HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NBA GAMES PLAYED ON SATURDAY (SUNDAY AEDT)
WARRIORS 130 beat THUNDER 114 - Kevin Durant scored 34 points while being booed throughout his return to Oklahoma City, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Thunder 130-114 in a tough-fought game on Saturday night (Sunday AEDT).
It was Durant's first game back since he left the Thunder after eight seasons in Oklahoma City to join the rival Warriors as a free agent last summer. The crowd jeered him loudly during pre-game warmups, starter introductions and whenever he touched the ball.
Emotions ran high throughout the game. At one point in the third quarter, Durant and Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook yelled at each other as they walked toward their benches during a timeout. Later in the third quarter, Oklahoma City's Andre Roberson fouled Durant hard, and the two got in each other's faces and were called for double technicals.
Westbrook finished with 47 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
CAVALIERS 125 bt NUGGETS 109 - LeBron James and Kyrie Irving each scored 27 points and combined for three three-pointers in Cleveland's long-range barrage in the third quarter.
James added 12 assists in 32 minutes as the defending NBA champions won for the fifth time in six February games after going 7-8 in January.
Nikola Jokic had 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Nuggets, who played their third game in four nights.
BUCKS 116 bt PACERS 100 - Giannis Antetokoumpo had 20 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds to help Milwaukee beat Indiana.
Australian rookie Thon Maker continued his impressive first season, scoring 12 points, while countryman Matthew Dellavedova added nine.
C.J. Miles had six threes and scored 23 points, and Monta Ellis and Myles Turner each had 18 points for the Pacers. They have dropped three straight after a season-best seven-game winning streak.
CELTICS 112 bt JAZZ 104 - Isaiah Thomas scored 29 points and Kelly Olynyk added 19 to help the Boston Celtics defeat the Utah Jazz 112-104 for their ninth win in their past 10 games.
Gerald Green and Al Horford each added 16 points, and Horford also had eight rebounds.
Gordon Hayward scored 31 points for Utah. Australian forward Joe Ingles started the game but only managed eight points as he went zero-from-five in three-point shooting. Fellow-Aussie Dante Exum scored two points from five minutes of court time.
76ERS 117 bt HEAT 109 - Nerlens Noel, Robert Covington and Dario Saric each scored 19 points to lead Philadelphia over Miami, snapping the Heat's winning streak at 13 games.
Goran Dragic had 30 points for the Heat, whose winning streak was the longest in the NBA this season, the third-best in team history and tops in league history by a sub-.500 team.
Philadelphia centre Joel Embiid missed his ninth straight game and 12th in the past 13 due to a bone bruise on his left knee. Team president Bryan Colangelo also revealed before the game that Embiid has a slightly torn meniscus in the same knee.
CLIPPERS 107 bt HORNETS 102 - Blake Griffin had 20 points and 12 rebounds, Austin Rivers scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half and Los Angeles beat Charlotte.
Griffin finished two assists shy of his second triple-double in his past three games. Jamal Crawford provided a spark off the bench, scoring 22 points while going five-for-eight on three-pointers.
Nicolas Batum had 25 points, six rebounds and eight assists for the Hornets, who have lost nine of their past 10 games.
ROCKETS 133 bt SUNS 102 - James Harden scored 40 points in three quarters and Houston never trailed against short-handed Phoenix.
Houston led by 26 at half-time and opened the second half with a 14-3 run, led by six points from Harden, to make it 91-54 with nine minutes left in the third quarter.
The Suns were playing without starters Eric Bledsoe and Tyson Chandler, who didn't make the trip for a scheduled day of rest after Phoenix played Chicago at home on Friday night. Devin Booker had 18 points for the Suns, who lost for the ninth time in 11 games.
MAVERICKS 112 bt MAGIC 80 - Wesley Matthews scored 12 of his 20 points in the first quarter, and Dallas cruised past Orlando.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 14 points in 18 minutes, hitting a three-pointer to give Dallas their first 30-point lead at 67-37 in the first minute of the third quarter before going to the bench for good a little more than six minutes later.
The Mavericks won for the sixth time in eight games - including three victories against division leaders - in what's becoming a turnaround season.
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