Westbrook inspires Thunder past Rockets, Clippers beat city rivals to continue streak
Russell Westbrook recorded his sixth triple-double of the season on Friday to inspire the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 116-108 win over the Houston Rockets.
Westbrook ended the night with 26 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds to grab his third triple double-figures from his last nine appearances.
The Thunder took full advantage of Dwight Howard’s ejection to take control of the match as the Rockets star picked up his second technical foul in the third quarter.
Kevin Durant top-scored for Oklahoma with a 33-point haul, while James Harden continued his strong form to pitch up 33 points of his own in the defeat.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were boosted by point scoring across the court to finish 114-106 winners over the Detroit Pistons.
For the first time this season, LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving each reached 20 points in a game.
Love grabbed 29 Love had 28 and James contributed 20 as the big three helped the Cavs complete an imposing victory.
Andre Drummond top-scored for Detroit with 20 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 19.
The Los Angeles Clippers grabbed their third straight win after accounting for city rivals Lakers 105-93.
Chris Paul took control of proceedings to net 27 points for the Clippers, while the Lakers’ top scorer Julius Randle supplied 23 points and 14 rebounds.
The Boston Celtics won a season-high fifth-straight game, downing the Orlando Magic 113-94 at TD Garden.
The Celtic bench helped to turn the tide of the game, as Kelly Olynyk and Marcus Smart scored 16 points apiece, with Jae Crowder and Evan Turner adding 15 of their own.
The Magic have now lost eight matches straight.
Elsewhere across the NBA, the New York Knicks were boosted by the return of Carmelo Anthony who triple-doubled to hand the Phoenix Suns their 13th straight road loss with a 102-84 defeat.
The Miami Heat snuck past the Milwaukee Bucks 107-103, the Dallas Mavericks eased past the Brooklyn Nets 91-79, the Utah Jazz were too strong for the Minnesota Timberwolves win a 103-90 win and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the  Charlotte Hornets109-91.
