-26). Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love missed their last game, but should be back against Brooklyn. The Cavs reportedly also added Kyle Korver via trade on Thursday, helping them replace the injured J.R. Smith.
