Paul George scores 36 as Thunder thump Blazers

PAUL George scored 36 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 123-114 home win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.

Oklahoma City extended its winning streak to three games and snapped Portland's three-game winning streak.

The result not only put the Thunder ahead of the Blazers by a game in third place in the Western Conference, but it also gave Oklahoma City a 2-0 advantage in the season series between the teams with two meetings remaining.

The Thunder led virtually the entire way, with the Blazers leading for just 23 seconds -- all in the first half.

Even so, Oklahoma City couldn't put Portland away until the final minutes.

With just more than two minutes remaining, George stepped in front of Jusuf Nurkic's pass and took it the other way himself, using his body to protect his shooting arm from Nurkic at the basket as he finished the layup. The hoop put Oklahoma City on top 117-108.

The steal was the last of five for George. The Thunder tied a season high with 16 steals in the win.

Russell Westbrook had 29 points, including a pair of emphatic dunks in the final two minutes to put the exclamation point on the victory. Westbrook added 14 assists and 10 rebounds.

He sealed his NBA-best 14th triple-double of the season with a rebound shortly after George's steal started to make things feel comfortable for the Thunder.

Timberwolves go to Towns, beat Suns

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 25 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and handed out seven assists on Tuesday to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 118-91 road win over the Phoenix Suns.

The Suns were seeking payback after Derrick Rose’s buzzer-beating shot on Sunday lifted the Timberwolves to a 116-114 win, but Towns and Minnesota had other ideas.

Towns scored 20 points, hauled down 11 boards and dished out five assists in the first half as the Timberwolves built a 15-point halftime lead.