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Thunder beat Warriors 119-98

A fog-delayed arrival in Oklahoma City made Golden State’s task tough enough.

Then the Warriors made the mistake of getting on Kevin Martin’s bad side.

Kevin Durant scored 25 points and Martin roared to life with 10 points during a fourth-quarter run that put away the Thunder’s 119-98 win on Wednesday night.

Martin hit a pair of 3-pointers, a runner and slammed home a two-handed dunk during a 16-4 fourth-quarter spurt that pushed the lead to 106-83 and coaxed coach Scott Brooks into emptying his bench instead of going back to All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Durant down the stretch. Warriors coach Mark Jackson soon followed suit.

”Coach Jackson should talk to a couple of his bench players and make sure they get wet behind the ears before they come barking at a couple of our players,” said Martin, who went 4 for 5 in the final period and ended up with 21 points.

Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Warriors didn’t get settled in Oklahoma City until almost daybreak and it showed as they fell behind by 20 early…

Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson had 19 points apiece for the Warriors. Golden State played without Andrew Bogut, who is still easing his way back from a left ankle injury, and Jarrett Jack was sidelined by a right shoulder contusion.

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

Garnett scores 27, Celtics beat Raptors for 5th straight win

Jason Terry scored only two points. Still, he made a big contribution to Boston’s latest win with a pep talk before the fourth quarter.

Kevin Garnett scored a season-high 27 points with 10 rebounds, Paul Pierce had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and the Celtics won their fifth straight game by beating the Toronto Raptors 99-95 on Wednesday night.

Courtney Lee added 15 points, Leandro Barbosa had 14, Avery Bradley 11 and Brandon Bass 10 as the Celtics remained unbeaten since losing guard Rajon Rondo to a season-ending knee injury.

Garnett scored 11 points in the fourth quarter as the Celtics rallied from a 10-point deficit to snap a two-game skid in Toronto. Boston had lost three of its last four in Canada.

”We’re fighters,” Garnett said. ”We’re a team that’s going to compete for 48 minutes. It’s not always pretty. We’re not perfect, we’re human beings. But we play hard, we do our best to go out and try to perfect the game plan.”

Boston’s turnaround came after Terry harangued his teammates for their sloppy play through three quarters.

— Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

Wizards end Knicks 5-game winning streak

Though the Washington Wizards have just 13 victories, five are against leaders of the six NBA divisions.

John Wall had 21 points and nine assists, Trevor Ariza scored a season-high 20 points, and the Wizards snapped the New York Knicks’ five-game winning streak with a 106-96 victory Wednesday night.

Washington held the Knicks, who had won the last 10 meetings, to just nine 3-pointers. In the previous two games, New York had 33.

The Wizards have also beaten Miami, Oklahoma City, the Los Angeles Clippers, and Chicago, which was leading the Central on Jan. 26. San Antonio is the only division leader to beat Washington.

”I’d like to play our best against everyone,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said.

Washington had six players score in double figures for the fourth time this season. Martell Webster added 19 points, Nene had 13 points and 10 rebounds, Emeka Okafor scored 12 and Chris Singleton 10.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Pacers hold Sixers to 69 points

Weary or not, the Indiana Pacers found the energy to beat the Philadelphia 76ers.

Roy Hibbert had 16 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Pacers to an 88-69 victory over Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

The Central Division-leading Pacers won their third game in three nights. Paul George, George Hill and David West each scored 15 for the Pacers, the only team to play back-to-back-to-back games this season.

“We got in here before the game and we just looked each other in the eyes, and I knew it,” George said of a team meeting. “I knew we had to go out, fight for each other, rely on each other and do everything possible to get a win.”

Indiana has won five in a row overall to move a season-best 12 games above .500. The Pacers snapped a three-game road losing streak and won for just the third time in 10 games away from home.

“We got ourselves up for this one in the locker room before the game,” West said. “We had to. A lot of guys didn’t have a lot out there physically, and we had to lean on each other. But we did that, we relied on defense, and slowing the game down, and we got it done.”

Jrue Holiday had 17 points for the Sixers, who saw their season-best three-game winning streak end.

Rookie Arnett Moultrie had a season-high 12 points and Lavoy Allen added 12.

— Reported by Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press

Procedure to move Kings to Seattle takes another step

With one more procedural move, the Sacramento Kings took another step toward Seattle.

NBA Commissioner David Stern said Wednesday night that the Seattle group led by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer, which recently reached an agreement to purchase the Kings, has formally filed for relocation with the league.

Stern spoke in Minneapolis before the Timberwolves hosted San Antonio. He called the Seattle group ”very strong,” and said the appropriate committees have been convened to look over the proposed sale of the Kings and the prospective move.

Stern said the relocation proposal calls for the team to play in KeyArena for ”two years, possibly three,” while a new arena in Seattle is being built.

”We have had submitted a signed agreement to have the team sold to a very strong group from Seattle,” Stern said. ”We have received an application to have the team moved from Sacramento to Seattle.”

