Durant drops 44 points to lift Thunder to OT victory at Knicks

NEW YORK: Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant scored a season-high 44 points, including the basket that tied the game in regulation time, and the Thunder went on to win 128-122 in overtime at the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
The Knicks put up a gallant showing without injured leading scorer Carmelo Anthony but the Thunder won to maintain a 13-game lead atop the NBA’s Northwest Division, ahead of Portland, which had a home win against Sacramento.
Among other results, the Los Angeles Clippers held on to win narrowly at Indiana, and Toronto tied a franchise record with its ninth straight win, defeating Washington.
Oklahoma City’s Durant hit the tying jumper with 16.2 seconds left in regulation, then scored seven points in overtime.
He hit four straight free throws in the final half-minute to finish 16 for 18 from the line.
Russell Westbrook finished with 30 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Thunder, who have won eight of nine.
Langston Galloway scored 21 points for the Knicks.
Los Angeles went on a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter which proved decisive as the Clippers won 91-89 at Indiana.
Chris Paul scored 26 points for the Clippers, who were without All-Star forward Blake Griffin, who broke his shooting hand in a scuffle with the team’s equipment manager.
Indiana went scoreless for eight minutes during the fourth quarter but closed with a 14-7 run. The Pacers forced a turnover with 2.1 seconds left but couldn’t get a shot off to attempt a tying basket.
Paul George finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who have lost three in a row.
Toronto’s Kyle Lowry put up 29 points before leaving with an injury in the final minutes as the Raptors beat Washington 106-89 to extend their winning sequence.
Lowry suffered what appeared to be an injured hand with just under four minutes to go in the fourth quarter. He briefly returned courtside before going back to the locker room.
Jonas Valanciunas had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Raptors.
John Wall led the way for the Wizards with 18 points and 14 assists.
Portland succeeded in shutting down in-form DeMarcus Cousins and beat Sacramento 112-97.
Cousins, coming off 56 and 48-point performances in his past two games, led the Kings with 17 points, but hit only 4 of 21 shots. Cousins also struggled at the free throw line, making 9 of 17.
C.J. McCollum scored 18 points and Damian Lillard had 15 points and 12 assists for the Trail Blazers, who had seven players score in double figures.
Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd returned after 17 games away following hip surgery, and guided the Bucks to a 107-100 win against Orlando.
Miami’s Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh each scored 27 points, leading the Heat to a 102-98 victory at Brooklyn.
Dirk Nowitzki hit the tiebreaking jumper with 2.1 seconds to play, lifting the Mavericks to a 92-90 win and their 10th successive victory over the Lakers.
Philadelphia notched its seventh win of the season — and sixth in 15 games after starting 1-30 — by beating Phoenix 113-103.