The best friend of fantasy owners is overtime. Kevin Durant had a fantastic line in 48 minutes, but the extra five minutes made it even better. KD had a season high 37 points, 8 REB, 5 AST, 4 STL and 2 BLK to lead the Thunder to a tough road win. Russell Westbrook (30 PTS, 9 AST, 5 REB, 2 STL, 1 BLK) was also sharp and Serge Ibaka (18 PTS, 9 REB) made a strong contribution. Only Kevin Martin (6 points on 2-of-9 shooting in 37:23) was out of sorts.
The Sixers got a season-high 29 points and 15 boards from an inspired Thaddeus Young, and Evan Turner (26) was also excellent, but Jrue Holiday had a rough night (3-for-11 shooting, -17) against Westbrook. Jason Richardson had 13 points including 3-of-5 makes from deep before leaving with an ankle injury after just 18 minutes; he’s iffy for tonight.
Other November 24 Games
LAC @ ATL: It’s becoming harder to predict who will play for Atlanta. Devin Harris was out (turf toe) so DeShawn Stevenson, who had replaced Harris as a starter the previous game, seemed likely to continue in that role. Instead, he got a DNP-CD, as Larry Drew went to his ‘big’ lineup. Zaza Pachulia (19 PTS, 12 REB in 36:41) responded with by far his best game of the season. Jeff Teague (19 PTS, 11 AST) also double-doubled and Louis Williams added 18 off the bench. The tired Clippers got a great line from Chris Paul (19 PTS, 7 AST, 5 REB, 7 STL) and a decent one from Blake Griffin (22 PTS, 11 REB) but nobody else did much and Caron Butler (3 PTS in 25 minutes) was a liability.
CHA @ WAS: The 0-11 Wizards had their best chance yet, rested and at home against a mediocre opponent that played the previous night. The DC fans sat through two overtime periods before going home disappointed again. Nene was a bright spot (19 points in 29:09; more than he was expected to play) and Martell Webster (21) was hot off the bench, but the starting five didn’t do much and Kevin Seraphin (6 points in 22:23) disappointed fantasy owners who had recently picked him up. Byron Mullens was outstanding for Charlotte (27 points, 5-of-11 from downtown) and both bench gunners were sharp: Ben Gordon (19) and Ramon Sessions (21) showed no evidence of fatigue. The vastly-improved Bobcats are now 7-5, making last year’s ridiculous 7-59 look like a typo.
CLE @ MIA: What an effort by the Cavaliers, who had played the night before and are missing Kyrie Irving (hand). They were leading the mighty Heat by seven with less than two minutes remaining, only to give up a 9-0 run and let the game slip away. LeBron James (30) and Chris Bosh (23) were the game’s high scorers; Dwyane Wade added 18 after battling migraines in practice a day earlier. Ray Allen was again on the floor with the Big Three in crunch time, scoring 16 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, including the decisive 3-pointer. Cleveland used nine players, eight of whom scored in double figures. Jeremy Pargo (16 PTS, 7 AST) had another nice game as the interim PG and Anderson Varejao added 15 REB, 4 AST and 4 STL to his 10 points.