Durant and Thunder squeeze past Clippers

NEW YORK — Kevin Durant scored the game-winning basket with 5.8 seconds left and blocked guard Chris Paul’s shot near the buzzer, lifting the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 100-99 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers Monday at Staples Center. Point guard Russell Westbrook scored 33 points and dished out seven assists, while Durant added 24 points and nine rebounds as the Thunder won for the eighth time in nine games. Serge Ibaka contributed 17 points and eight rebounds for Oklahoma City (19-9). Paul had 32 points and 10 assists to lead the Clippers, who lost their third straight. Forward Blake Griffin and guard J.J. Redick scored 15 apiece for Los Angeles (16-13). Ibaka’s jumper in the lane tied the score at 93-93 with 3:13 remaining in the contest before the teams exchanged leads down the stretch. Griffin’s fade-away bank shot gave the Clippers a two-point lead with 2:08 left. Westbrook’s three-pointer lifted Oklahoma City to a 96-95 lead, but Griffin’s dunk put Los Angeles back up 97-96 with 37.8 seconds. Westbrook answered with a jumper to give the Thunder the lead again with 29.1 seconds remaining. On the Clippers’ next possession, Westbrook stripped the ball from Redick with 14 seconds left. However, the All Star point guard failed to field the inbounds pass from Dion Waiters, and Paul grabbed the loose ball and scored on a layup, giving the Clippers a 99-98 lead with 10.9 seconds left. Durant then delivered with a clutch jumper for Oklahoma City. Both teams finished shooting 47.1 percent. Spurs 106, Pacers 92: Kawhi Leonard poured in 24 points as the San Antonio Spurs played their best during the final quarter and a half to beat the Indiana Pacers 106-92 and remain unbeaten at home. San Antonio pushed aside the Pacers with a 9-2 surge to end the third quarter and carried that momentum forward, expanding their lead to as many as 18 in the final few minutes. The Spurs outscored Indiana 34-26 over the last 15 minutes. Wizards 113, Kings 99: John Wall set a career-high with 19 assists and Marcin Gortat scored a season-high 27 points as the shorthanded Washington Wizards defeated the Sacramento Kings 113-99. Garrett Temple established a new career-high in consecutive games with 23 points and Wall scored 12 for the Wizards (12-14) as Washington won back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 14-21 when they had a three-game streak. Magic 107, Knicks 99: Nikola Vucevic matched his season high with 26 points, leading the Orlando Magic to a 107-99 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The 7-foot center shot 13-for-19 from the floor, while Tobias Harris contributed 20 points, and Evan Fournier added 16 for the Magic (16-12). Celtics 113, Timberwolves 99: Boston’s Kelly Olynyk and David Lee combined for 32 points and 13 rebounds as the Celtics ended a three-game losing streak with a wire-to-wire 113-99 win over Minnesota. Elsewhere it was: Nets 105, Bulls 102; Rockets 102, Hornets 95; Hawks 106, Trail Blazers 97; Jazz 110, Suns 89.