Durant rallies Thunder past Magic
Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant (35) gets off a shot between Orlando Magic's Hedo Turkoglu, left, and Ryan Anderson (33) during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Thursday, March 1, 2012, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
ORLANDO, Florida — Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant scored 38 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter, as the Thunder came from 14 points down to beat the Orlando Magic 105-102 in Thursday’s meeting of NBA heavyweights.
Russell Westbrook added 29 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which notched its seventh straight win.
The Magic had a chance to tie it in the final seconds, but Jason Richardson’s long 3-pointer attempt bounced off the backboard at the buzzer.
Dwight Howard scored 33 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead all five Orlando starters in double figures, but they struggled to shoot from the field in the late stages.
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SUNS 104, TIMBERWOLVES 95
In Phoenix, Grant Hill scored 15 of his season-best 20 points in the second half as Phoenix pulled away to beat weary Minnesota.
Six players reached double figures for the Suns in their first game since the All-Star break. Steve Nash had 13 points and matched his season high with 17 assists as Phoenix brought up its ninth straight victory over the Timberwolves.
Kevin Love, who sat out the loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Wednesday with illness, scored 23 on 8-of-25 shooting for Minnesota, which was playing for a third straight night.
