Durant responds with 32, but not enough for OKC…
The Cleveland Cavaliers made it six straight wins on Sunday night after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder behind 34 points from LeBron James.
Kevin Love added 19 points and 13 rebounds while Kyrie Irving had 21 points, but it was a real team effort with JR Smith adding 14 while Tristan Thompson grabbed 16 rebounds as the Cavs wrapped up a 4-0 homestand.
Kevin Durant responded with 32 points and nine assists for the visitors while Russell Westbrook had 22 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Thunder to avoid slipping to 3-2 on their longest road trip of the season and 22-22 overall for the season.
Unfortunately for the Thunder and the rest of the league, James is back playing at an MVP level after averaging 30.3 in his past seven games since taking a fortnight off to rehab both back and knee strains.
Earlier in the night, the Miami Heat stunned the Chicago Bulls with Hassan Whiteside putting up a triple-double consisting of 14 points, 13 rebounds and 12 blocks.
Dwyane Wade had 26 points while Chris Bosh finished with 20 as the Bulls fell back into their shell and lacked any energy on both ends of the court and were bullied by Miami who claimed a well deserved win.
Pau Gasol had 13 points and 17 rebounds while Derrick Rose added 19, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Bulls from slipping to 13-11 at home this year.
Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Clippers routed the Phoenix Suns with Blake Griffin and Chris Paul scoring 23 points apiece as the Suns have now lost two straight after a seven-game winning streak at home.
The Atlanta Hawks extended their winning streak to 16 games behind Paul Millsap putting up 20 points, five rebounds and six assists against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Over in the West, the Golden State Warriors secured their 19th straight home win with a closely fought game against the Boston Celtics.
Stephen Curry had 22 points and 11 assists while Klay Thompson added 31 points as the Warriors failed to light up the arena but still battled their way to victory.
The San Antonio Spurs were also victorious on Sunday as Tim Duncan led the way with 20 points and 11 rebounds against the Milwaukee Bucks to help the defending champions move to 29-17 for the season.
NBA Results
Miami Heat 96-84 Chicago Bulls
Oklahoma City Thunder 98-108 Cleveland Cavaliers
Los Angeles Clippers 120-100 Phoenix Suns
Dallas Mavericks 106-109 New Orleans Pelicans
Minnesota Timberwolves 100-112 Atlanta Hawks
Indiana Pacers 106-99 Orlando Magic
Milwaukee Bucks 95-101 San Antonio Spurs
Detroit Pistons 110-114 Toronto Raptors
Boston Celtics 111-114 Golden State Warriors
Washington Wizards 117-115 Denver Nuggets
Houston Rockets 99-87 Los Angeles Lakers
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