Post Up: Plus One

Thunder 94 (21-20), Heat 86 (18-23)

The Oklahoma City Thunder climbed over the .500 hump after beating the Heat in Miami last night. It’s official now. OKC has a winning record.

Russell Westbrook scored 19 points, grabbed 10 boards, dished out 6 assists, and snagged 4 steals. Kevin Durant also scored 19 to go along with 8 assists and 8 rebounds in the road win, all while taking good care of the ball. He didn’t commit a single turnover. But he did do this:

Miami had Dwyane Wade available again, and he scored 18 points and passed out 6 assists. Chris Bosh added 16 points and 7 rebounds. But 21 turnovers hurt the Heat plenty, as they couldn’t close out on their home floor.

Spurs 109 (27-16), Nuggets 99 (18-24)

In the second game of Tuesday night’s double header, the defending champion San Antonio Spurs are back to doing what they do best—win. With their victory over the hometown Denver Nuggets, the Spurs extended their winning streak to four and did the exact opposite for their opponents, who are losers of four straight.

Six Spurs were in double-figs yesterday, including Timmy Duncan (16 points) and Tony Parker (18 points and 7 assists). The reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard scored 17 points and brought down 15 boards for the strong double-double in the win.

The Nuggets had a double-double man of their own. Kenneth Faried scored 26 and grabbed 14 boards in the loss. Two of those 26 came from this vicious dunk:

Despite Faried’s powerful performance and a 12-point third quarter from Arron Afflalo (21 points), the Spurs pulled away in the final period to claim the win for themselves.