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Thunder blast Rockets 120-91 in Game 1

As awkward as he felt going up against his former teammate, Kevin Durant didn’t have a problem quite literally standing in James Harden’s way in the NBA playoffs.

Durant scored 24 points and drew a rare offensive charging foul, and the Oklahoma City Thunder routed Harden and the Houston Rockets 120-91 on Sunday night in Game 1 of their playoff series.

Durant, who’s known more for his three NBA scoring titles than for stepping in the way of oncoming opponents, got in Harden’s way on a transition drive in the third quarter in a standout defensive effort for the Thunder against the league’s second highest-scoring offense…

After letting Houston wipe away an 11-point deficit in the first half, the Thunder regained control with a 14-1 surge just before halftime and kept pouring it on.

Just after a fan nailed a half-court shot to win $20,000 in the break after the third quarter, Durant drove for a two-handed slam while getting fouled and Oklahoma City was soon up by 30.

Harden, playing against the team that traded him away just before the season started, had 20 points but the Rockets were held 15 points below their regular-season scoring average while shooting 36 percent. Houston, which set a franchise record for 3-pointers during the regular season, finished 8 for 36 (22 percent) from behind the arc…

The Thunder were already up by 23 when Larry Hill connected on the half-court shot and went bounding toward Oklahoma City’s huddle in celebration, getting congratulated by Thabo Sefolosha before the team’s bison mascot pulled him back away…

Russell Westbrook ended up with 19 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. Serge Ibaka chipped in 17 points and Kevin Martin, Harden’s replacement in the sixth man role, had nine of his 16 points in the fourth quarter with the game already in hand…

The game ball got switched out in the second quarter after it went into the stands and a drink was spilled on it.

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

LeBron dominates, Heat beat Bucks 110-87 in Game

LeBron James has never taken fewer shots in a playoff game than he did on Sunday night, which at first glance might seem like a good thing for the Milwaukee Bucks.

It was not.

James scored 27 points on 9 for 11 shooting – finishing two assists shy of a triple-double – while Ray Allen scored 20 off the bench and the defending champion Heat picked up where they left off in the NBA playoffs a year ago, never trailing on the way to beating the Bucks 110-87 in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference first-round series.

”All I care about is the win,” James said. ”I didn’t even know my stats. I just knew that we were playing efficient offensively besides the turnovers. We want to try to keep that going.”

Dwyane Wade scored 16, Chris Bosh added 15 and Chris Andersen finished with 10 on 4 for 4 shooting for the Heat, who opened their title defense by holding Milwaukee to 42 percent shooting and outrebounding the Bucks 46-31.

Brandon Jennings scored 26 points and Monta Ellis added 22 for the Bucks, who have not won the opening game of a playoff series since May 2001…

Milwaukee came into the series with Jennings predicting his team would oust the reigning champions in six games.

They’ll have to win four of five now for that to happen.

And with James playing like this, the odds would seem particularly slim. He had 10 rebounds and eight assists – both game-highs. His assist total was only six shy of what the Bucks managed, combined…

Miami outrebounded Milwaukee 22-9 after halftime.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Spurs handle Lakers 91-79, take Game 1

Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker scored 18 points each as the San Antonio Spurs led from early in the first quarter and beat the Los Angeles Lakers 91-79 on Sunday in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series.

Tim Duncan added 17 points and 10 rebounds, Matt Bonner had 10 points and Kawhi Leonard had eight points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio.

Dwight Howard had 20 points and 15 rebounds, Steve Nash scored 16 points and Pau Gasol added 16 points and 16 rebounds for Los Angeles.

Despite the double-doubles from Howard and Gasol, the Lakers failed to take full advantage of their inside presence, much to the consternation of the injured Kobe Bryant, who watched the national broadcast.

”Post. Post. Post,” Bryant tweeted in reference to the Lakers’ offense.

Bryant is out for the remainder of the season with a torn Achilles.

Los Angeles’ length caused San Antonio problems early as the Spurs missed their first three shots – all inside the paint – as they altered their shots to avoid Howard and Gasol…

Manu Ginobili hit a pair of 3s to give San Antonio a 70-57 lead to close the third. Ginobili was 6 for 13 from the field and 3 for 5 on 3s.

— Reported by Raul Dominguez of the Associated Press

Paul George shines in Pacers Game 1 win over Hawks

Paul George offered to do anything it took to win in the playoffs.

He lived up to his word.

