Westbrook lifts Thunder again

[caption id="attachment_108079" align="alignleft"] Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder takes a shot over Al-Horford of the Boston Celtics during their game at TD Garden in Boston Friday. — AFP
[/caption] BOSTON — Russell Westbrook tallied 45 points, including Oklahoma City’s final 15 in the fourth quarter, to lead the Thunder to a 117-112 win over the Boston Celtics Friday. Westbrook scored 12 of his points in the final 96 seconds, including consecutive three pointers as he went head-to-head with Celtics star guard Isaiah Thomas. “Isaiah was playing well, but I don’t need fuel from nobody, from any other player, to get me going,” said Westbrook, who also had 11 assists and 11 rebounds in his third straight 40-point game. Westbrook also recorded his 14th triple-double as he is adjusting nicely to life this NBA season without Kevin Durant. Former league MVP Durant left the Thunder in the off-season to join the Golden State Warriors. Thomas had 34 points and 10 assists in 34:17 of playing time. Grizzlies 115, Rockets 109: Point guard Mike Conley had 24 points and five assists and the Memphis Grizzlies held off the Houston Rockets for a 115-109 victory. The Grizzlies led 103-92 with 3:22 left in the game, but the Rockets pulled within three points with 12 seconds left when forward Ryan Anderson, who scored a season-high 31 points, hit his eighth three-pointer. A free throw from Conley and a basket from Memphis center Marc Gasol (16 points, five rebounds, four assist, two blocks) completed the scoring. Hornets 103, Bulls 91: Nicolas Batum scored his first triple-double of the season as the Charlotte Hornets beat the Chicago Bulls 103-91. Batum finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Kemba Walker also scored 20 points for the Hornets. Chicago lost their cool at the end, with Robin Lopez and Taj Gibson both being ejected with 38.1 seconds remaining. Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 26 points. Magic 109, Lakers 90: Point guard Elfrid Payton scored 25 points and added nine assists in leading the Orlando Magic to a 109-90 victory over the slumping Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers (11-22) lost their 12th game in the last 13, closing a rocky, seven-game road trip with six losses. Magic forward Serge Ibaka recorded his second consecutive double-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots. Guard Jordan Clarkson led the Lakers with 18 points. Cavaliers 119, Nets 99: Kyrie Irving scored 13 points, passed for 10 assists and tied his career high with six steals in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 119-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets. LeBron James scored 19 points and Kevin Love returned with 14 points and 15 rebounds after missing the last two games with a sore knee. Bucks 123, Wizards 96: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Malcom Brogdon set career highs in scoring 39 and 17 points respectively to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 123-96 rout of the Washington Wizards. Antetokounmpo made 12 of 19 shots and 15 of 17 free throw attempts while pulling down eight rebounds with six assists in 33 minutes of work. Jabari Parker added 21 points with eight boards while Greg Monroe finished with 12 and Tony Snell scored 11. Washington got 18 each from John Wall and Otto Porter while Markieff Morris kicked in 14 and Bradley Beal 10. Pelicans 91, Heat 87: Anthony Davis scored 28 points and grabbed a season-high 22 rebounds while the New Orleans Pelicans erased a 14-point deficit in the final 15 minutes to defeat the Miami Heat. Jrue Holiday’s driving layup put the Pelicans up 90-85 with a minute left and he made a foul shot with 9.2 seconds left to give New Orleans a 91-87 lead. Holiday finished with 22 points and six assists. Goran Dragic scored a team-high 23 points for the Heat, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Hassan Whiteside had 10 points and 18 rebounds. Other results: Kings 109, Timberwolves 105; Spurs 110, Trail Blazers 90; Hawks 109, Nuggets 108; Suns 123, 76ers 116; Raptors 104, Jazz 98; Mavericks 90, Clippers 88. — Agencies