OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Kevin Durant scored 18 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder opened a 40-point halftime lead in one of the most lopsided first halves in NBA history on their way to a 114-69 blowout of the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday night.Russell Westbrook had 12 points and 11 assists before he and the rest of Oklahoma City’s starters were pulled less than 5 minutes into the second half with the Thunder leading 79-25.
Westbrook powered home a right-handed slam to put an exclamation point on the first half and put Oklahoma City up 64-24. It was the fifth-biggest halftime lead in NBA’s shot clock era and the largest since Golden State set the record with an 88-41 edge on Sacramento on Nov. 2, 1991, according to STATS.
It was the largest blowout ever for Charlotte, which had shown promise with seven early wins the same number it had last season while setting an NBA record for futility.
NETS 96, KNICKS 89, OT
NEW YORK (AP) The Nets worked overtime to pull out the opener of their new-look rivalry with the Knicks, winning to tie their city rivals for first place.
Jerry Stackhouse, wearing the No. 42 Jackie Robinson made famous in Brooklyn, made the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3:31 left in overtime as the Nets controlled the extra period of a playoff-like game that neither team led by more than seven.
Brook Lopez had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Deron Williams added 16 points and 14 assists as the Nets improved to 7-1 in their new home and tied the Knicks atop the Atlantic Division at 9-4.
Carmelo Anthony had 35 points and 13 rebounds, but was only 10 of 16 at the free throw line. Tyson Chandler finished with 28 points and 10 boards, but no other Knicks player was in double figures.
PISTONS 108, TRAIL BLAZERS 101
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) Brandon Knight scored 16 of his 26 points in the first half, outplaying Damian Lillard in a matchup of young guards and leading the Pistons to a victory over the Trail Blazers.
Lillard entered the day as the NBA’s top rookie scorer, averaging 19.6 points per game. He missed his first 12 shots from the field against the Pistons.
Detroit is 4-3 since dropping its first eight games. The Pistons won for the first time when allowing more than 90 points.
LaMarcus Aldridge was back in the lineup for Portland after missing a game with back spasms. He scored 32 points but didn’t have enough help with Lillard struggling.
SPURS 118, WIZARDS 92
WASHINGTON (AP) Boris Diaw scored 16 points, Tiago Splitter had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Tony Parker added 15 to help the Spurs win their fourth straight over the still-winless Washington Wizards.
The Wizards are the 12th team in NBA history to start the season 0-12 according to STATS and are six away from equaling the New Jersey Nets’ record 0-18 start in 2009-10. In their first 11 games, Washington lost by a total of just 72 points and never by more than 16.
The Spurs had seven players in double figures as they continued their successful road trip. Tim Duncan had 14, Gary Neal 13, Manu Ginobili 12 and Matt Bonner had 11. After winning the first four games of the six-game trip, they’re now 8-1 on the road and 12-3 overall.
GRIZZLIES 84, CAVALIERS 78
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol scored 19 points each and the Memphis Grizzlies overcame a lethargic performance to escape with a victory over the Cavaliers.
Rudy Gay scored 15 points, and Quincy Pondexter had 10 points, including 2 of 3 from outside the arc as Memphis won its second straight and maintained its position with the best record in the NBA.
Anderson Varejao and Dion Waiters scored 15 each to lead Cleveland, Varejao grabbing 22 rebounds, including eight offensive board. Daniel Gibson scored 11 for the Cavs, who lost their third straight and ninth in the last 10.
The Cavaliers still held the lead with 8:28 left, but Memphis closed the game on a 13-4 run, part of the Grizzlies outscoring Cleveland 22-9.
BUCKS 93, BULLS 92
CHICAGO (AP) Ersan Ilyasova scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half and the Bucks overcame a 27-point deficit in a stunning win over the Bulls.
Richard Hamilton scored a season-high 30 points for the Bulls but missed a shot at the buzzer that could have won it.
Ilyasova led a 31-4 second half-run as the Bucks snapped a nine-game losing streak to Chicago and prevented the Bulls from moving past Milwaukee into first place in the Central Division.
Ilyasova scored 12 points in the fourth quarter when Milwaukee outscored Chicago 30-12. Milwaukee played the entire fourth quarter with five reserves: Ilyasova, Epke Udoh, Beno Udrih, Mike Dunleavy and Doron Lamb.
John Henson, Udrih and Udoh all scored 11 points while Monta Ellis added 10. The Bucks hadn’t beaten Chicago since April 6, 2010.
JAZZ 105, NUGGETS 103
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Al Jefferson scored a season-high 28 points and Derrick Favors made three free throws down the stretch, helping the Jazz remain unbeaten at home with a win over the Nuggets.
The Nuggets had a chance to tie it with 3.6 seconds left but Ty Lawson was double-teamed and passed too late for Corey Brewer to get off a final shot.
The Jazz, who improved to 6-0 at home, trailed by as many as 16 in the first half and were down 12 with 7:27 left in the third before going on a 14-2 run to tie it at 77.
The Nuggets played the rest of the way without Andre Iguodala, who was ejected with 3:24 left in the third. He had 10 points, three rebounds and three turnovers.
Favors added a season-high 19 points and seven rebounds, including two in the final minute.
Kenneth Faried led Denver with 21 points.