HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NBA GAMES PLAYED ON WEDNESDAY (THURSDAY AEDT)
THUNDER 122 beat 76ERS 97 - Russell Westbrook recorded his 35th triple-double of the season with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists in Thunder's win.
Oklahoma City have won 16 straight games against Philadelphia, a run that stretches to the 2008/09 season, the franchise's first in Oklahoma City.
Westbrook, who made all six of his field-goal attempts and all six of his free throws, has recorded five triple-doubles against Philadelphia, his highest total against any NBA team.
He needs six triple-doubles in Oklahoma City's final 11 games to tie Oscar Robertson's single-season record, set during the 1961/62 season.
NUGGETS 126 bt CAVALIERS 113 - Wilson Chandler scored 18 points in his return from a pulled groin and provided stellar defence on LeBron James in Denver's victory over Cleveland.
The Nuggets bounced back from consecutive heartbreaking last-second losses to Houston with a signature win that increased their lead to one and a half games over idle Portland in the race for the final playoff spot in the West.
Will Barton scored 20 points, Kenneth Faried added 17 and Jamal Murray had 15 off the bench for Denver, who also got 21 points from Gary Harris and 16 from Nikola Jokic.
Kyrie Irving led the Cavs with 33 points but James had just 18 and the two stars sat out much of the fourth quarter with Cleveland trailing by double digits.
CELTICS 109 bt PACERS 100 - Isaiah Thomas scored 25 points, Avery Bradley had 18 with eight rebounds and Boston beat Indiana night for their fifth win in six games.
Al Horford added 15 points with eight boards and eight assists, and Jae Crowder also scored 15 points for Boston, who won for the 12th time in 13 home games.
Paul George led the Pacers with 37 points and Jeff Teague had 25. Indiana have alternated by winning and losing in their past 15 games.
BULLS 117 bt PISTONS 95 - Nikola Mirotic scored a season-high 28 points as Chicago beat Detroit.
Mirotic shot 12 of 15 and made four of six three-point attempts to lead Chicago to an easy win after dropping eight of 10.
Jimmy Butler added 16 points and 12 assists. Joffrey Lauvergne filled in for suspended centre Robin Lopez and outplayed Andre Drummond with 17 points and seven rebounds. Rookie Paul Zipser added a career-high 15 points.
HORNETS 109 bt MAGIC 102 - Kemba Walker scored 22 points and Marco Belinelli came off the bench to add 20 as Charlotte pulled off a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat Orlando.
Orlando entered the fourth quarter with a five-point lead but Frank Kaminsky came off the bench to score 13 of his 18 points and Walker added eight points to help the Hornets outscore the Magic 32-20 in the final quarter. Cody Zeller also had 15 points and Nicolas Batum added 10.
WIZARDS 104 bt HAWKS 100 - Bradley Beal scored 28 points and John Wall added all 22 of his in the second half to help Washington over Atlanta.
Wall also had 10 assists on a night he shot just six of 21 from the floor, including two assists to Beal during a late 14-2 run that helped Washington ensure victory after Atlanta had led by as many as 12 early.
Ian Mahinmi had 10 rebounds off the bench as the Wizards used a 55-44 edge on the glass to overcome 40 per cent shooting.
BUCKS 116 bt KINGS 98 - Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for Milwaukee, who cruised to victory over Sacramento.
The win moved the Bucks into a tie with Indiana for the sixth spot, one game behind fifth-place Atlanta in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race. The Bucks have been the NBA's hottest team the past three weeks, winning 10 of 12 games.
Greg Monroe had 15 points for the Bucks, who have won two straight and four of five. Mirza Teletovic and Khris Middleton had 13 points each and Malcolm Brogdon had 12.
JAZZ 108 bt KNICKS 101 - Rudy Gobert scored a career-high 35 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Utah rallied to defeat New York.
The Jazz snapped a three-game losing streak, while the Knicks dropped their third in a row.
Gobert carried the Jazz throughout with the 7-foot-1 Frenchman scoring off pick-and-rolls, offensive rebound put-backs and even going full-court for a dunk after a steal. The Jazz struggled on offence, but Gobert connected on 13 of 14 shots.
Kristaps Porzingis led New York with 24 points, while Derrick Rose added 17 and Carmelo Anthony tallied 16.
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