Thunder strike Cleveland

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 148-124 on the back of great showings from their big three. Paul George had 36 points and seven rebounds, Russell Westbrook had his second career 23+ points and 20+ assists double-double and Carmelo Anthony finished with a 29-point, 10-rebound double-double.

Isaiah Thomas led the Cavaliers with 24 points and four assists, LeBron James had 18 and seven assists, and Jae Crowder added 17, four rebounds and four assists.

Sixers down Bucks

The Philadelphia 76ers took advantage of the absence of Nigerian-Greek forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 116-94. Cameroonian center Joel Embiid had 29 points and nine rebounds, Rookie Ben Simmons chipped in 16, eight rebounds and nine assists, and Dario Saric ended the game with 13, six rebounds and seven assists.

Khris Middleton led Milwaukee with his first career triple-double with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, Tony Snell had 15 and four rebounds, and Eric Bledsoe finished with 14 and five steals.

Rockets stun Warriors

The Houston Rockets held home court and beat the Golden State Warriors 116-108. Chris Paul had a 33-point, 11-rebound double-double, James Harden 22 points and eight assists, and Congolese/Angolan-Swiss center Clint Capela ended the game with 18, five rebounds and four steals.

Golden State were led by Kevin Durant with 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Draymond Green had 21, seven rebounds and six assists, and Stephen Curry contributed 19 and eight assists.

Blazers burn Mavericks

The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 117-108. Damian Lillard had 31 points, five rebounds and nine assists, CJ McCollum 26 and four rebounds, and Nigerian forward Al-Farouq Aminu ended the game with 13.

Wesley Matthews led the Mavs with 23 points and five rebounds, Dennis Smith Jr had 21, six rebounds and six assists, Dirk Nowitzki 21 and four rebounds, and Tunisian center Salah Mejri put up six points and grabbed six boards.

The Rest

DeMarcus Cousins had a 24-point, 10-rebund double-double in the New Orleans Pelicans 111-104 win over the Memphis Grizzlies; the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Toronto Raptors 115-109 on Andrew Wiggins’ 29 points; rookie Donovan Mitchell led the Utah Jazz to a 125-113 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers with 23 points; the Chicago Bulls beat the Atlanta Hawks 113-97, and a 22-point game from James Johnson helped the Miami Heat beat the Charlotte Hornets 106-105.

By Kaunda Chama