Thunder overcome Love’s 51 to get past T’wolves in double OT

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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Publication Date: 
Sat, 2012-03-24 19:32

Westbrook set the tone in the second overtime, stealing the ball on Minnesota’s opening possession and racing to the other end for a layup that resulted in a three-point play.
The Thunder never trailed in the period and put it away with nine straight points after Nick Collison blocked Love’s shot that would have tied it at 140.
Love, who beat Durant in the 3-Point Contest on All-Star weekend, made a career-high seven 3s and also pulled down 14 rebounds while becoming the third player to eclipse 50 points this season.
In  Los Angeles, Andrew Bynum had 28 points and nine rebounds and point guard Ramon Sessions had 20 points and 11 assists in his first start for the Lakers.
Kobe Bryant scored 18 points for Los Angeles, which finished with a season-high 33 assists and increased its Pacific Division lead to 3 1/2 games over the idle Clippers. Pau Gasol had 16 rebounds and 10 points.
In Orlando, Florida (AP) — Ryan Anderson scored 17 points, Dwight Howard added 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Orlando held off Cleveland.
All five Magic players scored in double figures as they sizzled shooting the ball early before having to fight off a Cleveland charge in third quarter. They improved to 18-3 when all their starters reach double digits.
In Auburn Hills, Michigan,  LeBron James had 17 points and 10 assists to lead Miami to its fourth straight victory.
Dwyane Wade added 24 points for the Heat, who posed for a photo earlier in the day wearing team-logo hoodies. Players were speaking out following the death of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager wearing a hooded sweatshirt who was shot by a neighborhood crime-watch volunteer last month in a suburb of Orlando, Florida
Several Heat players, including Wade and James, took the floor with messages such as “RIP Trayvon Martin” and “We want justice” scrawled on their sneakers.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Luc Mbah a Moute scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half and Milwaukee had 72 points inside the paint.
Ersan Ilyasova had 15 points and Drew Goodson added 14 points and 12 rebounds as six Bucks players scored in double digits. Monta Ellis chipped in with 13 points and Brandon Jennings added 12 for Milwaukee.
In Toronto, DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points before leaving with an injury, Andrea Bargnani had 21 and Toronto snapped New York’s five-game winning streak.
The Raptors, who had lost seven of 10 coming in, never trailed and led by as many as 22.
Gary Forbes scored 19 points, one shy of his career-high, and Jose Calderon had 10 assists as Toronto snapped a three-game skid and handed New York its first defeat under coach Mike Woodson.
In Indianapolis, Marcin Gortat had 23 points and eight rebounds, Steve Nash added 12 points and tied his season high with 17 assists, and Grant Hill scored 22 for Phoenix.
Danny Granger had 28 points and Roy Hibbert finished with 19 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who played their second game in a series of three games in three days.
Channing Frye hit a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left to give the Suns a 109-103 lead and the Pacers were never able to recover.
In Atlanta, Josh Smith had 30 points and 12 rebounds to help Atlanta get its fourth win in five games.
Jeff Teague had 17 points and six assists, Joe Johnson scored 16 and Kirk Hinrich added 14 for the Hawks. Atlanta pulled within four percentage points of Indiana, which lost 113-111 to Phoenix, for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
Deron Williams scored 20 points and Kris Humphries added 17 for New Jersey, which has lost five straight and seven of eight.
In Philadelphia,  Elton Brand scored 20 points, and Spencer Hawes had 12 points and 10 rebounds to help Philadelphia remain in first place in the Atlantic Division.
The Celtics would have grabbed first with a win, knocking out a Sixers team that has held that spot for all but a few days this season. The Sixers outscored Boston by 20 points in the third quarter to take control.
There was a serious scare when Celtics guard Mickael Pietrus left on a stretcher and was hospitalized after an awkward collision late in the first half. He was listed as having a questionable closed head injury. 
In San Antonio, Manu Ginobili had 11 points and seven assists while starting in place of an injured Tony Parker, leading the San Antonio Spurs to a 104-87 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.
Danny Green added 18 points, Tim Duncan 15 and Matt Bonner 12 for the Spurs, who have the second-best record in the Western Conference at 31-14.
In Salt Lake City,  Al Jefferson had 23 points and eight rebounds, Gordon Hayward chipped in 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Utah won its sixth straight.
All five starters reached double figures for the Jazz as Paul Millsap had 14 points, C.J. Miles scored 12 and Devin Harris added 13 points and nine assists. Alec Burks led a strong bench contribution with 15 points. Derrick Favors chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds.
 
 
 

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