NBA scores: Kevin Durant dominates, Wizards top defending champs

Kevin Durant stole the show when he scored 36 points in just 23 minutes to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder past the Denver Nuggets 109-81 to highlight several games on the slate on Tuesday.

Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha poured in 13 points each to complement their superstar teammate, but it was the three-time NBA scoring champion who dominated in every aspect. He added six rebounds, four assists, a steal and block to fill up the stat sheet and put the Nuggets away in front of the Loud City home crowd.

Denver countered with 10 points apiece from guards Nate Robinson and Andre Miller and shot just 38 percent from the field in the blowout. Denver committed 21 turnovers and lost the rebounding margin by an incredible mark of 55-33.

The deficiencies on the interior were clear as the Nuggets also lost the points in the paint margin 46-32.

Warriors 100, Lakers 95
David Lee scored 31 points and added six rebounds as the Golden State Warriors won the first of two games against the Los Angeles Lakers in China 100-95.

Stephen Curry added 24 points for the Warriors while Andrew Bogut chipped in with 14. Golden State outshot the Lakers 44 percent to 43 percent but dominated the battle inside by scoring 40 points in the paint to L.A.‘s 18.

Nick Young led the way for the Lakers with 18 points, while Pau Gasol added 15. Chris Kaman notched a double-double effort with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Los Angeles led by as many as 11 points before the Warriors came back to win.

Kobe Bryant did not suit up for the contest and is still without a timetable for return from a torn Achilles tendon. That didn’t stop the throngs of NBA fans in Beijing from lauding he and both teams upon arrival, however:

Wizards 100, Heat 82
The Heat stole the show with LeBron James’ personal highlight reel of high-flying dunks, but the Wizards won the game as the defending champs visited Verizon Center.

Bradley Beal scored 29 points on 10-of-15 shooting to lead all scorers and added two assists. Trevor Ariza mitigated a poor 4-of-12 shooting night by grabbing nine rebounds and adding five assists to go along with his 13 points. Al Harrington added 14 points in 17 minutes off the bench.

The Wizards shot 47 percent from the field and held Miami to just 39 percent.

Led by Dwyane Wade and Shane Battier with 14 points apiece, the Heat had five players score in double figures.

And then there were the dunks:

Bobcats 92, Cavaliers 74
The Bobcats got 14 points from Kemba Walker en route to a convincing victory over the Cavs at Canton Memorial Civic Center in Canton, Ohio.

Charlotte used a 32-17 third quarter to vault themselves to the victory. They shot 48 percent from the field and held the Cavs to just 40 percent.

Kyrie Irving and C.J. Miles led the way for Cleveland with 15 points apiece. No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett added 7 points in 19 minutes off the bench before fouling out. The Cavs committed 23 turnovers, which hampered their ability to maintain the lead and allowed the Bobcats to come roaring back in the third.

Nets 82, Celtics 80
Brook Lopez scored 20 points to lead all scorers and totaled four rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals on an efficient 8-for-15 shooting performance to lead the Nets past the C’s at Barclays Center.

Paul Pierce only registered one field goal for four points, but found other ways to contribute with 10 rebounds and five assists.

Courtney Lee led the way for the Celtics with 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the field, but he connected on 3 of 6 from long range. He added four rebounds and three steals coming off the bench. Both teams struggled shooting the ball as the C’s shot 36 percent and the Nets 35 percent.

Brooklyn led by as many as 10 points and won the battle inside by a margin of 40-34 points in the paint.

The game marked the first meeting since the offseason trade that brought Kevin Garnett, Pierce and Jason Terry to the Nets.

How weird does this look?:

Grizzlies 102, Bucks 99
Quincy Pondexter scored 24 points and added four rebounds as the Grizzlies defeated the Bucks at FedEx Forum in Memphis.

The Grizzlies took care of the basketball and only committed 13 turnovers while forcing the Bucks into 18 giveaways. They struggled defensively and allowed the Bucks to shoot 46 percent from the field.

Reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol didn’t register a blocked shot but shined everywhere else with 18 points, six rebounds and seven assists.

Brandon Knight registered 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and added five rebounds, four assists and one steal. Five Bucks players scored in double figures.

Clippers 102, Suns 96
Chris Paul had 24 points and nine assists while Jared Dudley added 12 points as the Clippers defeated the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center on Tuesday.

DeAndre Jordan notched a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds on the evening to demonstrate that he’s working hard to up his production. But in terms of entertainment value, it’s nice to know that he can still do this.

Both teams struggled taking care of the ball as the Clippers totaled 21 turnovers and the Suns netted 19. Los Angeles used stellar 52.7 percent shooting from the field to take control of the game.

Goran Dragic led the way for the Suns with 20 points on 8-12 shooting, including 4-4 from the three-point line. The long-range shot was Phoenix’s best asset on the night as they shot 43.5 percent from deep.

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