OKLAHOMA CITY: Oklahoma City set aside some bad news off the court to beat NBA Eastern Conference leader Atlanta 123-115 on Friday, with Russell Westbrook scoring 17 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and notching yet another triple double to steer the Thunder to an important victory.

The Thunder earlier in the day conceded that reigning league MVP Kevin Durant will probably miss the rest of the season with a foot injury, yet the team came out with an impressive performance that lifted Oklahoma City two games clear of New Orleans in the fight for the last playoff-yielding spot in the West.

The Pelicans lost ground with a defeat at league-leading Golden State, while other key results saw Memphis boost its Southwest Division lead with victory at Dallas and the Los Angeles Clippers end Washington’s winning streak.

Oklahoma’s Westbrook recorded his seventh triple-double since the All-Star break, his ninth of the season and the 17th of his career. He had 10 rebounds and 14 assists while making all 17 of his free throws.

Dion Waiters matched a season high with 26 points for the Thunder, which faces an uphill task to make the playoffs without Durant.

Pero Antic scored a career-high 22 points for the Hawks, whose lead atop the mediocre East was trimmed to nine games.

Memphis ended a run of three-successive road losses by pulling away in the third quarter and beating Dallas 112-101.

Zach Randolph scored 21 points while Marc Gasol had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who shot 64.7 percent in the second half (22 of 34).

Dallas, which is seventh in the West, 4-1/2 games ahead of Oklahoma City, had a three-game winning streak halted. The Mavericks were led by Dirk Nowitzki and Devin Harris with 16 points each.

Golden State closed in on the best regular season record in franchise history by beating New Orleans 112-96.

Stephen Curry overcame a subpar shooting performance to score 16 points with 11 assists, while Harrison Barnes added 22 points.

Curry missed 12 of his first 13 shots from the floor and was 0 for 7 from 3-point range before making back-to-back shots from beyond the arc in the third quarter. He finished 4 for 17 for the Warriors, who improved to 55-13, the second-most wins in team history — and four shy of the franchise record.

Los Angeles’ Chris Paul had 30 points and 15 assists to lead the Clippers to a 113-99 win against Washington.

J.J. Redick scored 26 points for the Clippers, who are fifth in the West.

Chicago’s Nikola Mirotic matched a career high with 29 points to propel the Bulls to a 108-92 victory over Toronto.

Joakim Noah had 10 rebounds, equaled a career high with 14 assists and scored eight points to come within one basket of a triple-double for the Bulls, who pulled half a game ahead of the Raptors for third place in the East. They also took a 3-0 lead in the season series, assuring them the edge in any potential playoff tiebreaker.

Cleveland extended its home winning streak to 15 games and officially secured a playoff spot by edging Indiana 95-92.

LeBron James scored 29 points — 13 in the fourth quarter— despite suffering from a head cold. He scored 11 straight points in the fourth to give Cleveland a 93-92 lead. However, it was Cavs guard Iman Shumpert who came up with the biggest play, running down a long rebound and then knocking down two free throws with a second left.

San Antonio led throughout to beat Boston 101-89 despite being on the wrong end of a 16-0 late scoring run, with Kawhi Leonard having 22 points to lead the Spurs to their seventh-straight win over the Celtics.

Orlando snapped a six-game skid with a 111-104 win against Portland, with Elfrid Payton contributing 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Brooklyn’s Brook Lopez had 32 points and a season-high 18 rebounds, helping the Nets beat Milwaukee 129-127 in the second triple-overtime meeting between the teams this season.

Miami clamped down in the fourth quarter to beat a misfiring Denver 108-91, led by 22 points from Dwyane Wade.

Sacramento beat Charlotte for the second time in 10 days, with Rudy Gay having 33 points and nine rebounds for the Kings.

Philadelphia beat New York 97-81 in a meeting of the East’s worst teams, with Nerlens Noel scoring a career-high 23 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.