NBA roundup: Durant lights up Thunder

[November 04, 2016]  The Sports Xchange

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Kevin Durant overwhelmed his former mates with a long-range shooting exhibition Thursday, leading the Golden State Warriors to a 122-96 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in a rematch of last year's Western Conference finals.

Durant connected on seven of 11 3-point attempts en route to a season-best 39 points, helping the Warriors outscore the Thunder 42-30 from beyond the arc en route to their fourth consecutive win after a season-opening loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

Russell Westbrook countered with 20 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for the Thunder, who took the court undefeated in four games but quickly fell victim to the wear and tear of a tough 85-83 road win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.

Stephen Curry had a his 21-point, seven-assist outing for Golden State, which got 18 points from Klay Thompson.

Cavaliers 128, Celtics 122

CLEVELAND -- LeBron James scored a season-high 30 points to go with 12 assists as Cleveland defeated Boston.

Kevin Love scored 26 points and Kyrie Irving added 23 for the Cavs, who improved to 5-0 for the first time since the 1976-77 season. It is the second time James has been 5-0 in his career. The other time was 2011-12 with Miami, and that year ended with James' first championship.

Isaiah Thomas scored 30 points and Avery Bradley had 26 points for the Celtics. Boston played without Al Horford (concussion) and Jae Crowder (sprained ankle).

Nuggets 102, Timberwolves 99

MINNEAPOLIS -- Danilo Gallinari scored 19 points and Jusuf Nurkic added 18 as Denver held off Minnesota.

Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 32 points and 14 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins added 25 for the Timberwolves.

Wilson Chandler also scored 19 points for Denver. Jameer Nelson added 14 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.

Bucks 125, Pacers 109

MILWAUKEE -- Jabari Parker scored 27 points and hit a career-high four 3-pointers leading Milwaukee past Indiana.

Giannis Antetokounmpo also scored 27 points for Milwaukee while Greg Monroe collected 16 points and 16 rebounds.

Paul George led the Pacers with 23 points. Reserve CJ Miles added 19.

Magic 102, Kings 94

ORLANDO -- Evan Fournier scored 29 points and Orlando pulled away in the fourth quarter from Sacramento.

DeMarcus Cousins led all scorers with 33 points but had little help as Sacramento dropped its third straight game.

Serge Ibaka scored 17 points while reserve Jeff Green added 15 for Orlando.

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