OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Russell Westbrook scored 32 points in a triple-double and the Thunder held off the Rockets 115-113 on Friday night to cut their deficit to 2-1 in the first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Westbrook scored 51 points in a triple-double on Wednesday, but the Rockets won, and Westbrook was criticized for shooting too much. This time, shots and contributions were distributed more evenly throughout the game. Taj Gibson scored 20 points and Andre Roberson and Victor Oladipo each added 12 for the Thunder, who shot 55 percent from the field.
“I had to do a better job of trusting my teammates for 48 minutes,” Westbrook said. “Tonight, those guys made plays throughout the whole game. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Westbrook also had 13 rebounds and 11 assists. It was his second straight triple-double and the seventh playoff triple-double of his career.
James Harden scored 44 points for Houston, but he missed a 3-pointer that could have won the game just before time expired.
Celtics 104, Bulls 87
Al Horford had 18 points and eight rebounds, Isaiah Thomas scored 16 points, and the top-seeded Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls 104-87 after dropping the first two games of their opening-round series at home.
The Celtics pulled away after a 20-point lead shrunk to one early in the third quarter and put themselves in position to tie the series just as it was getting away from them. Game 4 is Sunday in Chicago.
They got a recorded message from Kevin Garnett before the game. Thomas, still grieving the death of his sister, had a few things to say, too.
Clippers 111, Jazz 106
Chris Paul scored a season-high 34 points and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied for a 111-106 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.
The Jazz led most of the game before Paul took over in the fourth quarter and powered a 15-0 run that gave the Clippers a 103-96 lead with 2:09 remaining. Utah never led again.
The Clippers overcame a spectacular night from Gordon Hayward, who scored a career-high 40 points. But Paul simply dominated the fourth quarter, scoring nine straight himself during the run and iced the game with a pair of free throws with 5.3 seconds remaining and finished with seven rebounds and 10 assists.