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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell WestbrookRick Scuteri/The Associated Press

Russell Westbrook had 33 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from 20 points down to beat the Phoenix Suns 109-97 on Sunday night.

D.J. Augustin scored 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter for the Thunder, who snapped a four-game road skid. Steven Adams had 13 points and 16 rebounds, and Dion Waiters scored 18 points.

Oklahoma City pulled away with a dominant fourth quarter and stayed 2 1/2 games ahead of New Orleans for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Westbrook was 10 of 29 from the field and 12 of 14 from the foul line while playing 38 minutes.

Markieff Morris scored 24 points for the Suns, who dropped four games behind Oklahoma City. Rookie reserve T.J. Warren had 18 points, and Eric Bledsoe and Marcus Morris scored 15 apiece.

Westbrook shook off an early technical foul and a 2-for-9 shooting start to bring Oklahoma City back in its second game since learning star Kevin Durant needs season-ending foot surgery. Augustin, Waiters and Anthony Morrow (11) all had big buckets that turned a 79-76 deficit after three quarters into a rout.

Suns coach Jeff Hornacek made it clear before the game that it was "really a do or die moment for us to have any hope, any chance" of reaching the playoffs. As if it wasn't clear what he meant, he added: "We have to win tonight. It's as simple as that."

Markieff Morris set the tone early on for the Suns. He outscored the Thunder 16-12 in the first 8 minutes. And with Phoenix shooting 62 per cent from the field and Westbrook struggling, the Suns cruised.

Then Westbrook took over, scoring Oklahoma City's final 15 points of the half on a variety of moves, including an acrobatic alley-oop dunk to help the Thunder close to 62-54 at halftime. The Thunder tied it midway through the third quarter.

Westbrook, who had nine turnovers a night earlier in a loss at Utah, heard some "MVP! MVP!" chants in the final seconds.

SPURS 103, GRIZZLIES 89

SAN ANTONIO – Kawhi Leonard had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Spurs cruised to the victory.

San Antonio won for the 13th time in 16 games to remain sixth in the Western Conference. Tiago Splitter finished with 15 points, and Tim Duncan and Boris Diaw scored 10 apiece.

The Spurs shot 51 per cent from the field and had 25 assists while handing the Grizzlies their third straight loss.

Zach Randolph had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Memphis, and Jeff Green scored 19 points.

NETS 107, LAKERS 99

NEW YORK – Brook Lopez had 30 points and 11 rebounds, and Brooklyn kept up its playoff push with its third straight victory.

Joe Johnson added 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Nets, who moved a half-game ahead of Boston and Indiana for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics lost 119-106 to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Brooklyn won for the fifth time in six games to give itself a chance at a third straight post-season berth after an underwhelming first half of the season.

Reserve Jordan Hill had 22 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who played without Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer because of upper respiratory infections, while Ed Davis was rested with Hill returning from a three-game absence.

CLIPPERS 119, CELTICS 106

BOSTON – J.J. Redick scored 27 points, Chris Paul had 21 points and 10 assists, and the Clippers earned their seventh consecutive win.

Blake Griffin had 21 points and nine rebounds for Los Angeles, which jumped out to a 68-47 halftime lead. DeAndre Jordan had 15 points and 14 rebounds, and Matt Barnes scored 18 points.

Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 19 points. Tyler Zeller had 16, Kelly Olynyk finished with 14 and Brandon Bass scored 13.

Los Angeles pushed its advantage to 35 points midway into the third quarter.

PACERS 104, MAVERICKS 99

INDIANAPOLIS – C.J. Miles made a key 3-pointer with a minute left and finished with 28 points, helping Indiana to the victory.

The Pacers pulled even with Boston for ninth place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind Brooklyn for the final playoff spot.

Chandler Parsons led Dallas with 27 points. The Mavericks have a comfortable lead over Oklahoma City for the No. 7 seed in the West.

Dallas, one of the league's best scoring teams, played without Monta Ellis (lower right leg) and backup guard J.J. Barea (sprained left ankle).

HEAT 109, PISTONS 102

MIAMI – Heat star Dwyane Wade scored 40 points one day after having fluid removed from his balky left knee, and Udonis Haslem set season highs with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

James Ennis matched his season best with 16 points, Mario Chalmers scored 11 and Goran Dragic had 10 for the Heat, who strengthened their hold on the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

Andre Drummond had 32 points and 14 rebounds for the Pistons, who had won four in a row. Reggie Jackson had 31 points and nine assists.

Miami used seven players in the second half, after forwards Luol Deng (left knee) and Michael Beasley (right elbow) got hurt in the opening two quarters. Centers Hassan Whiteside (hand) and Chris Andersen (calf) were ruled out before the game, as was Shabazz Napier (hip). And Wade had his knee drained after being bothered by a bruise for several days.

CAVALIERS 87, 76ERS 86

CLEVELAND – LeBron James scored 20 points, Kyrie Irving added 17 and Cleveland hung on for the victory.

The Cavaliers earned their 16th straight home win despite being held scoreless in the final 4:04.

Trailing by a point, the 76ers called timeout with 8.5 seconds left. Nerlens Noel missed a shot in the lane and Tristan Thompson was fouled while grabbing the rebound. Cleveland called timeout to inbound the ball at midcourt. The pass was tipped away as time ran out.

Robert Covington scored 19 points for Philadelphia, but missed two free throws with 1:07 left that could have put the 76ers ahead.

ROCKETS 99, WIZARDS 91

WASHINGTON – James Harden had 24 points and Corey Brewer scored 15, leading Houston to the road win.

Rockets centre Dwight Howard had 11 points and 10 rebounds in 19 minutes in his third game back from a right knee injury.

Harden only made 7 of 20 shots but went 9 for 10 at the foul line. He added six assists and one into-the-stands block of Bradley Beal's 3-point try with 25 seconds left.

Trevor Ariza, who left Washington as a free agent after last season, contributed 13 points, eight rebounds and active defence for Houston, which led by as many as 16 in the first half.

The Wizards are fifth in the Eastern Conference and could have guaranteed themselves a place in the post-season with a victory.

PELICANS 110, TIMBERWOLVES 88

NEW ORLEANS – Anthony Davis had 28 points and nine rebounds, powering the Pelicans to the victory.

Omer Asik had 15 points for New Orleans, and Eric Gordon added 12 points. The Pelicans shot 57.3 per cent and were never threatened after opening a double-digit lead early in the fourth quarter.

Andrew Wiggins had 20 points and Zach LaVine scored 17 for the Timberwolves.

Robbie Hummel returned to Minnesota's lineup after missing 29 games with a fractured right hand, while Anthony Bennett came back from a right ankle sprain that sidelined him 18 games. They played limited minutes as the Wolves lost for the 10th time in 12 games.

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