The deadline for teams to file for relocation is March 1. It’s been expected that the Hansen/Ballmer group would file to move the team, but Stern’s comments were the first time that decision had been verified. The filing for relocation is just another step, but big in the efforts to bring professional basketball back to Seattle for the 2013-14 season.

— Reported by Tim Booth of the Associated Press

Pau Gasol injury update

Los Angeles Lakers forward/center Pau Gasol had an MRI test today in Boston on his right foot, which he injured in last night’s game in Brooklyn. Results of the MRI showed that Gasol has a tear of the plantar fascia.

The MRI test will be sent to team doctors in Los Angeles for analysis and Gasol will fly to Los Angeles tomorrow, where he will be examined by team doctor Steve Lombardo and foot specialist Dr. Kenneth Jung. A further update including a time estimate for Gasol’s return will be issued at the conclusion of the examination.

According to the Los Angeles Times, “The plantar fascia is located in the arch of the foot, and Gasol has been bothered throughout this season by painful swelling in the same area, called plantar fasciitis. He aggravated the foot earlier in Tuesday’s game and said he later felt a pop in it after jumping to block the shot of Nets center Brook Lopez with 4:23 to play. Gasol stayed down on the court for several seconds and remained in the game after a 20-second timeout but started limping while trying to run and headed for the locker room. He needed crutches after the game to leave the locker room. Gasol will meet with Lakers doctor Steven Lombardo and foot specialist Kenneth Jung on Thursday.”

Lakers will not trade Dwight Howard

Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has told Dwight Howard he will not be traded before the Feb. 21 trade deadline, according to league sources.

Kupchak recently told Newsday the same thing, saying: “We will not trade Dwight Howard.” Sources say Kupchak has told Howard several times that he has no intention of trading him.

There have been rumblings for the past month that the Lakers are considering moving Howard out of fear that he might leave as a free agent after the season. Despite their concerns, the Lakers have not directly asked Howard whether he plans to stay or go in free agency, according to sources.

Sources have told ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Ramona Shelburne that the Lakers are “very confident” Howard will remain with the team this summer.

Howard has steadfastly refused to reveal his plans for this summer, and sources say he truly does not know what he will do. The sources add that he definitely will not ask to be traded.

— Reported by Chris Broussard of ESPN.com

Rockets hit 23 three-pointers, score 140 on Warriors

The Houston Rockets tied an NBA record and set a franchise mark with 23 3-pointers in a 140-109 win over Golden State on Tuesday night.

Jeremy Lin sank five 3-pointers, a career high, and Chandler Parsons and James Harden hit four apiece as the Rockets reached a season-high point total. They also tied an NBA record with 14 3-pointers in the first half and dished out a season-high 35 assists on 46 field goals overall.

Lin scored 28 points, Harden added 18 and Parsons scored 16 for Houston. The Rockets put on the shooting display without their best 3-point shooter – Carlos Delfino sat out with a right elbow injury.

Jarrett Jack scored 20 points and David Lee had 18 for the Warriors. Houston tied the single-game record for 3s set by Orlando in a 139-107 win over Sacramento on Jan. 13, 2009.

The Rockets were 18 of 27 from 3-point range through three quarters, and they also bottled up Golden State’s leading scorer, limiting Stephen Curry to seven points on 3-for-12 shooting.

Houston finally hit a dry spell early in the fourth, missing its first three 3-point attempts. Marcus Morris then hit one from the wing, and Parsons flashed him a smile as the two trotted back down the court.

With the outcome decided, Rockets coach Kevin McHale pulled his starters with about six minutes left, leaving the pursuit of the NBA record to the reserves. Newcomer Patrick Beverley sank one from the corner for No. 22 and seldom-used Donatas Motiejunas swished another to tie Orlando’s mark.

— Reported by Chris Duncan of the Associated Press

Metta World Peace suspended one game for foul on Brandon Knight

Metta World Peace of the Los Angeles Lakers has been suspended one game without pay for grabbing Brandon Knight of the Detroit Pistons around the neck and striking him in the jaw, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 1:43 remaining in the 2nd period, of the Lakers’ 98-97 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, Feb. 3 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

World Peace will serve his suspension tonight when the Lakers visit the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center.

To view the play, click on this link.

Tyson Chandler loses bet to Melo, forced to wear Ravens hat

Tyson Chandler may have etched his name in the Knicks’ record books on Monday with his third straight 20-rebound game, but it wasn’t all good for the Knicks’ center.

Chandler, a 49ers fan, lost a bet with Carmelo Anthony, a Baltimore Ravens fan, after Baltimore beat San Francisco in Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday.

The result? Chandler had to wear a Ravens hat during postgame interviews on Monday.

“This is not my team, this is Carmelo’s team. But they won, so congratulations to the Ravens and all their fans,” Chandler begrudgingly said at the begging of his post-game interview.

“That made my day, you just don’t know,” Anthony said. “That made my day.”

— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York