PHILLY YIELDS TO OKC THUNDER
Westbrook leads Oklahoma with 37 points in physical contest vs. Sixers
Russell Westbrook scored 37 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Philadelphia 76ers 122-112 on Sunday night for their eighth straight victory.
Westbrook made just 6 of 20 shots in the first half, when he was knocked to the ground trying to take a charge as Joel Embiid threw down a dunk over him. He was 8 of 13 in the second half and also had 14 assists and nine rebounds.
Paul George scored 31 points, and Steven Adams added 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder. Embiid had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Ben Simmons added 22 points for the 76ers.
The Thunder said guard Andre Roberson is expected to miss the rest of the season after having surgery on a ruptured left patella tendon. Roberson, who was a second-team All-Defense selection last season, was injured when his knee buckled and he fell Saturday at Detroit.
CAVALIERS 121, PISTONS 104
In Cleveland, LeBron James had 25 points, 14 assists and narrowly missed his second straight triple-double, and Cleveland sent Detroit to its eighth straight loss.
Cleveland has won consecutive games for the first time since a fivegame winning streak Dec. 9-17.
James was 8 of 15 from the field, 8 of 9 from the foul line and had eight rebounds. Kevin Love had 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Tobias Harris and Anthony Tolliver each scored 20 points for the Pistons.
RAPTORS 123, LAKERS 111
In Toronto, Fred VanVleet scored a career-high 25 points, DeMar DeRozan had 19 and Toronto snapped Los Angeles’ winning streak at four games.
Kyle Lowry had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Jonas Valanciunas added 13 points and 10 rebounds to help the Raptors win their seventh straight over the Lakers.
The victory guarantees the Raptors will have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference through Feb. 4, meaning Dwane Casey will coach Team LeBron in the All-Star Game. Boston’s Brad Stevens, whose Celtics lead the Eastern Conference, is ineligible after coaching last year’s game.
Julius Randle had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Jordan Clarkson also scored 17 points for the Lakers. /