The All-Star forward scored a career playoff high 23 points Sunday, finished with 11 rebounds and 12 assists, played good defense and, yes, led the rejuvenated Pacers to a 107-90 victory over Atlanta and their first 1-0 lead in the playoffs since 2006.

”I just tell myself, ‘keep attacking,”’ George said. ”The last week I’ve just really have been trying to take care of my body, getting massages, cold tub, eating healthy.”

George, who had been trying to recover from an abdominal strain, and his teammates certainly had time to get healthy after coach Frank Vogel gave four of the starters three days off following last Sunday’s loss at New York. None of the four – George, Roy Hibbert, George Hill and David West – logged a minute in Wednesday’s regular-season finale, either…

Despite going 3 of 13 from the field, the All-Star forward made his first 17 free throws – tying Reggie Miller’s single-game playoff record for best percentage. George then missed his 18th and final free throw with 2:35 to play, falling just short of Miller’s mark…

Hill, who sat out parts of practice Friday and Saturday with an injured left groin, made his first six shots and finished 7 of 10 from the field with three 3-pointers and 18 points. Hibbert still got 16 points and 11 rebounds, and backup Jeff Pendergraph scored 11 points, too…

The Pacers outrebounded Atlanta 48-32, limited the Hawks to 14 fast-break points and 90 overall. It was their best defensive performance in two weeks…

Indy native Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 21 points and seven assists, while Josh Smith had 15 points and eight rebounds. The only other Atlanta player to reach double figures was Al Horford with 14 points.

— Reported by Michael Marot of the Associated Press

Lakers without Kobe beat Spurs 91-86

An empty chair sat in front of Kobe Bryant’s locker Sunday night, and the Los Angeles Lakers realized they would have to fill it together.

With their playoff hopes likely on the line against powerful San Antonio, the Lakers cobbled together a group effort that kept them in the hunt.

Dwight Howard had 26 points and 17 rebounds, and the Lakers staged a dramatic rally in the fourth quarter to win their first game since losing Bryant for the season, beating the Spurs 91-86 Sunday night to stay in playoff position.

Steve Blake scored 23 points for the Lakers (44-37), who lead Utah (42-38) by 1 1/2 games for the eighth postseason spot in the Western Conference after their seventh win in eight games – even with Bryant watching from home following surgery on his torn Achilles tendon…

”It definitely gives us confidence that if we play as hard as we did tonight, we can beat anybody,” said Pau Gasol, who had seven points and 16 rebounds…

Duncan had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who have lost six straight road games. San Antonio (58-22) is likely to finish second in the West behind Oklahoma City (59-21), which holds the tiebreaker.

Tony Parker scored just four points on 1-of-10 shooting while playing for just the fourth time in April, possibly slowed by his injured shin in the Spurs’ first game since waiving disenchanted forward Stephen Jackson. San Antonio is headed into another postseason as a top-two seed, but the Spurs have lost five of eight after failing to complete a season sweep of the Lakers.

— Reported by Greg Beacham of the Associated Press

Kenneth Faried sprains ankle in Nuggets win over Blazers

The Denver Nuggets are getting good at bittersweet moments.

Andre Iguodala scored 28 points and the Nuggets set an NBA franchise record with their 55th win Sunday, beating the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers 118-109 but losing another starter.

On the day Ty Lawson (right heel) returned to Denver’s starting lineup for the first time since March 27 and played an encouraging 31 minutes, forward Kenneth Faried sprained his left ankle in the opening minutes while driving for a layup and didn’t return.

”We’re dropping like flies, man,” Lawson said. ”Well, it’s not too serious, I heard, so he might be out for a week or so. He’s a tough guy.”

Although X-rays were negative, coach George Karl stressed that he didn’t want to guess about Faried’s availability for the playoffs that start next weekend until after his top rebounder goes for an MRI on Monday…

Iguodala also grabbed seven rebounds, dished out nine assists, blocked three shots and had three steals to go with his 28 points, marking the first time in his career he’d posted those numbers in a game.

And rookie Evan Fournier scored 24 points in his second career start, sinking a pair of crucial 3-pointers in the closing minutes after the Trail Blazers had cut a 20-point deficit to 104-101 with 3:33 left.

— Reported by Arnie Stapleton of the Associated Press

Knicks clinch No. 2 seed in East with win over Pacers

Carmelo Anthony and his sore left shoulder will probably get the night off Monday.

The New York Knicks have earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, and with it the chance the rest some aching bodies.

