Roundup: Chris Paul outplays Russell Westbrook as Clippers beat Thunder

The superstar point guard trying to lead a team without its high-scoring forward had his way Wednesday night.

Only this time, it wasn't Russell Westbrook. It was Chris Paul.

Paul had 33 points and nine assists, J.J. Redick added 25 points and the Los Angeles Clippers beat Oklahoma City 120-108, ending the Thunder's seven-game home winning streak.

DeAndre Jordan had 18 points and 17 rebounds for the Clippers, who are fighting for a top-four seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Oklahoma City is battling to merely make the field and fell a half-game behind the New Orleans Pelicans in the race for the final playoff spot.

Both teams are playing for extended stretches without their standout forwards: Kevin Durant for the Thunder, Blake Griffin for the Clippers. In their absence, Paul fared better than his All-Star counterpart.

Westbrook, who had recorded triple-doubles in five of Oklahoma City's previous six games, finished with 24 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and a career-high 10 turnovers.

"He's human, I guess, so he struggled a little bit, which was great," Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers said.

Then he praised Paul.

"He's competitive, so you want to play well in the matchup. You want to always win your matchup. But I think he wants to win the game," Rivers said.

"Everyone else talks about all that other stuff. I think CP came into the game thinking, 'Let's beat Oklahoma' and I think that's why he played well."

Anthony Morrow came off the bench to score 26 points for the Thunder, who could get Durant back from a foot injury in a week or two, coach Scott Brooks said before the game.

Los Angeles went 15 of 30 from behind the arc and controlled the game throughout. Paul went 5 of 8 from 3-point range while Matt Barnes scored 22 points on 6-of-7 shooting on 3s.

"All over the floor defensively, we struggled tonight," Brooks said. "They played a great basketball game. Chris Paul, I thought he had the game under control. . They had their way. The ball was playing with a lot of freedom tonight."

The Clippers jumped to a 28-11 lead, but Morrow led a comeback with five first-half 3-pointers. Oklahoma City tied it at 47 midway through the second quarter, but Paul hit a pair of 3-pointers in the next two minutes as Los Angeles re-established control.

The Clippers pushed their lead to 86-66 with 6:53 left in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Paul. The advantage eventually peaked at 22 points. Oklahoma City came no closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

TRAIL BLAZERS 105, ROCKETS 100

PORTLAND — LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points and 14 rebounds, and Portland limited James Harden to 18 points and tied Houston for third place in the Western Conference.

Harden was averaging just over 27 points to rank second in the league. He had scored more than 40 in two previous games against Portland this season.

Corey Brewer scored 23 points for Houston, including 17 in the fourth quarter.

Robin Lopez finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Blazers, who have won a Western Conference-best 27 games at home this season.

WARRIORS 105, PISTONS 98

OAKLAND — Klay Thompson reached the 5,000-point milestone and knocked down two late 3-pointers in a 1:09 span, leading Golden State past Detroit for its fifth straight win.

Thompson finished with 27 points on 11-for-19 shooting in the Warriors' 51st victory — matching their total from last season — and their eighth straight against Detroit.

Andre Drummond had a career-high 27 rebounds — 17 offensive — to go with 22 points in the Pistons' eighth straight loss.

Thompson's two 3s came during a decisive 18-2 run, including one with 5:37 left to put Golden State ahead by 10 as Detroit couldn't fight back.

NUGGETS 115, HAWKS 102

DENVER — Danilo Gallinari had 23 points, Will Barton added 16 and Denver beat Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta for its eighth straight home win over the Hawks.

By the end of the third quarter, Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer had seen enough and inserted his bench players, who went on a 24-1 run midway through the fourth quarter to make the score respectable after trailing by 32 with 7:32 remaining. The Hawks haven't won in the Mile High City since Dec. 6, 2006.

Kyle Korver had 18 points to lead Atlanta. He hit five 3-pointers to give him 1,697 in his career and move him past Kobe Bryant (1,694) for 12th in NBA history.

CELTICS 95, GRIZZLIES 92

BOSTON — Marcus Smart converted a go-ahead, three-point play with 52 seconds left, Avery Bradley added a clutch jumper with 8 seconds remaining and Boston ended a five-game losing streak against Memphis.

Bradley scored 17 points to help the Celtics win their second in a row as they chase a playoff spot.

Smart put Boston ahead 91-90 with the last of 14 lead changes in the game, which ended when Mike Conley missed a deep 3-pointer for Memphis just before the buzzer.

Conley led Memphis with 20 points after missing time in the second half with an injured ankle or knee. Tony Allen added 16 points, and Zach Randolph had 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

HEAT 104, NETS 98

MIAMI — Dwyane Wade had 28 points and nine assists, Chris Andersen tied a career high with 18 points and set a season high with 14 rebounds, and Miami finished off a season sweep of Brooklyn.

Goran Dragic added 17 points in his return to the Miami lineup. The Heat went 7-0 against New York's two teams this season — 4-0 against the Nets, 3-0 against the Knicks — and moved back into the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race, helped by Sacramento beating Charlotte earlier Wednesday night.

The Heat were without centre Hassan Whiteside, serving a one-game suspension for elbowing Boston's Kelly Olynyk on Monday night.

Deron Williams and Jarrett Jack each scored 18 points for the Nets. Brook Lopez finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

BULLS 104, 76ERS 95, OT

PHILADELPHIA — Aaron Brooks scored seven of his season-high 31 points in overtime to help short-handed Chicago beat Philadelphia

Pau Gasol had 27 points and 16 rebounds, and Nikola Mirotic finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls. They snapped a three-game skid without four regulars and three of their top five scorers.

The Bulls dressed only 10 players and were without Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah. Rose had knee surgery Feb. 27, but said Monday that hopes to return this season, targeting 4-to-6 weeks for a comeback from yet another knee injury. Butler (elbow) missed his sixth straight game, and Gibson (ankle) sat out his seventh in a row. Noah (knee) was a late scratch.

Ish Smith led Philadelphia with a career-high 23 points.

SUNS 106, TIMBERWOLVES 97

PHOENIX — Markieff Morris scored 24 points, Eric Bledsoe had 18 points and nine assists and Phoenix beat Minnesota.

Rookie T.J. Warren added a career-high 17 points, and Marcus Thornton hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter and finished with 14 points.

Warren's dunk with 3:20 left punctuated the win. He was fouled on the basket and made the free throw to give the Suns a 12-point lead.

Kevin Martin had 16 points for Minnesota.

KINGS 113, HORNETS 106

CHARLOTTE — Ben McLemore scored 27 points, Rudy Gay added 26 and Sacramento beat Charlott to snapp a four-game losing streak.

DeMarcus Cousins had 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Kings.

Charlotte's Kemba Walker had six points in 16 minutes off the bench after missing 18 games following knee surgery, but the Hornets lost centre Al Jefferson to a strained right calf late in the third quarter. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist led Charlotte with 23 points.

BUCKS 97, MAGIC 91

MILWAUKEE — Khris Middleton scored a season-high 30 points for the second time in three games to lead Milwaukee past Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.

Middleton, who also had 30 points Saturday night against Washington, was 12 of 17 from the floor. The Bucks have won 10 of their last 12 home games.

Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Orlando. The Magic have lost nine a row on the road.