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Miami Heat's Chris Bosh reacts after a defensive play by Oklahoma City Thunder's Serge IbakaJ Pat Carter/The Associated Press

Just about every statistic was what the Miami Heat would have wanted.

They kept Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook off the foul line for the most part, watched Oklahoma City's two stars combine to miss every 3-pointer they tried, limited both to under 20 points and held the Thunder far below their typical scoring output of late.

And even that wasn't enough.

Durant and Westbrook both scored 19 points and the Thunder beat the Heat 94-86 on Tuesday night – the win putting Oklahoma City over the .500 mark for the first time this season.

"We did a great job of keeping our composure, just playing through the defence," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.

The stats that doomed the Heat: A 21-11 difference in turnovers, a 22-9 disparity in points off turnovers, and the Thunder getting up 92 shots to Miami's 68.

"To leave a real competitive defensive game like that on the table is pretty disappointing," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Westbrook grabbed 10 rebounds, Durant added eight rebounds and eight assists, Reggie Jackson scored 16 points and Anthony Morrow added 12 for Oklahoma City – who were nine games under .500 in late November, when Durant was still sidelined with a broken foot.

The Thunder are 13-5 with Durant in the lineup, and now winners of 18 of their last 26 – but Durant said getting over the .500 mark meant "nothing."

"We have to keep pushing," Durant said. "We're not worried about it. We didn't come in here and rejoice because we're over .500."

Dwyane Wade scored 18 points and Chris Bosh added 16 for Miami, which fell to 7-13 at home.

Durant was 0 for 8 from 3-point range – matching the second-worst showing of his career – and the Thunder got to the foul line only 10 times, less than half their team average coming into the night.

It didn't matter, especially after Miami shot only 42 per cent in the final three quarters. Miami had three shots to tie or take the lead in the fourth quarter, all of them missing and the Thunder would eventually pull away.

"We weren't loose with the ball, but we weren't taking care of the ball," Bosh said.

The game was the exact midpoint of the regular season for both teams. Oklahoma City went 21-20 in its first 41 games, Miami went 18-23.

"Trying," Wade said, when asked to describe the season's first half.

SPURS 109, NUGGETS 99

DENVER – After hitting a tough stretch in December, the San Antonio Spurs are regaining their winning form with a turnaround that has coincided with getting Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker back from injuries.

Parker scored 18 points, Leonard had 17 points and 15 rebounds, and the Spurs won their fourth in a row by beating the Denver Nuggets 109-99 on Tuesday night.

"We were missing some players, still we didn't like what we were seeing," Manu Ginobili said of a three-week stretch in December in which the Spurs lost nine of 14 games. "We didn't play well enough so we worked on it. Don't believe we've fixed the issues, it's a process. We've won four in a row but it doesn't mean we're good to go now."

Tim Duncan added 16 points, all in the second half, to help the Spurs beat the Nuggets for the fifth straight time.

Leonard has been a big part of San Antonio's recent surge, averaging 16.3 points in three games after missing the previous 15 because of a bruised right hand. Parker, too, is rounding into form after missing much of December with a hamstring strain.

"It's coming back," Parker said. "I'm still mad at myself because I missed some easy stuff (against the Nuggets). I just have to be patient. It's only my seventh game back."

Leonard said he feels like the Spurs are back on track.

"We all felt like we gave away some of those games in December," Leonard said. "We just have to win out these next games, get into a rhythm going into the All-Star break."

Denver got a big game from Kenneth Faried, with 26 points and 14 rebounds but it wasn't enough to avoid their fourth straight loss, including their second in two nights. Golden State routed the Nuggets by 43 points Monday, Denver's biggest loss of the season and the seventh biggest defeat in franchise history.

"We tried. We brung it, but the Spurs are a championship team and they're on a hot streak right now," Faried said. "They've been winning games. Their chemistry is starting to get back together, so it's kind of tough, when you're in a drought, and you play a team like that. They come out and kind of school you a little bit."

Arron Afflalo added 21 points for the Nuggets.

Leading 66-65 in the third quarter, the Spurs used a 7-0 burst to extend their advantage to eight points before settling for an 80-76 lead heading to the fourth.

Leonard then hit two 3-pointers as part of an 11-2 run by the Spurs starting the final period, stretching their advantage to 91-78 with 9:18 left for their biggest lead to that point.

Denver pulled to 100-92 on successive layups by Wilson Chandler and Faried but Parker cut off the Nuggets' momentum by connecting on a 3-pointer with 2:01 remaining. The Nuggets could not threaten the rest of the way.

San Antonio took its first lead of the game 29-27 on Cory Joseph's jumper with 9:03 remaining in the second quarter. The Spurs led 51-48 at halftime, getting five points from Manu Ginobili in the last 1:25 of the period.

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