NBA: Russell Westbrook pushes Thunder, just not far enough, in Hawks loss

The Oklahoma City Thunder rode another ferocious Russell Westbrook performance on Monday night, only to come up short in a 106-100 loss to the more composed Atlanta Hawks.

Russell Westbrook shown during the Oklahoma City Thunder's loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night in the NBA. Kevin C Cox / Getty Images / AFP / November 30, 2015
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Russell Westbrook let out an emphatic scream at the top of the key, surely believing his fourth-quarter outburst would carry the Oklahoma City Thunder to another victory.

Not so fast.

Jeff Teague brought the Atlanta Hawks back, just when it looked as though they had let one slip away.

Teague scored 25 points and made all the big shots down the stretch, sending the Hawks to a 106-100 victory that snapped Oklahoma City’s four-game winning streak Monday night.

“We know he’s capable of getting really hot,” Teague said of Westbrook. “We just tried to do our best to make it tough for him, make him try to make tough twos, and at the other end just try to be aggressive.”

Westbrook scored 34 points, half of them in the final quarter. He scored off a drive with 2:49 remaining to give the Thunder their first lead since the opening basket, and then knocked down a jumper to put Oklahoma City up by four.

Teague took control from there. The point guard darted into the lane for a basket that thwarted the Thunder’s run, Paul Millsap hit a pair of free throws to tie it, and Teague scored on another dash to the rim to put Atlanta ahead for good, 98-96, with 1:09 left.

The Hawks made a big stop on Westbrook, as well. A timeout allowed Kent Bazemore to get on the court to guard the Thunder star, and the move paid off when he was forced into an errant pass that was stolen by Thabo Sefolosha.

In addition to the crucial turnover, Oklahoma City made just one of their last five shots.

“We just put ourselves in a bad position,” Westbrook said.

Millsap led the Hawks with 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Al Horford added 21 points, 13 rebounds and closed out the game with a dunk.

“We’re learning ... that when a team is making a run, not to get rattled,” Millsap said. “I felt like we kept our composure really well. (Westbrook) got hot, and when a guy like that gets hot, he’s tough to stop. But we stayed cool, finally got some stops and scored the basketball when we needed to.”

Kevin Durant, selected Western Conference player of the week after coming back from a left hamstring injury, had 25 points. Still, the Thunder lost for the first time since he rejoined the line-up.

“I could’ve been a lot better,” Durant said.

Indeed, it was Westbrook who carried Oklahoma City. He also grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out seven assists.

Elsewhere in the NBA

Golden State Warriors 106, Utah Jazz 103

Stephen Curry scored 26 points and the Golden State Warriors held on for their NBA-record 19th consecutive win to start the season, 106-103 over the Utah Jazz on Monday night.

With the game tied at 101 with 51 seconds left, Curry hit a three-pointer from the left wing to give the Warriors the lead. Rodney Hood scored 14 seconds later to bring the Jazz within one.

After Curry missed a three, the Jazz had a chance to take the lead, but Hood missed a three from the wing with 5 seconds left. Curry hit two free throws and Gordon Hayward’s half-court heave at the buzzer fell way short.

Klay Thompson added 20 points for the Warriors, including four three-pointers. Hayward led the Jazz with 24 points.

Derrick Favors gave Utah a 99-97 lead on a three-point play before Curry hit a three.

The Warriors have won 23 straight regular-season games dating to last season.

Chicago Bulls 92, San Antonio Spurs 89

Pau Gasol had 18 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots, and the Bulls snapped San Antonio’s five-game winning streak.

Jimmy Butler scored 14 points and reserve Doug McDermott had 12 for Chicago in the opener of a four-game homestand. Joakim Noah contributed eight points, seven assists and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench.

Gasol blocked LaMarcus Aldridge on a drive with 1:06 left, and then hit one of two foul shots on the other end for a 90-89 lead. After Manu Ginobili missed for San Antonio, Butler hit two free throws with 10.6 seconds left.

The Spurs had one last chance, but Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker each missed three-point attempts in the final seconds. Parker’s try was partially blocked by Derrick Rose, who finished with 11 points and six assists.

Boston Celtics 105, Miami Heat 95

Avery Bradley scored 25 points and forced a big turnover when he knocked away a pass by Dwyane Wade with a minute remaining, and Boston put all five starters in double figures against Miami.

Jared Sullinger had 17 points to help the Celtics snap a three-game road slide. Isaiah Thomas scored 16 while fellow starters Jae Crowder and Amir Johnson each added 13 for Boston.

Evan Turner also had 13 off the bench.

Wade scored 30 for Miami, who cut a 14-point deficit to one in the fourth quarter but never led after half-time. Chris Bosh played through an illness to add 21 points for the Heat.

Miami made it a one-possession game on five separate occasions in the final 14 minutes, and Boston scored on their ensuing trip every time. The first three of those were all on jumpers by Bradley, two of them being three-pointers.

Milwauke Bucks 92, Denver Nuggets 74

Greg Monroe scored 18 points and Milwaukee forced 24 turnovers that led to 35 points in handing Denver their seventh consecutive loss.

Jabari Parker had 16 points and Michael Carter-Williams added 12 points and nine assists for the Bucks, who won for only the second time in eight games.

Danilo Gallinari scored 13 points and Kenneth Faried added 11 for the Nuggets, who managed just 30 points in the second half after scoring only five in the third quarter of their previous game, a 92-81 loss at the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.

Detroit Pistons 116, Houston Rockets 105

Reggie Jackson had 31 points and Andre Drummond added 24 points and 13 rebounds as the Pistons beat the Rockets.

The Pistons built a 23-point lead in the first half before the Rockets got back into the game by constantly intentionally fouling Drummond – he went 4-for-18 from the line. Houston were never able to get within one possession though.

Rookie Stanley Johnson had 19 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for Detroit, while James Harden scored 29 for the Rockets.

Los Angeles Clippers 102, Portland Trail Blazers 87

Blake Griffin scored 23 points, DeAndre Jordan had a season-high 24 rebounds along with 18 points, and Los Angeles beat Portland for their third straight victory.

Griffin shot 8-of-19 and grabbed eight boards. His 450 points are the most by a Clippers player through the first 18 games of a season since the franchise relocated from San Diego to Los Angeles in 1984/85.

Chris Paul had 10 points and six assists in 24 minutes, leaving in the third quarter because of a strained rib muscle.

The Clippers barely outrebounded Portland 55-54, the first time in 18 games this season that they had the advantage in that department.

Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, who leads the team with a 25.4 scoring average, exited because of abdominal pain with 10:13 remaining in the third. He finished with seven points and no assists in 17 minutes.

Sacramento Kings 112, Dallas Mavericks 98

DeMarcus Cousins returned to the line-up from a back injury and scored 16 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, leading Sacramento past struggling Dallas.

Rajon Rondo had 21 points and Rudy Gay added 20 for the Kings, who had dropped six straight to Dallas and 21 of the previous 23 meetings. Sacramento outscored the Mavericks 22-13 in the third period to take the lead for good.

Chandler Parsons had 14 points for the Mavs. Dirk Nowitzki and Zaza Pachulia both scored 13.

Dallas, who have dropped four of five, missed 28-37 attempts from three-point range.

Darren Collison added 15 points for the Kings. Cousins grabbed nine rebounds and Rondo had five assists.

Cousins missed the previous three games due to a lower back strain.

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