Blake Griffin powered for 22 points with 12 rebounds as the LA Clippers stormed past the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 on Wednesday night in a showdown of the NBA's Western Conference powerhouses.
The highly emotional early season contest was marred by a brief scuffle involving Griffin, teammate Matt Barnes and Thunder Serge Ibaka just before halftime. Griffin was hit with a technical foul, while Barnes and Ibaka were ejected.
Chris Paul had 14 points with 16 assists and Jamal Crawford scored 20 points, including the game-sealing triple with 34 seconds remaining for the Clippers (6-3) who outscored their guests 58-41 in the second half for a third straight win.
Kevin Durant paced Oklahoma City with 33 points, 10 assists and six boards, while Russell Westbrook finished with 19 points and 10 assists for the Thunder, who led by 10 in the third quarter but had their four-game winning streak come to an end.
Elsewhere, Gordon Hayward had 27 points with a career-high 10 assists, Richard Jefferson scored 22, and the Utah Jazz (1-8) won its first game of the season 111-105 over the visiting New Orleans Pelicans despite Anthony Davis' 29 points and 15 rebounds.
James Anderson poured in a career-high 36 points, including a triple with 6.6 seconds left to force overtime, and Evan Turner added eight of his 23 in the extra session as the Philadelphia 76ers defused the visiting Houston Rockets 123-117.
Jeremy Lin led Houston with 34 points with nine triples and 12 assists in place of injured James Harden, while Dwight Howard finished with 23 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks.
Frenchman Tony Parker scored 16 points as San Antonio Spurs (8-1) rolled to their sixth straight victory, 92-79, after beating the visiting Washington Wizards for the 15th consecutive time.
Kevin Love scored 33 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves mauled the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 124-95.
Arron Afflalo drained eight triples en route to a career-high 36 points and the Orlando Magic stormed back from 19 down to beat the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks for the 15th straight time at home, 94-91.
In other games, the visiting Charlotte Bobcats beat the Boston Celtics 89-83; the visiting New York Knicks clipped the Atlanta Hawks 95-91; the visiting Toronto Raptors topped the Memphis Grizzlies 103-87; the host Denver Nuggets dropped the LA Lakers 111-99; the Sacramento Kings blitzed the visiting Brooklyn Nets 107-86; and the Portland Trail Blazers shaded the Phoenix Suns 90-89.
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