Anthony scored 25 points on 9-for-23 shooting against the rugged Indiana defense, and the Knicks wrapped up the second spot with a 90-80 victory over the Pacers on Sunday.

The Knicks are back on the court Monday at Charlotte, but Anthony doesn’t think he’ll be joining them with nothing left to play for in the regular season.

”I always said today was a real important game for us to come in and lock down (the No. 2 seed),” Anthony said. ”It was a big game for us so now guys can get their rest, I can get my rest and come back full speed ready for the playoffs.”

Chris Copeland added 20 points and J.R. Smith had 15 for the Knicks, who will host seventh-seeded Boston next weekend. New York is guaranteed the home-court advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs after finishing a distant second to Miami in the conference…

Lance Stephenson scored 22 points and David West had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who came into the game with a chance to catch the Knicks for second but had to settle for wrapping up No. 3 after Brooklyn lost 93-87 at Toronto…

The Pacers committed 26 turnovers that led to 33 points and shot 61.5 percent at the free throw line, losing for the fourth time in five games with a sloppy offensive performance. Coach Frank Vogel will rest some of his players, too, noting George’s 1-of-8 shooting from 3-point range.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

DeMar DeRozan scores 36 in Raptors win over Nets

Deron Williams crumpled up his stat sheet and threw it away in disgust. A loss to the lottery-bound Toronto Raptors meant his Brooklyn Nets had lost their chance at earning the third seed in the Eastern Conference.

DeMar DeRozan scored 36 points, Rudy Gay had 26 points and 10 rebounds and the Raptors won their third straight game, never trailing in a 93-87 victory over the Nets on Sunday.

Brooklyn is still going to the playoffs, but could have closed to within one game of Indiana after the Pacers lost 90-80 to the New York Knicks…

Brooklyn can still tie Indiana, but the Pacers would win the tiebreaker because they’re guaranteed to win the Central Division. Brooklyn is assured of second place in the Atlantic…

Amir Johnson had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Raptors, who hadn’t won three straight since a five-game winning streak from Feb. 8 to 19…

Williams scored 30 points, Brook Lopez had 16 and Andray Blatche 15 for the Nets, whose four-game winning streak was snapped…

Former Raptor Reggie Evans had 16 rebounds for the Nets but didn’t take a single shot. … Keith Bogans started for Brooklyn in place of F Gerald Wallace, who missed his second straight game with a sore left heel.

— Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

Heat win rugged game against Bulls, 105-93

Carlos Boozer turned his shoulder and knocked Dwyane Wade to the floor, while Nate Robinson shoved LeBron James as the NBA’s reigning MVP leaped near the basket.

All in the same sequence, no less.

It was physical, rugged and exactly what the Miami Heat needed as part of their preparations for the playoffs, which start this coming weekend. James scored 24 points, Wade finished with 22 and the Heat set a franchise record for home wins in a season by topping the Chicago Bulls 105-93 on Sunday.

”It was good, especially against this team,” said James, who had seven rebounds and six assists. ”You’re definitely not just going to show up and win against these guys. You’re going to have to work for it. So for us, to continue to get better and for us to have a really physical game, good game, testy game, we liked it.”

Chicago had more fouls (30) than field goals (29), the first time the Bulls have managed that in a regular-season game since Nov. 19, 2008.

The Bulls sent Miami to the line a season-high 41 times, and at times were so reliant on the 3-point shot that they went more than 16 minutes to open the second half without a single 2-point basket.

”We’re trying to get ready,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ”And you play a team that’s physical like this, it gets you ready.”

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Ricky Rubio leads Timberwolves over Suns, 105-93

Ricky Rubio had a career-high 24 points, 10 assists and five steals, and J.J. Barea scored 16 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 105-93 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night.

Derrick Williams added 15 points and six boards for the Wolves, who gave coach Rick Adelman victory No. 1,001. It’s also the first time the Wolves (30-50) have won at least 30 games in a season without Kevin Garnett on the roster.

Markieff Morris had 20 points and nine rebounds and Jared Dudley scored 16 for the Suns, who turned the ball over 28 times. The Suns have lost 15 of their last 17 and already are assured of having their worst record since their inaugural season in 1968-69.

Andrei Kirilenko had 14 points and Dante Cunningham had 13 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota in place of Nikola Pekovic, who missed his second straight game with a bruised left calf.

Wes Johnson scored 15 points and Luis Scola added 14 points and nine rebounds for Phoenix. But Scola committed a career-high eight turnovers, and the Wolves scored 33 points off Phoenix mistakes to pull away.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press